[68] Gascon forces destroyed the bastide, and in turn Charles attacked the English-held Montpezat: the assault was unsuccessful,[69] but in the subsequent War of Saint-Sardos Isabella's uncle, Charles of Valois, successfully wrested Aquitaine from English control;[70] by 1324, Charles had declared Edward's lands forfeit and had occupied the whole of Aquitaine apart from the coastal areas.[71]. Edward was blamed by the barons for the catastrophic failure of the campaign. [62] Once aboard, Isabella evaded the Flemish navy, landing further south and making her way to York. Mortimer was executed, Isabella's regency was ended and she was imprisoned,[3] but soon released. Father. In 1330, aged 18, Edward III forcibly asserted his authority. [39] The Scottish general Sir James Douglas, war leader for Robert I of Scotland, made a bid to capture Isabella personally in 1319, almost capturing her at YorkIsabella only just escaped. Isabella's wardrobe gives some indications of her wealth and styleshe had dresses of baudekyn, velvet, taffeta and cloth, along with numerous furs; she had over 72 headdresses and coifs; she brought with her two gold crowns, gold and silver dinnerware and 419 yards of linen. When she was only an infant, her father arranged a . As Joan had suggested the previous year, Isabella betrothed Prince Edward to Philippa of Hainault, the daughter of the Count, in exchange for a substantial dowry. Isabella of France (c.1295 22 August 1358), sometimes described as the She-Wolf of France (French: Louve de France), was Queen of England as the wife of King Edward II, and regent of England from 1327 until 1330. The renewal of the Anglo-French truce in 1299 led to the marriage of Edward I to Philip's sister Margaret, further anticipating the marriage of Isabella to Edward II. Isabella's youngest children were removed from her and placed into the custody of the Despensers. [13] Edward I attempted to break the engagement several times for political advantage, and only after he died in 1307 did the wedding proceed. When Edward went to war with Isabellas brother Charles IV of France in 1324, he began to treat Isabella as an enemy alien and confiscated her lands. She and Edward II were jointly crowned king and queen of England at Westminster Abbey on 25 February 1308, exactly a month after their wedding. The kings support collapsed almost immediately, and his two half-brothers, the Earls of Norfolk and Kent, and cousin the Earl of Lancaster, joined the queen. Charles went on to refuse to return the lands in Aquitaine to Edward, resulting in a provisional agreement under which Edward resumed administration of the remaining English territories in early 1326 whilst France continued to occupy the rest. Roger Mortimer, 3 rd Baron Mortimer of Wigmore (1287-1330,) an exiled baron living in Paris, and Isabella became lovers by the end of the year. [124] The treaty was not popular in England because of the Agenais clause. She was the youngest surviving child and only surviving daughter of Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre. [65] At this point, Isabella appears to have realised that any hope of working with Edward was effectively over and begun to consider radical solutions. [151] Joan nursed her just before she died. Within a very short time, their greed and self-interest made them as unpopular as Edward II and Hugh Despenser had been; Isabella had little capacity for learning from her husbands mistakes. By 1325, Isabella was facing increasing pressure from Hugh Despenser the Younger, Edward's new royal favourite. NO. [131] Isabella was merciful to those who had aligned themselves with him, although somesuch as her old supporter Henry de Beaumont, whose family had split from Isabella over the peace with Scotland, which had lost them huge land holdings in Scotland[132]fled to France.[133]. House of Capet. [50] At this point, Isabella undertook a pilgrimage to Canterbury, during which she left the traditional route to stop at Leeds Castle in Kent, a fortification held by Bartholomew de Badlesmere, steward of the King's household who had by 1321 joined the ranks of Edward's opponents. [139] In the autumn, Mortimer was investigating another plot against him, when he challenged a young noble, William Montagu, during an interrogation. Simon of Reading, one of the Despensers' supporters, was hanged next to him, on charges of insulting Isabella. This article was first published in the February 2017 issue of BBC History Magazine, Enjoying HistoryExtra.com? [107] Isabella's position was still precarious, as the legal basis for deposing Edward was doubtful and many lawyers of the day maintained that Edward II was still the rightful king, regardless of the declaration of the Parliament. [72] Edward was deeply concerned that should he leave England, even for a short while, the barons would