 |
| Illustration in the Psalter of Queen Isabella of England (c. 1308) |
Birth name: Isabelle de Capétiens
Born: c. 1295, Paris, Royal Domain, Kingdom of France
Father: King Philip IV of France 'The Fair'
Mother: Queen Joan I of Navarre
House: Capet
Nationality: French
Religion: Catholicism
Consort of: Edward II
Reign: 25 January 1308 - 25 January 1327 (19 years)
Coronation: 25 February 1308
Predecessor: Margaret of France
Successor: Philippa of Hainault
Died: 22 August 1358 (aged 63), Newgate, Middlesex, Kingdom of England
Cause: *Unknown*
Burial: Christ Church Greyfriars
Motto: N/A
Spouse(s):
- King Edward II of England (m. 1308 - 1327)
Children:
- With King Edward II of England
- King Edward III of England (1312 - 1377)
- Prince John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall (1316 - 1336)
- Princess Eleanor of Woodstock, Countess of Guelders (1318 - 1355)
- Joan, Queen of Scotland (1321 - 1362)
During her life, she was considered as one of the most beautiful women in all of Europe. She was pale, slender, and likely had blonde hair.
She would frequently decorate herself in jewels and gemstones and wear a variety of bright, bold colours.
Character:
Isabella was incredibly tenacious and ambitious throughout her life. She refused to allow her husband to toss her aside as he so often did, to a point where she even rose up in rebellion against him, successfully deposing him as King of England.
She was very intelligent, and always able to rally people to support her cause, displaying a great degree of charm. She was also able to command troops and successfully hold castles under siege, as well as rule as regent after she defeated her husband.
She was also able to make a generous living for herself, increasing her wealth throughout her life.
Isabella enjoyed fine clothes and jewellery, but was also academically gifted, enjoying subjects such as reading, astrology and geometry.
Towards the end of her life, she became increasingly devoted to Christianity and became a loving grandmother.
Biography:
Isabella was born some time around 1295 in Paris, Kingdom of France. She was the sixth of seven children born to King Philip IV of France, and Queen Joan I of Navarre, and came from the powerful House of Capet.
Her mother would die while she was still a young child, and her father was even rumoured to have murdered her, though this likely isn't true. She mainly grew up in the care of her nurse in Paris, and received an excellent education.
While she was still young, a marriage contract between her and the future King Edward II of England was created in order to resolve French and English land disputes. However, the current King Edward I of England would often attempt to break this betrothal in favour of a more politically advantageous marriage for his son, but he would die before he could succeed in this.
As a result, Isabella married Edward II in 1308, when she was roughly around 12 years old, while her new husband was 24. He would nickname her 'Isabella the Fair', and as soon as they were married, Isabella became the Queen Consort of England. Both she and Edward would go on to have four children together.
For the most part, Isabella's marriage and time in England was not a happy one. Her husband would be infamous for his male favourites, and he may have even been homosexual or bisexual, and possibly had an affair with some of them. One favourite in particular was Piers Gaveston, and Isabella would frequently express her jealousy, often citing that he was treated more like a royal consort than she was.
Edward II's behaviour was viewed as extremely offensive by the French, and the King of France had to order Edward to spend more time with his wife. She also complained that Edward preferred Gaveston's bed to hers. Even at their wedding, Edward chose to sit next to Gaveston instead of his new wife. Isabella very much disliked Gaveston as a result, but eventually appeared to learn to deal with his presence.
During her husband's reign, he was frequently at war with Scotland, and Isabella would join him on his campaigns. The two of them were even nearly captured in 1311 after a failed attack.
England broke out into civil war after this, and Isabella attempted to rouse support for her husband, and supported him as best as she could. Gaveston was executed by the rebelling barons, and a new male favourite rose to prominence in the English court, Hugh Despenser the Younger.
Isabella would travel to France with Edward in order to garner support from her family, and during the journey, she would be injured when her tent caught fire. She would then become embroiled in family drama when she noticed two purses she had given her sisters-in-law were now in possession of Norman knights, thus she concluded that they must have been cheating on her brothers. She reported this to her father, and her sisters-in-law would be imprisoned for the rest of their lives, and Isabella's role in this would decrease her popularity.
