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| Tomb effigy (1246) |
Birth name: Isabelle Taillefer d'Engoleim
Born: c. 1186 - 1188, Angoulême, Duchy of Aquitaine, Kingdom of France
Father: Aymer, Count of Angoulême
Mother: Princess Alice of Courtenay
House: Taillefer
Nationality: Aquitaine
Religion: Catholicism
Consort of: John
Reign: 24 August 1200 - 19 October 1216 (16 years)
Coronation: 08 October 1200
Predecessor: Isabella of Gloucester *disputed*
Successor: Eleanor of Provence
Died: 04 June 1246 (aged 58-60), Fontevraud, County of Anjou, Kingdom of France
Cause: *Unknown*
Burial: Fontevraud Abbey
Motto: N/A
Spouse(s):
- King John of England 'Lackland' (m. 1200 - 1216)
- Hugh X, Count of Lusignan (m. 1220 - 1246)
Children:
- With King John of England
- King Henry III of England (1207 - 1272)
- Richard, King of the Romans (1209 - 1272)
- Joan, Queen of Scotland (1210 - 1238)
- Isabella, Holy Roman Empress (1214 - 1241)
- Princess Eleanor, Countess of Pembroke then Leicester (1215 - 1275)
- With Hugh X, Count of Lusignan
- Hugh XI, Count of Lusignan (1221 - 1250)
- Lord Aymer of Lusignan, Bishop of Winchester (1222 - 1260)
- Lady Agnès of Lusignan (1223 - 1269)
- Alice, Countess of Surrey (1224 - 1256)
- Lord Guy of Lusignan (1225 - 1264)
- Geoffrey, Viscount of Châtellerault (1226 - 1274)
- Lady Isabella of Lusignan (1227 - 1299)
- William, Earl of Pembroke (1228 - 1296)
- Marguerite, Viscountess of Thouars (1229 - 1288)
She was renowned for her beauty and was even referred to as a 'siren.' She had fair skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes.
Character:
Isabella was described as volatile and known for her bad temper. She was strong, independent, and determined, and would often fight with her husband.
Isabella was also viewed as scheming to a point where it is believed she may have been responsible for attempting to poison the French king. She wasn't above using her own children as pawns, even holding her own daughter against her will to threaten King Henry III of England.
As well as this, she was quite snobbish, vain, and self-absorbed, seemingly putting herself and her own ambitions in front of everything else, including her own children.
Biography:
Isabella was born some time between 1186 and 1188 in Angoulême, Duchy of Aquitaine. She was the only child of Aymer, Count of Angoulême, and his wife, Lady Alice of Courtenay, though she did also have an older half-brother from her mother's previous marriage. She heralded from a powerful ancestry, with her great-grandfather being King Louis VI of France, and her uncle being Emperor Peter II of Constantinople.
Not too much is known about her early life, other than that she was quickly considered one of the most beautiful women in all of Europe, and was originally betrothed to Hugh IX, Count of Lusignan.
In 1200, when Isabella was around 12-14 years old, the 34 year old King John of England annulled his marriage with his first wife, and married Isabella instead soon afterwards. This marriage caused a great deal of controversy because Isabella was still betrothed to Hugh IX at the time, and this act was considered a slight against him. As a result, all of England's lands on the continent were confiscated by the French King, and war broke out between the two kingdoms.
Nonetheless, Isabella became the Queen Consort of England, and her new husband appears to have been infatuated with her. However, the true nature of their relationship remains somewhat of a mystery due to the amount of rumours flying around about their relationship at the time. They were known to frequently quarrel, as both possessed bad tempers and vengeful natures. Isabella and John would go on to have five children together, all of whom would survive into adulthood, a rather remarkable feat at the time.
Sixteen years later in 1216, her husband, John, passed away, and their 9 year old son became King Henry III of England. Isabella was quick to promote him as the new monarch, and supplied her own gold circlet to use at his coronation, since the official royal crown had been lost by her husband while travelling through boggy terrain. Isabella was not appointed as his regent, since William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, was assigned the role instead.
After this, Isabella abandoned her children and returned to her lands in Angoulême, where she ruled as the Countess in her own right.
Isabella would then go on to marry Hugh X, Count of Lusignan, the son of her first fiance, in 1220. Originally, her daughter, Princess Joan, was betrothed to marry Hugh X, but upon setting eyes on Isabella, Hugh X decided to marry her instead. Joan was then married to King Alexander II of Scotland.
But once again, further drama ensued as Isabella had not received permission to re-marry from the English council, as was necessary for a queen dowager. The English government then confiscated her pension in retaliation, so Isabella held her own daughter, Joan, hostage, which risked war breaking out between England and Scotland if King Alexander II did not receive his bride-to-be. Her son, King Henry III of England was able to negotiate with her, despite his young age, and reinstated her pension.
In the years that followed, Isabella and Hugh would go on to have nine children together, all the while Isabella had very little to do with her children from her first marriage. Isabella would struggle to adjust to her life as a mere queen dowager, and accept her now lesser role as a countess. She did not get along with many of the nobles and royals within Europe, especially the French Queen Dowager, Blanche (whose husband had been a contender for the English throne during her first husband's reign).
Ever the trouble-maker, Isabella sought to have England re-seize its control over the majority of French territory, and urged her son to invade Normandy in 1230, but ultimately did not end up providing the support that she promised.
In 1244, her rebellions against the French King failed, and her husband, Hugh, was able to make peace with him. However, Isabella was not finished plotting against him. She paid and instructed two royal cooks to poison the French King, but they were apprehended before they could succeed. They confessed to Isabella's involvement, and she fled to Fontevraud Abbey before she could be arrested and imprisoned.
Isabella was able to escape justice, as she would die there soon afterwards of unknown causes.
Rule:
Isabella was not a popular royal consort due to her scheming nature and bad temperament. She would often quarrel with her husband, King John, and always put her own ambitions first.
However, a lot of the time she was guilty by mere association with her husband and perhaps unfairly blamed, as his reign was infamous for its excess and abuse of power.
She was also viewed as a temptress, with stories circulating that she kept John distracted by keeping him in bed with her, distracting him from his royal duties, though this is highly likely to have been untrue.
She possessed no political experience, and was never considered for the role of regent when her son became the king at a young age.
Trivia:
- Before her death, Isabella agreed to be buried outside of the Abbey of her death as penance for her sinful acts.
- Her behaviour towards the end of her life damaged the reputation of her children from her second marriage, and many of them moved to England where they were cared for by their half-brother, King Henry III of England.
Quotes:
N/A
Sources & Further Reading:
Epistolae | Isabel of Angoulême. (n.d.). Epistolae - Columbia University Libraries. https://epistolae.ctl.columbia.edu/woman/71.html
IsabelledAngouleme.jpg - Wikimedia Commons. (2007). Wikimedia.org. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IsabelledAngouleme.jpg
Starbuck, L. (2019). Queens and witchcraft: Isabella of Angouleme - Royal Central. Royal Central. https://royalcentral.co.uk/features/queens-and-witchcraft-isabella-of-angouleme-55244/
Wilkinson, L. (2015). Isabella of Angoulême, wife of King John. Magna Carta Trust 800th Anniversary | Celebrating 800 Years of Democracy. https://magnacarta800th.com/schools/biographies/women-of-magna-carta/isabella-of-angouleme-wife-of-king-john/
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