take the chance to rise up and take their revenge on the Despensers. [115] At Edward III's coronation, Isabella then extended her land holdings from a value of 4,400 each year to the huge sum of 13,333, making her one of the largest landowners in the kingdom. Thomas of Lancaster reacted to the defeats in Scotland by taking increased power in England and turning against Isabella, cutting off funds and harassing her household. Bishop Stapledon failed to realise the extent to which royal power had collapsed in the capital, and tried to intervene militarily to protect his property against rioters; a hated figure locally, he was promptly attacked and killedhis head was later sent to Isabella by her local supporters. For a time, her dislike of him was widely known, and she was said to be in contact with her father, the pope and cardinals in order to have him exiled. But if she prefers to remain here, she is my sister and I refuse to expel her." Her three older brothers all reigned as kings of France and Navarre: Louis X, who died at the age of 26 in 1316; Philip V, who died aged 30 at the beginning of 1322; and Charles IV, who died at the age of 33 in 1328. Unfortunately, Edward IIs excessive favouritism towards his last and most powerful favourite, Hugh Despenser the Younger, an English nobleman who had married one of Edwards nieces in 1306 and who was appointed as the kings chamberlain in 1318, was to cause an irrevocable breakdown in Isabella and Edwards marriage in and after 1322. [18], As queen, the young Isabella faced numerous challenges. On 23 September, Isabella and Edward III were informed by messenger that Edward had died whilst imprisoned at the castle, because of a "fatal accident". [103] All that was left now was the question of Edward II, still officially Isabella's legal husband and lawful king. Similarly, accounts of Edward being killed with a red-hot poker have no strong contemporary sources to support them. Gaveston was assassinated in June 1312 by a group of English barons sick of his excessive influence over the king. [135] The execution itself was a fiasco after the executioner refused to attend and Edmund of Kent had to be killed by a local dung-collector, who had been himself sentenced to death and was pardoned as a bribe to undertake the beheading. Isabellas first interventions in politics were conciliatory. This he did, and the lands were restored. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Isabella-of-France, Ancient Origins - The Wild Life of English Queen Isabella, She-Wolf of France aka the Rebel Queen Who Killed the King of England, English Monarchs - Biography of Isabella of France. Evidence for her attitude can be found as early as 1308, when the queen's relatives who had accompanied her to England for her coronation, returned indignantly to France because "the king loved Gaveston more than his wife." Also in 1308, several monks from Westminster referred to the queen's hatred of Gaveston in a letter to their colleagues. Indeed, John Deydras, a royal pretender, appeared in Oxford, claiming to have been switched with Edward at birth, and to be the real king of England himself. Joined there by her son, the future Edward III, she announced her refusal to return to England until the Despensers were removed from court. [43], Meanwhile, Hugh de Despenser the Younger became an increasing favourite of Isabella's husband, and was believed by some to have begun a sexual relationship with him around this time. Isabella herself had a complicated relationship with Gaveston. [27] Edward was forced to exile Gaveston to Ireland for a period and began to show Isabella much greater respect, assigning her lands and patronage; in turn, Philip ceased his support for the barons. [3], Isabella's husband Edward, as the Duke of Aquitaine, owed homage to the King of France for his lands in Gascony. Their itineraries demonstrate that they were together nine months prior to the births of all four surviving offspring. Isabella reopened negotiations in Paris, resulting in a peace treaty under which the bulk of Gascony, minus the Agenais, would be returned to England in exchange for a 50,000-mark penalty. [114] Isabella soon awarded herself another 20,000, allegedly to pay off foreign debts. The shame of Isabella of France Such was the shame brought upon the new Queen that there is evidence to suggest that in 1308 her father, Philip the Fair, paid the earls of Lincoln and Pembroke to remove Gaveston from power. How Edward died, whether by suffocation or illness or something else the infamous red-hot poker is a later invention and dismissed by modern experts on the era or whether Edward even died at all is still a matter of passionate debate. [83] She then used this money plus an earlier loan from Charles[84] to raise a mercenary army, scouring Brabant for men, which were