A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography/Joanna, or Jane of Navarre

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4120635A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography — Joanna, or Jane of Navarre

JOANNA, OR JANE OF NAVARRE,

Consort of Henry the Fourth of England, was the second daughter of Charles d'Albert, King of Navarre, surnamed the Bad. Her mother was Jane, daughter of John, King of France. Joanna was born about 1370, and in 1386, she married John de Montfort, Duke of Bretagne, surnamed the Valiant, by whom she was tenderly beloved, and who left her regent and sole guardian of the young duke, their eldest son, on his death, in 1399. In 1402, Joanna married Henry of Lancaster, King of England, who died in 1413; after which event, Joanna still remained in England. In 1419, she was arrested on a charge of witchcraft against the king, Henry the Fifth, her step-son. She was condemned, deprived of all her property, and imprisoned till 1422, when she was set free, and her dower restored. She died at Havering Bower, in 1437. Joanna had nine children by the Duke of Bretagne, some of whom died before her; but none by Henry the Fourth. She was a beautiful and very intelligent woman.