This Queen Philippa, the daughter of a noble father and mother, just as she had been praised, when a princess, for all the good qualities that befit a woman of lofty lineage, earned similar and even greater praise after she was married and raised to the rank of queen. Furthermore, God granted her a husband whom she found agreeable and by whom she gave birth to an illustrious generation of fortunate and virtuous sons, as you will hear in due course. For that reason, it would have been a most pleasant task to praise her virtues, if we were able to do so, but, since we are not equal to that, we must at least describe them briefly.

In her youth this fortunate queen was devout and well versed in divine liturgy and became much more so after she took over her own household and arranged the divine office as she wished. She always prayed the canonical hours according to the Use of Sarum and, though it was not easy to arrange, she was so intent on this that her chaplains and other worthy people received training in it in order to serve her. Every Friday it was her practice to pray from the Book of Psalms, without speaking to anyone until she had completed the exercise. Whenever she was prevented from doing so through illness or during her confinements, her attendants nearby prayed aloud the text which she would normally pray herself, and she would listen devoutly and without disturbing them in any way. There is no need to deliver a lengthy sermon about her fasting or reading Holy Scripture when time permitted, for all this was organised so sensibly that idleness never gained a hold over her imagination.

She showed concern for the poor and needy, generously distributing alms to churches and monasteries. She loved most faithfully her truly noble husband, taking great pains never to upset him, and was keen to ensure the quality of the education and upbringing of her children. She never did anything out of rancour or hatred; rather, her every action was dictated out of love for God and for her neighbour.

Her conversation was direct and beneficial to many people without her displaying pride in her royal rank, and her words were gentle, gracious and pleasing to all those who heard them.