added to a small force of Hainaut troops. The Queen returned to England with a small mercenary army in 1326, moving rapidly across England. [141] Fighting broke out on the stairs and Mortimer was overwhelmed in his chamber. Hugh Despenser the Elder had been captured at Bristol, and despite some attempts by Isabella to protect him, was promptly executed by his Lancastrian enemies his body was hacked to pieces and fed to the local dogs. Isabella left England for France in 1325. Tensions had risen in November 1323 after the construction of a bastide, a type of fortified town, in Saint-Sardos, part of the Agenais, by a French vassal. Isabella of France was of high royal birth, and her son the king perforce treated her with respect and consideration; he claimed the throne of France through his mother, so could hardly imprison her. 1289 for the alternative perspective. Isabella arrived in England for the first time on 7 February 1308. Roger Mortimer, however, was not: the often-repeated tale that Isabella chose to lie for eternity next to her long-dead but never forgotten lover is a romantic myth. A point born out by Mortimer, 2004, p. 140. Mortimer The Greatest Traitor, pp. Why did Isabella not return to England? In 1311, Edward conducted a failed campaign against the Scots, during which Isabella and he only just escaped capture. [74] Isabella surrounded herself with mostly exiles, among them her rumored lover Roger Mortimer. Edmund was finally involved in a conspiracy in 1330, allegedly to restore Edward II, who, he claimed, was still alive: Isabella and Mortimer broke up the conspiracy, arresting Edmund and other supportersincluding Simon Mepeham, Archbishop of Canterbury. By entering your details, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy. The session was held in January 1327, with Isabella's case being led by her supporter Adam Orleton, Bishop of Hereford. [74] Prince Edward arrived in France, and gave homage in September. Her invasion force arrived in England on 24 September 1326, the first to do so since her great-great-grandfather Louis of France had attempted to wrest the English throne from Edward IIs great-grandfather King John in 1216. Sadly, the Greyfriars church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, rebuilt then destroyed again by bombs in the Second World War, and Isabellas final resting-place is therefore lost. Eventually she was allowed to leave England, and was married to her cousin, Charles Valois, the duke of Orlans and count of Angoulme, on June 29, 1406. She killed her husband, King Edward II, the only English queen known to have killed an English king. She was the only surviving daughter of Philip IV of France and as often happened during the medieval period . Madame de Courcy was blamed in the roll for gems lost from objects while they were in her charge. Edward's body was apparently buried at Gloucester Cathedral, with his heart being given in a casket to Isabella. Isabella and Roger ruled in Edward's name until 1330, when he executed Mortimer and banished his mother. Isabella's reputation in France suffered somewhat as a result of her perceived role in the affair. Edmund of Kent had sided with Isabella in 1326, but had since begun to question his decision and was edging back towards Edward II, his half-brother. In 1348, there were suggestions that she might travel to Paris to take part in peace negotiations, but eventually this plan was quashed. Under this treaty, Isabella's daughter Joan would marry David Bruce (heir apparent to the Scottish throne) and Edward III would renounce any claims on Scottish lands, in exchange for the promise of Scottish military aid against any enemy except the French, and 20,000 in compensation for the raids across northern England. [67] One of the elements in the disputes was the border province of Agenais, part of Gascony and in turn part of Aquitaine. In 1325 she returned to France. The chronicle known as the Traison et mort suggests that this was on grounds of her extravagance. [143] Mortimer was executed at Tyburn, but Edward III showed leniency and he was not quartered or disembowelled. Paul Doherty, drawing extensively on the Fieschi Letter of the 1340s, has argued that Edward in fact escaped from Berkeley Castle with the help of William Ockle, a knight whom Doherty argues subsequently pretended to be Edward in disguise around Europe, using the name "William the Welshman" to draw attention away from the real Edward himself. Isabella left the bulk of her property, including Castle Rising, to her favourite grandson, the Black Prince, with some personal effects being granted to her daughter Joan. [82] They also shared a common enemythe regime of Edward II and the Despensers. [28][29] Isabella had begun to build up her own supporters at court, principally the Beaumont family, itself opposed to the