The reign of Edward II kept growing increasingly unpopular, and all of England's defeats at the hands of Scotland, as well as the Great Famine of 1315 - 1317, were blamed on divine intervention and viewed as proof that Edward was not in God's favour.
Isabella would also once again nearly be captured by King Robert I of Scotland, and it was widely believed that she had been betrayed by some of her husband's knights.
Tensions between Isabella and Hugh Despenser also increased around this time, and the two of them would frequently clash. The Despenser family were also very unpopular with the people of England, and they praised Isabella when she publicly begged her husband to exile them in order to prevent further wars from breaking out.
However, this would only merely delay what was to come.
Though the Despenser family were exiled, they were very quickly allowed to return to England. Hugh Despenser encouraged Edward's increasingly harsh rule of the kingdom, and even imprisoned and executed some of Isabella's close friends.
As a result, Isabella's relationship with her husband began to deteriorate. He would no longer send her gifts and share the spoils of war with her, and it's possible that Hugh had attempted to assault her at one point. Edward's continued war in Scotland would once again place her in danger. While travelling north, Isabella became cut off from the rest of England by Scottish and Flemish troops. She requested aid from her husband, but he would only send the Despensers to her rescue, who she would refuse help from.
Instead, Isabella was forced to escape using her own wit, and with the help of her own knights and servants. In the process, two of her ladies-in-waiting would be killed in their escape attempt. Luckily, Isabella was able to evade Scottish troops, but would blame her husband and his male favourite for her near capture and deaths of her friends.
By 1322, Isabella formally separated from Edward II and travelled England alone. As tensions grew between England and France once again, her lands would be confiscated, and her French staff members were imprisoned by order of the Despenser family. The final straw then came when her children were removed from her custody, and placed under the care of the Despensers.
The opportunity for revenge quickly rose up when she was sent to France to negotiate with her brother, King Charles IV of France, alongside her eldest son, Prince Edward, who had been sent to pay homage to the French King for Edward II's land ownership in Aquitaine and Gascony. It was while on this trip that Isabella began an affair with Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, and began to plot against her husband.
Isabella was able to easily gain many allies due to her charm and intellect, as well as due to the fact that by this point, Edward II had become deeply unpopular. In exchange for support from the County of Hainault in the Low Countries, Isabella negotiated a betrothal between her eldest son and heir, Prince Edward, and Lady Philippa of Hainault, daughter of the Count of Hainault.
Edward II was able to gain intel regarding the planned invasion and rebellion, and sent a fleet to intercept them. However, Isabella's forces were able to evade them and landed back in England. Local forces immediately switched to Isabella's side against Edward, and the powerful Earls of both Norfolk and Lancaster joined her forces. Isabella marched on London where she was welcomed by the citizens who viewed her as a liberator from Edward II's tyranny.
The majority of the country fell into anarchy as Edward and Hugh fled. A few of Edward's supporters that had remained were attacked and killed by mobs. Meanwhile, Isabella and her forces chased Edward across the country, briefly stopping to lay siege to Bristol where she was able to rescue her daughters, who had been placed under the custody of the Despensers.
Both Edward and Hugh attempted to set sail and flee even further, but strong winds blew their ship back onto Welsh land. Isabella officially sent out a warrant for her husband's and Despenser's arrest, and the two of them were finally captured.
In the aftermath, many of Edward II's supporters were brought before Isabella and they were sentenced to be executed. The execution of Hugh Despenser the Younger, Isabella's arch rival, was especially brutal, with huge crowds gathering to watch his demise. They mobbed him, stripped him, and carved Bible verses against corruption into his skin. They then dragged him through London, and Isabella watched on as he was castrated, hanged, drawn, and then quartered. However, Isabella did show mercy to some of Edward II's lesser supporters, and pardoned them.
