Isabella of Valois
| Isabella of Valois | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Queen consort of England | |
| Tenure | 1 November 1396 – 30 September 1399 |
| Coronation | 8 January 1397 |
| Born |
9 November 1389 Paris, France |
| Died | 13 September 1409 (aged 19) Blois, Loir-et-Cher, France |
| Spouse |
Richard II of England Charles, Duke of Orléans |
| Issue | Joan of Valois, Duchess of Alençon |
| House | Valois |
| Father | Charles VI of France |
| Mother | Isabella of Bavaria |
Isabella of France (9 November 1389 – 13 September 1409) was Queen consort of England as the second spouse of King Richard II. Her parents were King Charles VI of France and Isabeau of Bavaria. She married the king at the age of seven and was widowed three years later. She later married Charles, Duke of Orléans, dying in childbirth at the age of nineteen.
Isabella's younger sister, Catherine, was Queen of England from 1420 until 1422, wife of Henry V and mother of Henry VI. Catherine was also a grandmother of Henry VII.
Isabella lived during a period of political tension between France and England known as the Hundred Years War, the situation exacerbated by the mental instability of her father. On 31 October 1396, almost the age of seven, Isabella married the widower King Richard II of England in a move for peace with France. Although the union was political, Richard II and the child Isabella developed a mutually respectful relationship. By May of 1399, the Queen had been moved to Portchester Castle for protection while Richard went on a military campaign in Ireland. When Richard II was imprisoned and died in custody on his return to England, Queen Isabella was ordered by the new King Henry IV to move out of Windsor Castle and to settle in the Bishop of Salisbury's Thamesside palace at Sonning.
King Henry IV then decided Queen Isabella should marry his son, the future Henry V of England, but she refused. Knowing her husband was dead, she went into mourning, ignoring Henry IV's demands. Eventually he let her go back to France.
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