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Article: Quite a queen; Medieval England.(Isabella: She-Wolf of France, Queen of England)(Book Review)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- September 10, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Did she, or didn't she?
THE life of a medieval queen of England was precarious, particularly if she happened to be French and her husband was almost certainly a homosexual. This was the situation that faced Princess Isabella when, aged probably 12, she married King Edward II, aged 23, in 1308.
Despite these obstacles, Isabella lived another 50 eventful years and left a considerable mark on 14th-century Europe. She helped her husband crush revolts, narrowly avoided capture at the hands of Robert the Bruce, played a key part in keeping the peace between France and England, led an invasion that overthrew her husband, virtually ruled the kingdom with her ...