Her father, King Philip, known as "le Bel" (the Fair) because of his good looks, was a strangely unemotional man; one contemporary described him as "neither a man nor a beast, but a statue";[7] modern historians have noted that he "cultivated a reputation for Christian kingship and showed few weaknesses of the flesh". Isabella arrived in England at the age of 12[2] during a period of growing conflict between the king and the powerful baronial factions. 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. 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. Edward III initially opposed this policy, before eventually relenting,[121] leading to the Treaty of Northampton. [3], Isabella's husband Edward, as the Duke of Aquitaine, owed homage to the King of France for his lands in Gascony. [110], Isabella and Mortimer ruled together for four years, with Isabella's period as regent marked by the acquisition of huge sums of money and land. Isabella was born in Paris in somewhere between 1288 an 1296, the daughter of King Philip IV of France and Queen Jeanne of Navarre, and the sister of three French kings. Rapidly retreating south with the Despensers, Edward failed to grasp the situation, with the result that Isabella found herself and her household cut off from the south by the Scottish army, with the coastline patrolled by Flemish naval forces allied to the Scots. 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. Isabella ruled as regent until 1330, when her son, Edward deposed Mortimer in turn and ruled directly in his own right. Isabella lands in England Her feelings toward Edward hardened from this point, at the end of 1322, Isabella left the court on a ten month pilgrimage around England. The big debate: was Edward II really murdered? Isabella of France (c. 1295 - August 22, 1358), known as the She-Wolf of France, [1] was the Queen consort of Edward II of England and mother of Edward III. [86] On 22 September, Isabella, Mortimer and their modest force set sail for England. When her brother, King Charles IV of France, seized Edward's French possessions in 1325, she returned to France, initially as a delegate of the King charged with negotiating a peace treaty between the two nations. Her aunt Marguerite of France, second queen of Edward I, was also buried here, and so, four years later, was Isabellas daughter Joan of the Tower, queen of Scotland. Secondly, the Gascon situation, still unresolved from Edward II's reign, also posed an issue. 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. An eyewitness to the royal couples extended visit to Isabellas homeland from May to July 1313 stated that Edward loved Isabella, and that the reason for his arriving late for a meeting with Isabellas father Philip IV was because the royal couple had overslept after their night-time dalliances. [36] Isabella and Edward then returned to England with new assurances of French support against the English barons. He escaped death but was subjected to a colossal fine, effectively crippling his power. Edward found himself at odds with the barons, too, in particular his first cousin Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, whilst continuing the war against the Scots that he had inherited from Edward I. Isabellas first interventions in politics were conciliatory. Edward was still unwilling to travel to France to give homage; the situation in England was febrile; there had been an assassination plot against Edward and Hugh Despenser in 1324the famous magician John of Nottingham had been hired to kill the pair using necromancyand criminal gangs were occupying much of the country. However, contemporary chroniclers made much of his close affinity with a succession of male favourites. A child of Mortimer's with royal blood would have proved both politically inconvenient for Isabella, and challenging to Edward's own position.[137]. Isabella was only thirteen when she married and Edward probably avoided sleeping with her because of her youth in the beginning of the marriage. With tensions between England and France reaching boiling point, Isabella was sent as an ambassador to the French court to negotiate with her brother. British author, philosopher, and statesman. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). [8] Philip built up centralised royal power in France, engaging in a sequence of conflicts to expand or consolidate French authority across the region, but remained chronically short of money throughout his reign. The king finally gained his revenge on Lancaster 10 years later when he had him beheaded for treason in March 1322. Isabella therefore had no choice but to remain in France. [129], By the end of 1328 the situation had descended into near civil war once again, with Lancaster mobilising his army against Isabella and Mortimer. But if she prefers to remain here, she is my sister and I refuse to expel her." The only French territory left to the English was Calais which they held until 1558 and the Channel Islands . [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. In 1327, Edward and Isabella's son acceded to the throne . In March 1325, Edward sent her to France to negotiate a peace settlement with her brother, which she did successfully. Edward tried ordering her to return, but she claimed to fear for her life at the hands of the Despensers. Princess Isabella of France was married at the age of 12 to Prince Edward II of England. 