In the fall of 1419, Joan of Navarre, Dowager, Queen of England, and stepmother to King Henry V, was minding her own business at her manner in Essex.

It was Micklemish, Friday, September 29th, and Joan, who was around 50 years old at the time, likely had no idea that her life was about to be upended by an accusation so dramatic you would expect to find it

in a bad historical fiction novel. She was arrested for plotting the king's death, her stepson,

through sorcery. Henry V wasn't even in England. He was on campaign in Normandy, winning

battles and bankrupting the

crown in the process. But that didn't stop him from sending orders across the channel to arrest

his own stepmother. The official claim that Joan had conspired in the most treasonable and horrible

manner that could be devised to destroy the king using necromancy.

And apparently she hadn't done it alone. Two so-called domestic sorcerers and her personal

confessor, a friar named Randolph, were supposedly helping her to channel the dark arts.

If that sounds absurd, that's because it was.

But as we'll see, the truth had nothing to do with magic and everything to do with money.

Today we are talking about when a queen was accused of witchcraft by her own stepson who was broke and had a war with France to win.

So grab your coffee.

It's coffee for me today.

Or water, whatever beverage you want to drink and get cozy because this is a doozy of a story.

Hey friend, welcome back to the YouTube channel for the Renaissance English History Podcast.

I am your host, Heather, and I've been podcasting on Tudor England since 2009 with my show,

which makes it the original OG Tudor History podcast.

I am just delighted to be spending this time with you today. We're going to talk about Joan of Navarre, Henry V, and Witchcraft.

Let's rewind the story a little bit. Joan of Navar was born around 1368, the daughter of Charles

II of Navarre and Jean de Valois, who was herself

...