Isabella of France (c. 1295 – 22 August 1358) was the queen consort of Edward II, whose tumultuous reign ended when Isabella joined with her husband's political rival Roger Mortimer and led an invasion to depose him. This dramatic turn of events prompted historians, writing centuries later, to dub her The She-Wolf of France. More recently, she has been portrayed in fiction as the victim of her Camp Gay, misogynist husband. Neither of these narratives fit the historical record and the truth is far more complicated and interesting, albeit unclear thanks to the misogyny, homophobia and other assorted agendas of past historians.
Early Life:
Isabella was the daughter of Phillip IV of France, and when she was just a toddler she was betrothed to Edward of Caernarfon, the young heir of King Edward I. Her aunt, Marguerite of France, was betrothed to Edward I himself, who was a widower with only one living son. Marguerite went on to have three children with Edward I, who was forty years her senior, and she served as a go-between between the irascible old king and his son and heir. She even appears to have socialized with Prince Edward's circle of lively friends, who were close in age to her. It was Marguerite who accompanied Edward I on his Scottish campaign and centuries later became conflated with her niece by the screenwriter of Braveheart.
Isabella herself stayed in France, where even as a little girl, she was referred to as the Queen of England. A few months after his father died, Edward II journeyed to France and married the twelve-year-old Isabella in a lavish ceremony, and the couple were crowned together when they returned to England. While there's little if no truth to the story that Edward gave his wedding jewels to his favorite Piers Gaveston and insulted his bride note , it is true that he gave Gaveston a place of honor at the coronation that alienated her family and his barons.
Thanks in part to Christopher Marlowe's fictionalized play and the outright fantastical Braveheart, people presume Edward II and Isabella of France were miserably married from the jump, but this is false. While it's true the Edward II was very close to Gaveston, this did not preclude the young royal couple from having a happy marriage, eventually and for a time.
She was twelve years old at the time of their wedding, and this was considered too young for consummation. Edward was in his early twenties and a grown man. Much has been made of his lack of sexual interest in his bride, but her age made any sexual interest in her taboo, then or now. This put the couple in an awkward position, with the adult husband having to wait four years until his child bride was old enough to be a wife in any true sense, sexual or otherwise. Edward seems to have kept his distance during this time, spending time with Gaveston but also fathering his illegitimate son, Adam.
Middle Period:
Isabella gave birth to the future Edward III somewhere near her seventeenth birthday. This indicates her husband did wait until she was considered old enough before having sex with her and getting her pregnant. Historian Kathryn Warner points out, however, that the baby was probably conceived during Lent, a time when Edward II had a convenient excuse to avoid sex if he had wanted. The couple would have had to confess this sin, and given their obligation to create an heir, one presumes absolution was readily given.
After their first son's birth, Edward and Isabella visited France and their carnality was observed and remarked upon by French chroniclers. A famous incident occurred during this trip when the couple’s pavilion tent caught fire in the night, and the couple emerged completely naked. When she ran back to gather her belongings, Edward rescued her and tended to her burns personally. Additionally, they were seen being affectionate with each other and he missed a meeting with her father because they overslept.
The couple went on to have four children, and she may have had at least one miscarriage. Despite the lurid imaginings of Historical Fiction writers, there is zero evidence that anyone but Edward II was the father of these children. They exchanged affectionate letters and gifts, including velvet cushions he sent her during one of her pregnancies. He also became furious when he heard that the room where she was giving birth to one of the children had a roof leak. He often wrote letters to her using the nickname Isabeau the Fair.
This moniker was not just kindness, either. She is repeatedly referred to as beautiful, slender and fair in both English and French chronicles, even when she is being criticized. In fiction, she is often portrayed with dark hair, given her sometimes reputation as a Femme Fatale, but her true coloring is unknown.
It's also very unlikely Isabella would have ever risked having a non-royal child. She is rumored to have been the one who revealed an affair her brothers' wives were having with their knights, leading to the women's banishment and the men's gruesome execution. If she did do this, it was likely because she was protecting the royal bloodline, something she had been raised to think was sacred. She also more than once refused to pay court or homage to people who were not royal and beneath her in rank. note
Breakdown of Marriage and Rebellion:
Once Isabella became the mother of the heir to the throne and in the aftermath of the death of Edward's favorite, Piers Gaveston, Edward II and Isabella developed a strong political partnership and worked together for a decade. However, when Edward became reliant on another favorite, Hugh Despenser the Younger, his relationship with Isabella broke down. Edward was not only very close to Hugh Despenser the Younger, but his father Hugh Despenser the Elder and the younger's wife, Eleanor De Clare, who was Edward II's niece. This family trio alienated Edward II not only from Isabella, but most of his other supporters, including Roger Mortimer, who eventually made a daring escape from the Tower of London and fled to France.