During all of this, although he had been arrested and imprisoned, Edward II still remained King of England, as well as Isabella's husband. He would remain a rallying point for any future rebellions and could be fully reinstated at any time, placing her in a very precarious position. She summoned a council to discuss the fate of her husband, and they all agreed that he should be deposed as monarch and imprisoned for the rest of his life. Isabella's son, Edward, was proclaimed King Edward III of England, though while he remained a minor, Isabella would rule England as regent. Edward II agreed to abdicate after being pressured and blackmailed into doing so, but as long as he remained alive, Isabella's regime would remain under threat.
In late 1327, Edward II disappeared and was declared dead. The manner of his disappearance and death remains a mystery, with the most common rumour being that he was murdered by being sodomised with a red hot poker, though this remains up for debate. It is very much possible that he was murdered on the orders of Isabella.
Isabella would continue to rule as regent for the next four years, alongside her lover, Roger Mortimer. During this time, Isabella accumulated a large amount of wealth, as well as land. While her son and new daughter-in-law were officially crowned the new King and Queen of England, she refused to relinquish her titles and lands to her daughter-in-law, Queen Philippa. Isabella also granted herself a very lavish lifestyle. However, she was also able to successfully end the war with Scotland.
As her reign as regent continued, her previous allies began to break away from her, and rebellions began against her. People began to question her rule, and rumours also circulated that Edward II was still alive, therefore still making him the rightful King of England. Isabella was able to quickly execute these conspirators though.
By 1330, Isabella's son, King Edward III, had become old enough to rule in his own right, and became increasingly suspicious of Mortimer. There were even rumours that Isabella was pregnant with Mortimer's child. Edward III believed that Mortimer may have been plotting against him, and eventually, both Isabella and Mortimer were arrested and investigated for treason.
While Isabella was mainly regarded as innocent, Mortimer was not so lucky. Isabella begged her son to show him mercy as he took full control of the English government, but the only mercy he showed was allowing Mortimer a quick death via beheading, rather than the typical punishment of being hanged, drawn, and quartered.
Meanwhile, Isabella would remain under house arrest, and may have suffered a nervous breakdown during this period.
Eventually, Isabella was allowed to travel again, as well as keep her wealth.
She would occasionally continue to play a diplomatic role in her son's new government, particularly in negotiations with France. She sheltered her daughter, Princess Joan, after she had fled from her husband, King David II of Scotland, after he was repeatedly unfaithful towards her. Isabella would also go on to become a loving and devoted grandmother, and began to enjoy a close and happy family life, in stark contrast with the chaos she had originally experienced with her husband and children.
Her daughter Joan would help nurse her as she grew older, and Isabella began to follow the lifestyle of a nun.
Isabella eventually died in 1358 of unknown causes.
Rule:
Her time as consort was incredibly tumultuous. She was often side-lined in favour of her husband's male favourites who would often assume her role within the English court, and even wear her jewels reserved for the consort. However, Isabella refused to remain passive in all of this and enlisted the help of her allies, particularly in France, in order to gain the respect and authority that was rightfully hers.
One could argue that the overthrow of her husband goes against everything a consort is supposed to do (supporting the monarch), but Edward II had become so unpopular that nobody was really sorry to see this happen.
In her time as regent, she increased the crown's wealth, though her lavish spending would lead to her becoming unpopular. Her affair with Mortimer, and his grip on power, was also unpopular.
She was able to bring an end to England's war with Scotland, though the means through which she did so were also not popular.
Trivia:
- She was buried alongside the heart of her husband, Edward II.
Quotes:
N/A
Sources & Further Reading:
Isabella of France | Biography & Facts. (n.d.). In Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Isabella-of-France
Kelly, L. (2023). Isabella of France. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/Isabella_of_France/
La reine en prière, entourée des armes de France et d'Angleterre.png - Wikimedia Commons. (2023). Wikimedia.org. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:La_reine_en_pri%C3%A8re,_entour%C3%A9e_des_armes_de_France_et_d%27Angleterre.png
Strickland, A., & Strickland, E. (2010). ISABELLA OF FRANCE, SURNAMED THE FAIR, QUEEN OF EDWARD II. Lives of the Queens of England, 471–542. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511736414.013
No comments:
Post a Comment