She Wolves: The Notorious Queens of Medieval England by Norton Elizabeth

Author:Norton, Elizabeth [Norton, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: She Wolves: The Notorious Queens of England
ISBN: 9780752469218
Publisher: The History Press
Published: 2010-04-30T16:00:00+00:00

There is no other evidence that Edward was considering a divorce and it is unlikely that he considered going so far. However, there was clearly very bad feeling between Isabella and the Despensers and Edward always sided entirely with his favourites rather than his wife.

Isabella must have felt a great sense of freedom and relief as she arrived in France. Isabella landed at Boulogne and was lavishly entertained there before travelling to Paris where her brother, King Charles, welcomed her.43 Charles secretly promised Isabella aid and she clearly felt confident enough to act against Edward. Soon after her arrival she was also able to persuade Edward to send their eldest son, young Edward, to her in Paris to do homage for Gascony.44 Young Edward’s arrival meant that Isabella held a trump card against her husband and she began to attract English exiles to her in Paris, the most significant of these being Edmund, Earl of Kent, her husband’s own brother. She was also joined by Roger Mortimer, a nobleman who had escaped from the Tower of London some years previously.

With young Edward in her possession and her brother’s aid, Isabella finally showed her true intentions and the anger that must have been building within her for years and she refused to return to Edward in England. The Chronicle of Lanercost relates how there were rumours in England that Isabella, young Edward and Kent intended to invade to exact revenge upon the Despensers, who they blamed for Lancaster’s death. However, there were also ‘contradictory rumours in England about the queen, some declaring that she was the betrayer of the king and kingdom, others that she was acting for peace and the common welfare of the kingdom, and for the removal of evil counsellors from the king’.45 Reports of Isabella’s actions sent Edward and the Despensers into panic and proclamations were read in London calling Isabella and her son traitors.46 They also sent bribes to France, attempting to have Isabella and young Edward returned to England.

Isabella’s brother was also under increasing pressure to return her to England, especially as rumours began to emerge regarding Isabella’s relationship with Mortimer. The pair became lovers during their stay in Paris and Isabella would remain devoted to Mortimer for the rest of her life. It is likely that she revelled in Mortimer’s attentions after escaping her loveless marriage and she may well have seen no harm in her actions given Edward’s own relationships with his male favourites. Certainly, their relationship appears to have had a fiery passion that Isabella’s own marriage had lacked. During their time in France, Isabella and Mortimer are reported to have quarrelled, with Isabella threatening to leave Mortimer and return to her husband.47 Mortimer responded by threatening to kill her if she tried to leave him. This was, of course, a disturbing incident but, for Isabella, it may have been taken as proof of the depth of Mortimer’s feelings towards her. She does not seem to have threatened to leave him again.

Although

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