In what could also be one of many creepiest photographs on file, Isabella of Valois was simply six years previous when she was married off to Richard II , the widowed 29-year-old king of England, in 1396. Daughter of the King of France, the supposedly mad Charles VI , hers was a political union, designed to forge peace between England and France with the signing of a 28-year-truce.
Although as of late such reasoning can be deemed sinister, on the time, King Richard described her younger age as advantageous, since it might permit him to mildew her into his splendid English queen. However, the negotiations specified that the wedding was to not be consummated till her twelfth birthday. Even within the 14th century, there have been sure requirements to be upheld.
Isabella of Valois was the second lady to marry Richard II. He had loved a cheerful, although childless, marriage to his first spouse, Anne of Bohemia, who died of the plague in 1394 and was given the moniker “Good Queen Anne.” Simply two years later, Richard and Isabella have been married on the 31 October 1396 in Calais.
Richard had himself skilled the perils of rising to energy at a younger age, having taken the English throne at simply ten. Isabella is recorded to have loved a pleasant relationship with the king. Handed over with a big dowry, and a trousseau full of dolls, Isabella was topped Queen of England in January 1397 and lived a lot of her brief reign at Windsor Castle .
The wedding of Richard II, the King of England, to his youngster bride Isabella of Valois, depicted as far older than her precise six years. ( Public domain )
As a part of a insurrection to switch the king, Richard was deposed by Henry Bolingbroke, a.ok.a. King Henry IV , and imprisoned in September 1399. This put Isabella in an unlucky predicament and he or she was positioned below home arrest in Berkshire. Her scenario turned extra determined when Richard was pronounced useless, presumably of hunger, on 14 February 1400 at Pontefract Fortress.
Ever the helpful pawn within the ongoing political wrestle between England and France, Henry IV made clear his plans to have her marry his inheritor. Isabella was determined in her loyalty to her useless husband and refused. However, it was not till August 1401 that she was allowed to return to France with out her dowry, her royal marriage unconsummated.
Ultimately, her sister, Catherine of Valois , was married to Henry V in 1420, whereas Isabella of Valois was married to Charles, Duke of Orléans, in 1407 on the age of 16. Isabella died throughout childbirth simply two years later. In a weird accident, her second husband was taken hostage by the English after the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. He remained in captivity for twenty-four years, spending time composing poetry at varied areas, together with Pontefract Fortress the place Richard II was stated to have died.
Prime picture: Element from miniature depicting Richard II, King of England from 1377 to 1399, receiving his youngster bride Isabella of Valois from her father Charles VI, the King of France. Supply: Public domain
By Cecilia Bogaard