Isabella of France (9 November 1389 – 13 September 1409) was Queen of England as the wife of Richard II, King of England between 1396 and 1399, and Duchess (consort) of Orléans as the wife of Charles, Duke of Orléans from 1406 until her death in 1409. She had been born a princess of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

as the daughter of

Charles VI, King of France Charles VI (3 December 136821 October 1422), nicknamed the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé) and later the Mad (french: le Fol or ''le Fou''), was King of France from 1380 until his death in 1422. He is known for his mental illness and psychotic ...

Life

Isabella was born on 9 November 1389 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

as the third child and second daughter of

(Charles the Beloved/Charles the Mad) and his wife, Isabeau/Isabelle of Bavaria. Her eldest sibling had already died by the time of her birth, and the second-eldest died the following year, however, she had nine younger siblings, seven of whom survived infancy. Five of her younger siblings were only born after Isabella had already been married off to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and one of them died while she was still there. In 1396 negotiations started about marrying six-year-old Isabella to the widower Richard II, King of England (1367–1400), who was 22 years her senior, to ensure peace between their countries. The fact that she was a child was discussed, but King Richard said that each day would rectify that problem; that it was an advantage as he would then be able to shape her in accordance with his ideal; and that he was young enough to wait. Isabella told the English envoys (who described her as pretty) that she was happy to be Queen of England as she had been told that this would make her a great lady. She also started practising for the role. Isabela richard2

King Richard travelled to Paris for his bride, where great festivities were held. Then, the court and the English guests went to Calais where the wedding ceremony was performed on 31 October 1396, but would not be consummated at least until the bride's twelfth birthday.

Queen of England

After the wedding Isabella went to England with her new husband, where she was moved into

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...

in Berkshire. She had her own court, supervised by a governess and chief lady-in-waiting, Madame de Coucy (later replaced by Lady

Mortimer Mortimer () is an English surname, and occasionally a given name. Norman origins The surname Mortimer has a Norman origin, deriving from the village of Mortemer, Seine-Maritime, Normandy. A Norman castle existed at Mortemer from an early point; ...

). She was crowned Queen of England in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

in 1397. Although their union was an arranged political marriage, and in spite of the age difference, Isabella and Richard developed a mutually respectful relationship. Due to the age of Isabella (the Canonical law for sexual consumation being twelve), the marriage was never sexually consumated. However, Isabella and Richard enjoyed a good platonic relationship, which has been compared to that between a father and his adopted daughter or between a niece and a doting uncle, and he was noted to have treated her not as a wife but rather as the daughter he and his first wife Anne never had. The king regularly visited her in Windsor, where he treated her with respect and entertained her and her ladies-in-waiting with humorous conversation, and pampered her with gifts and toys. Isabella reportedly enjoyed and looked forward to these visits. By May 1399 the Queen had been moved to Portchester Castle for protection while Richard went on a military campaign in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. In June, Isabella's uncle, Louis I, Duke of Orléans (1372–1407) took power in

from her mentally troubled

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

. He decided that a peaceful relationship with France was no longer important or desirable, and let

Henry Bolingbroke Henry IV ( April 1367 – 20 March 1413), also known as Henry Bolingbroke, was King of England from 1399 to 1413. He asserted the claim of his grandfather King Edward III, a maternal grandson of Philip IV of France, to the Kingdom of Fran ...

(1367–1413), Richard's cousin and rival, return to England. Henry's declared goal was to regain the lands of his father, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (1340–1399) who had died in February of that year, prompting King Richard to cancel the act by which Henry would have inherited his lands automatically. Many of England's lords supported Henry, who started a military campaign and took the country without much resistance, taking advantage of Richard being in Ireland.

Edmund of Langley, Duke of York Edmund of Langley, Duke of York (5 June 1341 – 1 August 1402) was the fourth surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. Like many medieval English princes, Edmund gained his nickname from his birthplace: Kings Langle ...

, Keeper of the Realm and an uncle of both Richard and Henry, eventually also sided with the rebels. He moved Isabella first to

Wallingford Castle Wallingford Castle was a major medieval castle situated in Wallingford in the English county of Oxfordshire (historically Berkshire), adjacent to the River Thames. Established in the 11th century as a motte-and-bailey design within an Anglo-Sa ...

, then to

Leeds Castle Leeds Castle is a castle in Kent, England, southeast of Maidstone. It is built on islands in a lake formed by the River Len to the east of the village of Leeds. A castle has existed on the site since 857. In the 13th century, it came into th ...

. On 19 August, Richard surrendered, and he was imprisoned in London on 1 September. On 13 October 1399, Henry was crowned king. Isabella was moved into Sonning Bishop's Palace (residence of the

Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The see is in the City of Salisbury where the bishop's seat ...

) and was placed under house arrest. On or around 14 February 1400 the deposed king died under mysterious circumstances, possibly of starvation. The French court requested that his widow be returned to France, but Henry IV wanted her to marry his son and heir,

Henry of Monmouth Henry V (16 September 1386 – 31 August 1422), also called Henry of Monmouth, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1413 until his death in 1422. Despite his relatively short reign, Henry's outstanding military successes in the Hu ...

(1386–1422). Isabella refused his demands and went into mourning for her late husband. In August 1401 she was finally allowed to return to France, but Henry IV kept her dowry, which she was supposed to get back if the marriage was never consummated. The same year, marriage negotiations were started for a match between Prince Henry and Catherine of Pomerania, Countess Palatine of Neumarkt, instead.

Duchess of Orléans

In 1406, when the marriage negotiations between the prince of Wales and Catherine of Pomerania had been terminated, Henry IV repeated his suggestion that Isabella should marry his son, but was refused by the French court. In 1420, Henry's son married Isabella's sister,

Catherine of Valois Catherine of Valois or Catherine of France (27 October 1401 – 3 January 1437) was Queen of England from 1420 until 1422. A daughter of Charles VI of France, she was married to Henry V of England and gave birth to his heir Henry VI of Englan ...

. On 29 June 1406 Isabella, aged 16, married her paternal cousin, Charles (1394–1465), aged 11, who became Duke of Orléans in 1407 following the assassination of his

. Isabella died in childbirth on 13 September 1409 at the age of 19. Her daughter, Joan of Valois (1409–1432) survived and married

John II, Duke of Alençon John II of Alençon (Jean II d’Alençon) (2 March 1409 – 8 September 1476) was a French nobleman. He succeeded his father as Duke of Alençon and Count of Perche as a minor in 1415, after the latter's death at the Battle of Agincourt. He ...

(1409–1476) in 1424. Isabella was buried in

Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the most populated city of the ...

, in the Abbey of Saint Laumer of Blois, where her body was discovered in 1624, wrapped in bands of linen plated with mercury. Her remains were then transferred to the

Couvent des Célestins The Couvent des Célestins (In English: ''Convent of the Celestines''), was an ancient convent located near the Place de la Bastille in Paris, France, active between 1254 and 1790. It was the second most important burial site for royalty after th ...

(Convent of the Celestines) in

, the second most important burial site for French royalty, which was desecrated during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

Ancestry

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Isabella Of Valois Irish royal consorts 1389 births 1409 deaths French princesses English royal consorts People of the Hundred Years' War House of Valois Ladies of the Garter 15th-century English women People from Sonning Deaths in childbirth Duchesses of Orléans 14th-century French people 15th-century French people 14th-century English people 15th-century English people 14th-century French women 15th-century French women 14th-century English women Richard II of England Daughters of kings Remarried royal consorts Royal reburials