Who Was Joanna,
Queen of England?
It
surprises me how some of the Queens of England have remained anonymous, almost
invisible. Who has even heard of Queen
Joanna? Joanna of Navarre, second wife
of King Henry IV, who was crowned Queen in Westminster Abbey with all the royal
regalia in 1403, is one of these.
In
some ways it is easy to understand why.
She was Queen for only ten years.
She had no impact on the actual government of England. She and Henry had no children together: Henry
already had four sons and two daughters with his first wife, Mary de Bohun, so
he was not in need of an heir. Joanna
had proved fertile with seven children who grew to adulthood, but their failure
to have children together was not a dynastic problem.
Their
relationship for the most part has drawn little attention, and certainly not
from those who write about English Queens.
Everyone knows something about the wives of Henry VIII. Most people willingly admit to knowing little
or nothing about Joanna. We do not even
have a contemporary portrait or description of her. All we have is marble effigy on the tomb
where her body lies next to Henry's in Canterbury Cathedral.
So
why would I choose to write about her, apart from the fact that I have a strong
delight in discovering these interesting medieval woman who might just have
something to say to us today?
I
chose to breathe life back into her because Joanna has some interesting facets
to her life - and some tragic ones.
 |
| Joanna's tomb (with Henry IV) |
Joanna
of Navarre was regal from her toes to her fingertips. Daughter of King Charles II (the Bad) of Navarre and Joan de Valois who
was a daughter of King John II (the Good) of France, Joanna as a Valois
princess was related to almost every important family in Europe through either
blood or marriage. She was related to
the houses of Burgundy, Berry and Orleans.
The King of France, Charles VI was her first cousin. Her family connections were second to none.
On
the death of her first husband Duke John V of Brittany, Joanna, as Duchess of
Brittany, became Regent in the name of her young son. Joanna was a woman of considerable presence,
reputation and European status. She was
also a woman of intellect, quite capable of ruling a medieval state. She deserves that we should take a second look
at her.
King
Henry IV of England, on the other hand, although of Plantagenet birth and royal
blood as the only son of John of Gaunt, was a newly made King. What's more he was a usurper in the eyes of
many established rulers of Europe, particularly France, because he had seized
the crown from his cousin King Richard II, the rightful, God-Anointed King,
whose young Queen was Isabelle de Valois.
Richard died in dubious circumstances while incarcerated in Pontefract
Castle. Thus Henry was a dangerous
entity. Few were willing to support such
a precedent for the overthrow of a ruling monarch. Yet Joanna chose to marry him.
What
was it that motivated her? What was it
that made Joanna, a renowned and highly capable ruler of thirty years of age,
with a healthy family of seven children and an enviable reputation, give up
everything - power, family, royal approval - to choose to come to England to
wed the usurper Henry? Could it have
been love? Was not Joanna past the age
of frivolous emotion? Her duty surely
lay with Brittany and the young Duke, for whom she was Regent. Their relationship intrigued me.
It
was to be no easy marriage for Henry and Joanna, with England torn apart in an
ongoing civil war instigated by the powerful Percy family and Owain Glyn
Dwr. Would Henry and Joanna weather the
storms of political upheaval and open rebellion? Many were willing to claim that Richard II
was still alive and well in Scotland, waiting to lead an overthrow of the
Lancaster monarchy.
Furthermore,
as a Breton by association, Joanna could be seen as the enemy in their
midst. With Joanna in England, Brittany
under the guiding hand of the Duke of Burgundy was quite prepared to throw its
weight behind Owain Glyn Dwr and join France in its ongoing war against
England. Even without the wars, Bretons
were detested for their piracy and trading acumen at England's expense. Joanna would not be the most popular of
queens.
And
then, surely the icing on the cake for any writer of historical fiction, there
was the terrifying accusation of necromancy made against her, that by using
witchcraft and and the dark powers, lured on by her father confessor who gave
evidence against her, Joanna had plotted the death of King Henry V, the hero of
Agincourt. As a result Joanna spent
three years imprisoned in a series of English fortresses.
The
consequences for Joanna of the choices she made in her life were far
reaching. They brought her enhanced
status and much happiness but also condemned her to a life of great
uncertainty.
This,
I decided, was a story worth writing.
The Queen's Choice is the story of a Queen of England who has remained
in the shadows. It is a story of
betrayal and tragedy, but also one of great love and redemption. Joanna was a formidable character whose life
epitomised the dangers inherent in the role of medieval Queenship. She can no longer be swept behind the
tapestry of history.
Anne O'Brien
# # #
About the Author
Anne O'Brien was born in the West Riding of Yorkshire. After gaining a B.A. Honours degree in History at Manchester University and a Masters in Education at Hull, she lived in the East Riding for many years as a teacher of history. After leaving teaching, Anne decided to turn to novel writing and give voice to the women in history who fascinated her the most, beginning with Virgin Widow, which told the story of Anne Neville, the wife of Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Since then, she has told the stories of Eleanor of Aquitaine in Devil's Consort, Alice Perrers, the mistress of Edward III, in The King's Concubine, Katherine de Valois, the child bride of Henry V, in The Forbidden Queen and Katherine Swynford, mistress of John of Gaunt, in The Scandalous Duchess. Her latest novel The King's Sister is the story of Elizabeth of Lancaster, caught up in dramatic and bloody family politics in the reigns of Richard II and Henry IV. Today Anne lives in an eighteenth century cottage in Herefordshire, an area full of inspiration for her work. Visit Anne online at www.anneobrienbooks.com and find her on Facebook and Twitter @anne_obrien.