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. However, in reality, she was nine years old at the time of Wallace's death. [108] Ian Mortimer, focusing more on contemporary documents from 1327 itself, argues that Roger de Mortimer engineered a fake "escape" for Edward from Berkeley Castle; after this Edward was kept in Ireland, believing he was really evading Mortimer, before finally finding himself free, but politically unwelcome, after the fall of Isabella and Mortimer. Isabella effectively separated from Edward from here onwards, leaving him to live with Hugh Despenser. He was a "warlord" who conquered England for himself, and crowned himself king. In 1321, denied entrance to Leeds Castle on some pretext, she ordered her escort to force the gate and when they failed insisted on her husband having the castle taken by storm and thirteen of the garrison hanged on the spot. [43] In 1320, Isabella accompanied Edward to France, to try and convince her brother, Philip V, to provide fresh support to crush the English barons. [citation needed], Edward II's subsequent fate, and Isabella's role in it, remains hotly contested by historians. Gaveston eventually returned from Ireland, and by 130911, the three seemed to be co-existing together relatively comfortably. [49] Isabella's attempts, though heavily praised by the English, had very little impact and she had no lasting effect as a mediator for foreign or domestic affairs. 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. Isabella was committed to bringing this issue to a conclusion by diplomatic means. A point born out by Mortimer, 2004, p. 140. [92] Isabella and Mortimer now had an effective alliance with the Lancastrian opposition to Edward, bringing all of his opponents into a single coalition. Isabella sailed for France in 1325 to settle a long-standing dispute over Gascony. They dragged him from his horse, stripped him, and scrawled Biblical verses against corruption and arrogance on his skin. He was the future Edward III, king of England from January 1327 until June 1377. [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. Some months later, Edward made a fatal error. [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. There are, however, various historical interpretations of the events surrounding this basic sequence of events. [82] They also shared a common enemythe regime of Edward II and the Despensers. Tensions grew when she outrightly refused to take an oath of loyalty to the Despensers. [16] Throughout her career, Isabella was noted as charming and diplomatic, with a particular skill at convincing people to follow her courses of action. Some believe that Isabella then arranged the murder of Edward II. [128] In a move guaranteed to appeal to domestic opinion, Isabella also decided to pursue Edward III's claim on the French throne, sending her advisers to France to demand official recognition of his claim. He was tall, athletic, and wildly popular at the beginning of his reign. By mid-1330, Isabella and Mortimer's regime was increasingly insecure, and Isabella's son, Edward III, was growing frustrated at Mortimer's grip on power. This was then confirmed at the next parliament, dominated by Isabella and Mortimer's followers. She refused to return. In an attempt at peace . [25] Edward also gave Gaveston Isabella's own jewelry, which he wore publicly. In contrast to the negative depictions, Mel Gibson's film Braveheart (1995) portrays Isabella (played by the French actress Sophie Marceau) more sympathetically. Instead, she began a relationship with her husband's deadliest enemy, the English baron Roger Mortimer. Isabella was sent into retirement. Isabella was portrayed as an innocent bystander during the proceedings,[142] and no mention of her sexual relationship with Mortimer was made public. [159], Edward and Isabella had four children, and she suffered at least one miscarriage. [46] Whilst Isabella had been able to work with Gaveston, Edward's previous favourite, it became increasingly clear that Hugh the Younger and Isabella could not work out a similar compromise. [45] The Despensers were bitter enemies of Lancaster, and, with Edward's support, began to increase their power base in the Welsh Marches, in the process making enemies of Roger Mortimer de Chirk and his nephew, Roger Mortimer of Wigmore, their rival Marcher Lords. 