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Birth:          1292 Paris, France
Death:          21 Nov 1358 Hertford Castle, Hertfordshire, England
Burial:         27 Nov 1358 Greyfriars Church, London, England

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_of_France
Isabella of France (1295 – 22 August 1358), sometimes described as the She-Wolf of 
France, was Queen of England as the wife of Edward II, and regent of England from 
1326 until 1330. She was the youngest surviving child and only surviving daughter of 
Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre. Queen Isabella was notable at the time for 
her beauty, diplomatic skills, and intelligence.

Isabella arrived in England at the age of 12[2] during a period of growing conflict 
between the king and the powerful baronial factions. Her new husband was notorious 
for the patronage he lavished on his favourite, Piers Gaveston, but the queen 
supported Edward during these early years, forming a working relationship with Piers 
and using her relationship with the French monarchy to bolster her own authority and 
power. After the death of Gaveston at the hands of the barons in 1312, however, 
Edward later turned to a new favourite, Hugh Despenser the younger, and attempted 
to take revenge on the barons, resulting in the Despenser War and a period of internal 
repression across England. Isabella could not tolerate Hugh Despenser and by 1325 
her marriage to Edward was at a breaking point.

Travelling to France under the guise of a diplomatic mission, Isabella began an affair 
with Roger Mortimer, and the two agreed to depose Edward and oust the Despenser 
family. The Queen returned to England with a small mercenary army in 1326, moving 
rapidly across England. The King's forces deserted him. Isabella deposed Edward, 
becoming regent on behalf of her son, Edward III. Many have believed that Isabella 
then arranged the murder of Edward II. Isabella and Mortimer’s regime began to 
crumble, partly because of her lavish spending, but also because the Queen 
successfully, but unpopularly, resolved long-running problems such as the wars with 
Scotland.

In 1330, Isabella’s son Edward III deposed Mortimer in turn, taking back his authority 
and executing Isabella’s lover. The Queen was not punished, however, and lived for 
many years in considerable style—although not at Edward III’s court—until her death in 
1358. Isabella became a popular "femme fatale" figure in plays and literature over the 
years, usually portrayed as a beautiful but cruel, manipulative figure.
Early life and marriage: 1295–1308[edit]

Isabella was born in Paris on an uncertain date – on the basis of the chroniclers and 
the eventual date of her marriage, she was probably born between May and November 
1295. She is described as born in 1292 in the Annals of Wigmore, and Piers Langtoft 
agrees, claiming that she was 7 years old in 1299. The French chroniclers Guillaume 
de Nangis and Thomas Walsingham describe her as 12 years old at the time of her 
marriage in January 1308, placing her birth between January 1295 and of 1296. A 
papal dispensation by Clement V in November 1305 permitted her immediate marriage 
by proxy, despite the fact that she was probably only 10 years old. Since she had to 
reach the canonical age of 7 before her betrothal in May 1303, and that of 12 before 
her marriage in January 1308, the evidence suggests that she was born between May 
and November 1295.[3] Her parents were King Philip IV of France and Queen Joan I 
of Navarre; her brothers Louis, Philip and Charles became kings of France.

Isabella was born into a royal family that ruled the most powerful state in Western 
Europe. Her father, King Philip, known as "le Bel" (the Fair) because of his good 
looks, was a strangely unemotional man; contemporaries described him as "neither a 
man nor a beast, but a statue";[4] modern historians have noted that he "cultivated a 
reputation for Christian kingship and showed few weaknesses of the flesh".[5] 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. Indeed, he appeared almost obsessed about 
building up wealth and lands, something that his daughter was also accused of in later 
life.[6] Isabella's mother died when Isabella was still quite young; some contemporaries 
suspected Philip IV of her murder, albeit probably incorrectly.[7]

Isabella was brought up in and around the Château du Louvre and the Palais de la 
Cité in Paris.[8] Isabella was cared for by Théophania de Saint-Pierre, her nurse, 
given a good education and taught to read, developing a love of books.[8] As was 
customary for the period, all of Philip's children were married young for political 
benefit. Isabella was promised in marriage by her father to Edward, the infant son of 
King Edward I of England, with the intention to resolve the conflicts between France 
and England over the latter's continental possession of Gascony and claims to Anjou, 
Normandy and Aquitaine.[9] Pope Boniface VIII had urged the marriage as early as 
1298 but was delayed by wrangling over the terms of the marriage contract. The 
English king, Edward I attempted to break the engagement several times for political 
advantage, and only after he died in 1307 did the wedding proceed.

Isabella and Edward II were finally married at Boulogne-sur-Mer on 25 January 1308. 
Isabella's wardrobe gives some indications of her wealth and style – she had gowns 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.[10] At the time of her marriage, Isabella was 
probably about twelve and was described by Geoffrey of Paris as "the beauty of 
beauties... in the kingdom if not in all Europe." This description was probably not 
simply flattery by a chronicler, since both Isabella's father and brothers were 
considered very handsome men by contemporaries, and her husband was to nickname 
her "Isabella the Fair".[10] Isabella was said to resemble her father, and not her 
mother, queen regnant of Navarre, a plump, plain woman.[11] This indicates that 
Isabella was slender and pale-skinned, although the fashion at the time was for 
blonde, slightly full-faced women, and Isabella may well have followed this stereotype 
instead.[12] Throughout her career, Isabella was noted as charming and diplomatic, 
with a particular skill at convincing people to follow her courses of action.[13] 
Unusual for the medieval period, contemporaries also commented on her high 
intelligence.[14]

