Tag: Isabella of France

She Wolves – Episode 2 – Isabella of France and Margaret of Anjou 14.03.2012

~ Helene Harrison ~ 1 Comment

Isabella of France 15th Century Portrait
Isabella of France 15th Century Portrait

1308 Isabella of France became Queen of England age 12
Little more than a pawn in power plays between England and France
Isabella and Margaret both known as the “she wolves of France”
Isabella daughter of the King of France – living embodiment of the treaty between England and France, keen sense of her own majesty
What she found different to what she expected
First public appearance – coronation
Piers Gaveston carried the king’s crown into the abbey and sat with him at the coronation feast
Her place at Edward II’s side had been taken by Gaveston
Edward had given some of the wedding presents to Gaveston from the French nobles
Three people in the marriage
King’s relationship with his nobles was souring because of his relationship with Gaveston – king offers leadership and security and nobles protect the realm
Nobles don’t think the king is doing what he should Continue reading “She Wolves – Episode 2 – Isabella of France and Margaret of Anjou 14.03.2012” →

My Notes from Episode 2 of ‘The Plantagenets’ Shown on BBC 24.03.2014

~ Helene Harrison ~ Leave a comment

Henry III funeral effergy in Westminster Abbey
Henry III funeral effergy in Westminster Abbey

1219 William Marshall regent of 11 years old Henry III. King John had lost most French lands. Marshall dying.
Next 150 years – parliament born and English national identity established. New English empire.
Plantagenet ancestral homelands lost. Choice between England and France.
Henry III pious. 1245 building improvements to Westminster Abbey in French style dedicated to Edward the Confessor (only English king to be canonised). Dynastic ambition – Abbey as site of future coronations and burials. Expensive.
Pope invited Henry to buy Sicily – 3 times his annual income. Defaulting on a payment meant excommunication.
Backfired = pitted the royal family against the English barons.
Henry III filled the court with relatives from parts of France – hostile barons and national feeling.
April 1258 barons confronted the king and demanded the removal of French relatives.
Reforming legislation = committee of 24 ‘provisions of Oxford’, shared power with barons. Limitations of royal power – parliament.
King lost touch with people.
Continue reading “My Notes from Episode 2 of ‘The Plantagenets’ Shown on BBC 24.03.2014” →