Isabella came to absolutely despise Hugh Despenser the Younger, and she begged her husband to exile him. Edward II did, but he brought him back soon after. As this was all happening, tensions were rising with France. Edward II did not want to pay homage to Isabella's brother, which was required by treaty, so he sent Isabella and his young heir, Edward of Windsor to do it for him. This was the biggest mistake of Edward II's life.
Edward II explicitly ordered his wife to stay away from Roger Mortimer, which she did not do. The pair met up in France and formed a bond that has long been rumored to have been romantic. While there is no doubt they were close, whether Mortimer and Isabella, both of whom were married to other people, had a physical relationship is debatable. It is more likely they engaged in a non-sexual, courtly love affair. Whatever the case, the pair mounted a successful invasion, forced Edward II to abdicate and they crowned her fourteen-year-old son Edward III.
While the former Edward II was in captivity, she sent him affectionate letters and gifts and checked-in on his welfare. She may have even wanted to visit her husband, but the council forbid it. When she heard he had died, she requested his heart be sent to her so she could eventually be buried with it, which was a romantic gesture in the Middle Ages. She also requested to be buried in the clothes she wore at her wedding, which she eventually was. All of this indicates she wasn't the bitter, vindictive She-Wolf of popular imagination and at the very least, her feelings about her husband and former king were complex.
Isabella and Mortimer acted as a Ruling Couple but how much power she had is unclear. She certainly had some influence, but she was by no means completely in charge. Unfortunately for the two of them, Isabella and Mortimer were not much of an improvement over the hated Despensers and alienated many of their former supporters. Mortimer also showed a stunning amount of condescension toward the young King Edward III, which proved the older man's doom.
Seventeen-year-old Edward III rounded up some of his buddies, and they captured Mortimer and imprisoned his mother, who tearfully begged for Mortimer's life to no avail. Edward III had Mortimer hung, and he went on to be one of the greatest rulers in English history.
How much power Isabella had with respect to the invasion and toppling of her husband is an open question. Mortimer certainly could not have pulled it off without her royal credibility, but she would likely have not been able to pull it off without a powerful man at her side.
Later Life:
Contrary to popular portrayals, Edward III did not lock his mother in a nunnery or even keep her imprisoned for long. She eventually returned to court life as the king’s honored mother, and she even engaged in some diplomatic activities. As she aged, she went on pilgrimages, visited her late husband’s grave, kept a pet falcon and doted on her grandchildren. In later life, she was particularly close with her daughter Joan, who was eventually buried next to her. Alas, her feelings about her dramatic reign as queen consort, or the two powerful men she may have loved, are not recorded.
Portrayals of Isabella of France in Fiction
- The Accursed Kings: Isabella is portrayed very much as a victim of her weak, uninterested husband and embarks on a passionate love affair with Roger Mortimer.
- Braveheart: Much has been made about the wild inaccuracies with respect to both Isabella and Edward. Despite his many faults, he was not the Sissy Villain, Royal Brat of the film, and she was a small child in France during its events. She never met Edward I or William Wallace and all of her children were her husband's. However, the portrayal of her in the film may well be a Composite Character with her aunt, Marguerite of France. The beautiful and vivacious Marguerite, the much younger wife of Edward I, was in England and Scotland during the events of the film and could have plausibly met Wallace although there is no evidence she did so, much less engaged in an affair with him. Also, Marguerite and Edward II seemed to have gotten along quite well when he was heir, with him sending her many affectionate letters and gifts.
- Edward II: Is treated quite sympathetically in the play, though it inaccurately portrays her as being in love with Roger Mortimer from early in her marriage.
- A Song of Ice and Fire: Both Daenerys Targaryen and Cersei Lannister have some of Isabella's cultural DNA, although George R. R. Martin was far more inspired by her She-Wolf reputation than the real facts of her life. Isabella did, however, flee to the continent, only to lead a successful invasion of England. She also spent some time unhappily married to an unsuccessful king. But unlike her fictional counterparts (in their television iteration), Isabella died in her bed.
- World Without End: In Ken Follett's novel and in the miniseries adaption, she is in full She-Wolf, Woman Scorned mode and serves as a villain.