Queenship[edit]

As queen, the young Isabella faced numerous challenges. Edward was handsome, but 
highly unconventional, possibly forming close romantic attachments to first Piers 
Gaveston and then Hugh Despenser the younger. 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. Using her 
own supporters at court, and the patronage of her French family, Isabella attempted to 
find a political path through these challenges; she successfully formed an alliance 
with Gaveston, but after his death at the hands of the barons her position grew 
increasingly precarious. Edward began to take revenge on his enemies, using an ever 
more brutal alliance with the Despenser family, in particular his new favourite, Hugh 
Despenser the younger. By 1326 Isabella found herself at increasing odds with both 
Edward and Hugh, ultimately resulting in Isabella's own bid for power and the invasion 
of England.[15]
In retirement, 1330–58[edit]

After the coup, Isabella was initially transferred to Berkhamsted Castle,[140] and then 
held under house arrest at Windsor Castle until 1332, when she then moved back to 
her own Castle Rising in Norfolk.[141] 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 her 
lover.[141] Isabella remained extremely wealthy; despite being required to surrender 
most of her lands after losing power,[142] in 1331 she was reassigned a yearly income 
of £3000, which increased to £4000 by 1337.[141] She lived an expensive lifestyle in 
Norfolk, including minstrels, huntsmen, grooms and other luxuries,[143] and was soon 
travelling again around England. In 1342, there were suggestions that she might travel 
to Paris to take part in peace negotiations, but eventually this plan was quashed.[144] 
She was also appointed to negotiate with France in 1348 and was involved in the 
negotiations with Charles II of Navarre in 1358.[145]

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.[146] Joan also 
nursed her just before she died. She doted on her grandchildren, including Edward, 
the Black Prince. She became increasingly interested in religion as she grew older, 
visiting a number of shrines.[147] She remained, however, a gregarious member of the 
court, receiving constant visitors; amongst her particular friends appear to have been 
Roger Mortimer's daughter Agnes Mortimer, Countess of Pembroke, and Roger 
Mortimer's grandson, also called Roger Mortimer, whom Edward III restored to the 
Earldom of March.[148] King Edward and his children often visited her as well.[145] 
She remained interested in Arthurian legends and jewellery; in 1358 she appeared at 
the St George's Day celebrations at Windsor wearing a dress made of silk, silver, 300 
rubies, 1800 pearls and a circlet of gold.[143] She may also have developed an 
interest in astrology or geometry towards the end of her life, receiving various presents 
relating to these disciplines.[149]

Isabella took the habit of the Poor Clares before she died on 22 August 1358 at 
Hertford Castle, and her body was returned to London for burial at the Franciscan 
church at Newgate, in a service overseen by Archbishop Simon Islip.[150] 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. 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.[151]

Cultural depictions[edit]

Main article: Cultural depictions of Isabella of France

Literature and theatre[edit]

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. Thomas Gray, the 
18th-century poet, combined Marlowe's depiction of Isabella with William 
Shakespeare's description of Margaret of Anjou (the wife of Henry VI) as the "She-
Wolf of France", to produce the anti-French poem The Bard (1757), in which Isabella 
rips apart the bowels of Edward II with her "unrelenting fangs".[152] The "She-Wolf" 
epithet stuck, and Bertolt Brecht re-used it in The Life of Edward II of England 
(1923).[152]

Film[edit]

In Derek Jarman's film Edward II (1991), based on Marlowe's play, Isabella is 
portrayed (by actress Tilda Swinton) as a "femme fatale" whose thwarted love for 
Edward causes her to turn against him and steal his throne. In contrast to the 
negative depictions, Mel Gibson's film Braveheart (1995) portrays Isabella (played by 
the French actress Sophie Marceau) more sympathetically. In the film, an adult 
Isabella is fictionally depicted as having a romantic affair with the Scottish hero 
William Wallace. However, in reality, she was nine years old at the time of Wallace's 
death.[153] Additionally, Wallace is incorrectly suggested to be the father of her son, 
Edward III, despite Wallace's death many years before Edward's birth.[154]

Issue[edit]

Edward and Isabella had four children, and she suffered at least one miscarriage. 
Their itineraries demonstrate that they were together 9 months prior to the births of all 
four surviving offspring. Their children were:
1.Edward III, born 1312
2.John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall, born 1316
3.Eleanor of Woodstock, born 1318, married Reinoud II of Guelders
4.Joan of the Tower, born 1321, married David II of Scotland

Parents
CAPET Philippe IV "le Bel" (1268 - 29 Nov 1314)
DE NAVARRE-CHAMPAGNE Joann (Jeanne) (Jan 1271 - 2 Apr 1305)

Siblings
OF FRANCE Isabella (1292 - 21 Nov 1358)

Marriage To ____ Edward II (25 Apr 1284 - 21 Sep 1327)
    m. 25 Jan 1308 Boulogne, France

Notes

Parents
PLANTAGENET Edward I "Longshanks" (17 Jun 1239 - 7 Jul 1307)
OF CASTILE Eleanor (Leonor) (1244 - 28 Nov 1290)

Children by ____ Edward II 25 Apr 1284 - 21 Sep 1327
____ Edward III (13 Nov 1312 - 21 Jun 1377)

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