Born in 1368, Joan of Navarre became Queen of England when she became the second wife of King Henry IV, making the future King Henry V her stepson. It was Joan’s second marriage as well, and was generally a happy marriage until the death of Henry IV. Before her marriage to King Henry IV, Joan had been the Duchess of Brittany, a large coastal area of France under the control of the English.
Queen Joan was popular with her step-children, especially the young Henry V who was now king after the death of his father. But as time went by the young king became suspicious of his step-mother, with some accusing her of treachery against her stepson the king and attempting to have him killed. Henry V was at war with France, so Joan’s links to Britany may have put her under suspicion. In 1419 this conflict led to the widowed Queen Joan having her money and possessions taken away, and her being sent to prison behind the large walls of Leeds Castle.
The unfortunate Queen would spend 3 years in prison. When Henry V found himself on his deathbed, he regretted his treatment of his stepmother and ordered her release just before he died 6 weeks later. Joan would spend the last 15 years of her life comfortably living at her home in Nottingham Castle, and when she died her remains were transported to Canterbury Cathedral where she was buried next to her husband Henry IV.
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