Princess Isabella the Fair Capet de France

  General Notes:

Born: 1292, Paris, France
Marriage: Edward II of Caernarvon on 25 Jan 1308 in Boulogne Cathedral, France
Died: 23 Aug 1358, Castle Rising, Norfolk, England at age 66
General Notes:
Queen consort of Edward II of England, who played a principal part in the deposition of the King in 1327.

Princess of FranceThe daughter of Philip IV the Fair of France, Isabella was married to Edward on Jan. 25, 1308, at Boulogne. Isabella's first interventions in politics were conciliatory. During the height of the influence of the King's favourite Piers Gaveston and after Gaveston's murder in 1312, she attempted to promote peace between Edward and the barons. In the 1320s, however, Edward's new favourites, the Despensers, aroused her antagonism. Isabella sailed for France in 1325 to settle a long-standing dispute over Gascony. Joined there by her son, the future Edward III, she announced her refusal to return to England until the Despensers were removed from court. She became the mistress of Roger Mortimer of Wigmore and with Mortimer and other baronial exiles crossed to Essex in 1326 and routed the forces of Edward and the Despensers.After the accession of Edward III (1327) Isabella and Mortimer enjoyed a brief period of influence until 1330 when the young king asserted his independence by the arrest and execution of Mortimer. Isabella was sent into retirement. In her old age she joined an order of nuns, the Poor Clares.
Noted events in her life were:
• She was a Queen consort.
Isabella married Edward II of Caernarvon, son of Edward I of England and Eleanor of Castile, on 25 Jan 1308 in Boulogne Cathedral, France. (Edward II of Caernarvon was born on 25 Apr 1284 in Caernarvon Castle, Wales, died on 21 Sep 1327 in Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire and was buried in Gloucester Cathedral.)
Marriage Notes:
Edward II married Isabella, daughter of Philip of France in 1308; the marriage was not a success - he later referred to her as the 'she-wolf of France'.Although Edward and his wife had children, the marriage was doomed to failure almost from the beginning. Isabella was neglected by her husband, who spent much of his time with the few friends he shared power with, conspiring on how to limit the powers of the Peerage in order to consolidate his father's legacy for himself, and so appearing to prefer the company of his male favourites. This led to considerable rumours of Edward being homosexual. Their marriage nevertheless produced two sons, Edward, and John of Eltham, earl of Cornwall (1316-1336), and two daughters, Isabella and Joanna (1321-1362), wife of David II of Scotland. <../Sources.htm>

Isabella married King Edward II of Caernarvon Plantagenet, son of King Edward I "Longshanks" and Princess Eleanor, on 25 Jan 1308 in Boulogne Cathedral, France. (King Edward II of Caernarvon Plantagenet was born on 25 Apr 1284 in Caernarvon Castle, Wales, died on 21 Sep 1327 in Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire, England and was buried in Gloucester Cathedral.)