The history of Europe’s greatest royal houses is fascinating and amazing. And it is surprising, first of all, by the intricacies of the fates of persons and states, intrigues and secrets. And the life of Isabella Valois, Queen of England - is no exception.
Capetings and Valois: the beginning of a new dynasty
When the last of the heirs of Philip IV the Beautiful died, the Kapeting clan was interrupted. The grandson of Philip the Beautiful, Edward III, the son of the daughter of Philip the Beautiful and English King Edward II, was torn to the French throne. However, the French, who did not want to see an Englishman on their throne, elected Philippe Valois, the nephew of Philip IV of Capeting, to the throne. Including because of this, a war broke out between France and England, which lasted a hundred years and was called the Centennial.
Origin history
Isabella was born in France, in the Louvre, on November 9, 1387 (according to some sources - 1389) and was the second child in the family of the French king Charles VI the Mad and his wife Isabella of Bavaria. The years of life of Isabella Valois fell on the difficult period of the Hundred Years War. She had older brothers and sister, but they died in infancy.
The father of the French Princess Isabella, Charles VI, was in power for a short time, as a severe mental illness brought him into a state of insanity for several years of rule in the midst of fierce internecine wars. In fact, in France during his lifetime, Isabella of Bavaria and his cousin Louis of Orleans ruled.
Young princess Isabella Valois was pretty, smart and charming. Mother instilled in her exquisite manners. Since there were no complaints about her pure origin, it was Isabella who was elected as a wife to the king of England.
Queen of England
At the age of nine, Isabella of France was married to Richard II and lived with him until his mysterious death in 1400. At that time, Richard was 29 years old, and marriage with Isabella was the second for him.
The coronation of Isabella Valois, as the Queen of the English state, took place on January 8, 1397 in Windsor Castle, where she later lived. The wedding was played a few months earlier (in October or November) in Calais. The meeting of the spouses was attended by 400 knights on each side. The newlyweds arrived at the meeting, accompanied by their uncles.
The bride was given a considerable dowry - 800 thousand francs in gold, although 120 thousand were promised. The marriage was concluded for important political reasons, beneficial to both powers: to extend the armistice in the Hundred Years War. However, the newlyweds had a mutual genuine sympathy. Perhaps Richard had paternal feelings for the young queen.
In 1399, Isabella moved from Windsor to Wallingford, and her husband was away from his young wife - in the war with Ireland.
In the same year, Heinrich Bolingbroke plotted, during which Richard was lured to his homeland, where he was captured, deposed and imprisoned in the Tower. Isabella managed to escape, but then was arrested and exiled to the village of Sonning as the dowager queen - by then her husband had already passed away. Isabella Valois was robbed of all her jewels, deprived of her French retinue and kept under lock and key.
The new king, Henry IV, or rather, the very same Lord Bolingbroke, refused to return her to France, hoping to marry his son, but received a refusal on the condition of leaving the dowry in the English treasury, nevertheless released her to her homeland, to France.
Return and Finale
Some time after returning to France, Isabella married her cousin Karl of Orleans, a military commander and one of the greatest poets of France, who had shortly before lost his father, who was allegedly killed by decree of the political rival of the Duke of Burgundy.
It should be noted that the clan of the Duke of Orleans at and after the death of Charles VI laid claim to the royal throne in the same way as the clan of the Dukes of Burgundy. Both those and others searched in the English king for an ally. However, their aspirations were not destined to come true, because after long attempts the young Dauphin Karl, son of Charles VI and brother of Isabella, ascended the throne.
They had a daughter, Jeanne, after which in 1409 Isabella of England died. At that time she was only 21 years old. The widower did not long mourn the death of her young wife and soon married again. And this marriage was not the last. And Jeanne, who inherited Navarre, was also successfully married - to Jean V de Valois, Duke of Alanson, a member of the Royal Council of France, a major military leader during the Hundred Years War.