Lancastrians. [152] She remained, however, a gregarious member of the court, receiving constant visitors; amongst them appear to have been her friend Marie de St Pol, Countess of Pembroke, and her cousin Henry of Grosmont, Duke of Lancaster. Unlike e.g. [87], Having evaded Edward's fleet, which had been sent to intercept them,[88] Isabella and Mortimer landed at Orwell on the east coast of England on 24 September with a small force; estimates of Isabella's army vary from between 300 and around 2,000 soldiers, with 1,500 being a popular middle figure. Taking Prince Edward with them, Isabella and Mortimer left the French court in summer 1326 and travelled north to William I, Count of Hainaut. [67] Isabella's three brothers each had only short reigns, and Edward had successfully avoided paying homage to Louis X, and had paid homage to Philip V only under great pressure. He escaped death but was subjected to a colossal fine, effectively crippling his power. [146] Isabella remained extremely wealthy; despite being required to surrender most of her lands after losing power, in 1331 she was reassigned a yearly income of 3000,[147] which increased to 4000 by 1337. Isabella of France married King Edward II of England in Boulogne, northern France, on 25 January 1308 when she was 12 and he was 23. Isabella of France married Edward II in January 1308, and afterwards became one of the most notorious women in English history. Isabella was born in Paris on an uncertain dateon the basis of the chroniclers and the eventual date of her marriage, she was probably born between April 1295[a] and January 1296. Most of the negative stories often told in modern literature about the couple for example that Edward gave Isabellas jewels or wedding gifts to Piers Gaveston in 1308, that he abandoned her weeping and pregnant in 1312 to save Gaveston, or that he cruelly removed her children from her custody in 1324 are much later fabrications. Isabella sailed for France in 1325 to settle a long-standing dispute over Gascony. [39], Despite Isabella giving birth to her second son, John, in 1316, Edward's position was precarious. Since the early 1300s, Edward II had been infatuated with a young nobleman of Barn in southern France called Piers Gaveston, whom he made Earl of Cornwall and married to his royal niece Margaret de Clare in 1307. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Three more children were born to the royal couple. With her lands restored to her, Isabella was already exceptionally rich, but she began to accumulate yet more. [146] Agnes Strickland, a Victorian historian, argued that Isabella suffered from occasional fits of madness during this period but modern interpretations suggest, at worst, a nervous breakdown following the death of Mortimer. Isabella was held under house arrest for a while, and was forced to give up the vast lands and income she had appropriated; she had awarded herself 20,000 marks or 13,333 pounds a year, the largest income anyone in England received (the kings excepted) in the entire Middle Ages. [156], Queen Isabella appeared with a major role in Christopher Marlowe's play Edward II (c. 1592) and thereafter has been frequently used as a character in plays, books and films, often portrayed as beautiful but manipulative or wicked. [64] On her return in 1323 she visited Edward briefly, but was removed from the process of granting royal patronage. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Finally accepting that he had no other choice, he did so, and Edward IIIs reign began on 25 January 1327 his parents 19th wedding anniversary. Edward, highly dependent on Despenser, refused. He was then dragged into the city, presented to Queen Isabella, Roger Mortimer and the Lancastrians. Isabella was notable in her lifetime for her diplomatic skills, intelligence, and beauty. [52] Whilst Edward mobilised his own faction and placed Leeds Castle under siege, Isabella was given the Great Seal and assumed control of the royal Chancery from the Tower of London. [140] Edward was convinced that this was the moment to act, and on 19 October, Montagu led a force of twenty-three armed men into the castle by a secret tunnel. [150], As the years went by, Isabella became very close to her daughter Joan, especially after Joan left her unfaithful husband, King David II of Scotland, who was imprisoned by her brother in the Tower of London at the time where she visited him once. In her old age she joined an order of nuns, the Poor Clares. The minimally agreed version of events is that Isabella and Mortimer had Edward moved from Kenilworth Castle in the Midlands to the safer location of Berkeley Castle in the Welsh borders, where he was put into the custody of Lord Berkeley. Parliament was convened the next month, where Mortimer was put on trial for treason. Omissions? Isabella's relationship