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. In 1348, there were suggestions that she might travel to Paris to take part in peace negotiations, but eventually this plan was quashed. [78] Mortimer and Isabella may have begun a physical relationship from December 1325 onwards. Weir 2006, p. 154; see Mortimer, 2004 pp. [26] Isabella complained to her father that Gaveston took her place next to Edward II, she received insufficient funds and Edward visited Gaveston's bed more than hers. By entering your details, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy. [114] Isabella soon awarded herself another 20,000, allegedly to pay off foreign debts. Their rule effected the permanent union of . 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. [60] Worse still, later in the year Isabella was caught up in the failure of another of Edward's campaigns in Scotland, in a way that permanently poisoned her relationship with both Edward and the Despensers. Her father gave financial support to the anti-Gaveston faction at the English court through Isabella and her household, which eventually led to Edward being forced to banish him to Ireland for a brief period. Edward IIIs first child a son, Edward of Woodstock was born on 15 June 1330 when he was 17, and the king was already chafing under the tutelage of his mother and her despised favourite Mortimer. Isabella gathered an army to oppose Edward, in alliance with Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, whom she may have taken as a lover. [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. [31] The campaign was a disaster, and although Edward escaped, Gaveston found himself stranded at Scarborough Castle, where his baronial enemies surrounded and captured him. [12] Pope Boniface VIII had urged the marriage as early as 1298 but it was delayed by wrangling over the terms of the marriage contract. Indeed, he appeared almost obsessed about building up wealth and lands, something that his daughter was also accused of in later life. Edward attempted to quash the Scots in a fresh campaign in 1314, resulting in the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Bannockburn. Edward began to send urgent messages to the Pope and to Charles IV, expressing his concern about his wife's absence, but to no avail. In her old age she joined an order of nuns, the . Isabella left England for France in 1325. Despenser was then condemned to hang as a thief, be castrated, and then to be drawn and quartered as a traitor, his quarters to be dispersed throughout England. [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. [citation needed], Three recent historians, however, have offered an alternative interpretation of events. 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. By March of 1326, the English had heard that Isabella had taken a lover, Roger Mortimer. In 1325, she was sent to her homeland to negotiate a peace settlement between her husband and her brother Charles IV, king of France. Joined there by her son, the future Edward III, she announced her refusal to return to England until the Despensers were removed from court. [14] Isabella was said to resemble her father, and not her mother, queen regnant of Navarre, a plump, plain woman. [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. Despite Lancaster's defeat, however, discontent continued to grow. Isabella of France (1292-1358) Queen consort of Edward II of England (1308-27), daughter of Philip IV of France. [13] It took the intervention of Isabella's father, Philip IV, before Edward began to provide for her more appropriately.[25]. 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. Using her own supporters at court and the patronage of her French family, Isabella attempted to find a political path through these challenges. In the 1320s, however, Edwards new favourites, the Despensers, aroused her antagonism. House of Capet. In 1313, Isabella travelled to Paris with Edward to garner further French support, which resulted in the Tour de Nesle affair. 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. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The Despensers were executed and Edward was forced to abdicatehis eventual fate and possible murder remains a matter of considerable historical debate. Isabella deposed Edward, becoming regent on behalf of her young son, Edward III. [62] Isabella was furious, both with Edward for, from her perspective, abandoning her to the Scots, and with Despensers for convincing Edward to retreat rather than sending help. [74] Isabella surrounded herself with mostly exiles, among them her rumored lover Roger Mortimer. Hugh Despenser the Younger was sentenced to be brutally executed on 24 November, and a huge crowd gathered in anticipation at seeing him die. Edward III, byname Edward of Windsor, (born November 13, 1312, Windsor, Berkshire, Englanddied June 21, 1377, Sheen, Surrey), king of England from 1327 to 1377, who led England into the Hundred Years' War with France. Isabella's son, Prince Edward, was confirmed as Edward III of England, with his mother appointed regent. Henry's daughter, Juana took the throne after Henry's death in 1474 . [90] The local levies mobilised to stop them immediately changed sides, and by the following day Isabella was in Bury St Edmunds and shortly afterwards had swept inland to Cambridge.