with Gaveston was a complex one. Isabella's family in France campaigned for her return, but Henry IV would not allow it for several years. Invasion of England (1326) The invasion of England in 1326 by the country's queen, Isabella of France, and her lover, Roger Mortimer, led to the capture and executions of Hugh Despenser the Younger and Hugh Despenser the Elder and the abdication of Isabella's husband, King Edward II. British author, philosopher, and statesman. Updates? Guy de Beauchamp and Thomas of Lancaster ensured Gaveston's execution as he was being taken south to rejoin Edward. [75], Meanwhile, the messages brought back by Edward's agent Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter and others grew steadily worse: Isabella had publicly snubbed Stapledon; Edward's political enemies were gathering at the French court, and threatening his emissaries; Isabella was dressed as a widow, claiming that Hugh Despenser had destroyed her marriage with Edward; Isabella was assembling a court-in-exile, including Edmund of Kent and John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond. However, Edward couldn't love Isabella wholeheartedly for he loved a man more. During Charles' absences from Spain in 1529-1532 and 1535-1539, Isabella served as his regent. Originating, like her, in France, the senior member of the Beaumont family, Isabella de Beaumont, had been a close confidant of Edward's mother Eleanor of Castile, supported by her brother Henry de Beaumont. Immediately after overthrowing her husband Edward II, she ruled as a regent up to 1330 when her son Edward III started ruling directly after deposing Mortimer. Joan I of Navarre. Some believe that Isabella then arranged the murder of Edward II. NHS England has warned that the number of rescheduled appointments due to strike action is set to hit half a million next week. The daughter of Philip IV the Fair of France, Isabella was married to Edward on January 25, 1308, at Boulogne. [11] Isabella was cared for by Thophania de Saint-Pierre, her nurse, given a good education and taught to read, developing a love of books. [19], Edward was an unusual character by medieval standards. Mother. In March 1325, Edward sent her to France to negotiate a peace settlement with her brother, which she did successfully. The only French territory left to the English was Calais which they held until 1558 and the Channel Islands . 8. [57] Isabella's relationship with Despenser the Younger continued to deteriorate; the Despensers refused to pay her monies owed to her, or return her castles at Marlborough and Devizes. Mortimer had been imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1322 following his capture by Edward during the Despenser wars. [22], When Isabella first arrived in England following her marriage, her husband was already in the midst of a relationship with Piers Gaveston, an "arrogant, ostentatious" soldier, with a "reckless and headstrong" personality that clearly appealed to Edward. One of the most notorious women in English history, Isabella of France led an invasion of England that ultimately resulted in the deposition of her king and husband, Edward II, in January 1327 the first ever abdication of a king in England. Isabella persuaded her husband to send her to France with her son, Prince Edward, to pay homage on his father's behalf. Isabella came to England at the age of 12 in 1308 after she had been married to Edward who was at that time 24 years old. She refused to return. [155] She was buried in the mantle she had worn at her wedding and at her request, Edward's heart, placed into a casket thirty years before, was interred with her. With her son under her control and under the protection of her brother, Isabella imposed an ultimatum on Edward for her return to England and to him: that he would send Despenser away from court and allow her to resume her normal married life with him and her rightful position as queen, and restore her to her lands. [128] The French nobility were unimpressed and, since Isabella lacked the funds to begin any military campaign, she began to court the opinion of France's neighbours, including proposing the marriage of her son John to the Castilian royal family. The barons were led by the wealthy and powerful Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, who was Edward IIs first cousin and Isabellas uncle (the younger half-brother of her mother, Joan I of Navarre). The eldest son of Edward II and . Later in life she became a nun. Despite Lancaster's defeat, however, discontent continued to grow. Isabella had tolerated her husbands previous male favourites, including Piers Gaveston and Roger Damory (a knight of Oxfordshire who was high in Edwards favour from about 1315 to 1318), but she loathed and feared Hugh Despenser.
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