#countessofangoulême

[thebritishmonarchycouk]

On This Day In History . 4 June 1246 . Isabella of Angoulême died . . ◼ Isabella of Angoulême , born c. 1188 was queen consort of England as the second wife of King John from 1200 until John's death in 1216. She was also reigning Countess of Angoulême from 1202 until 1246. . ◼ At  the time of her marriage to John, the blonde-haired blue-eyed Isabella was already renowned by some for her beauty & has sometimes been called the Helen of the Middle Ages by historians. Isabella was much younger than her husband & possessed a volatile temper similar to his own. King John was infatuated with his young, beautiful wife; however, his acquisition of her had at least as much to do with spiting his enemies as romantic love. . ◼ She had five children by the king, including his heir, later Henry III. In 1220, Isabella married Hugh X of Lusignan, Count of La Marche, by whom she had another nine children. . ◼ Some of her contemporaries, as well as later writers, claim that Isabella formed a conspiracy against King Louis IX of France in 1241, after being publicly snubbed by his mother, Blanche of Castile for whom she had a deep-seated hatred. In 1244, after the plot had failed, Isabella was accused of attempting to poison the king. To avoid arrest, she sought refuge in Fontevraud Abbey where she died two years later, but none of this can be confirmed. . ◼ On a visit to Fontevraud, her son King Henry III of England was shocked to find her buried outside the Abbey & ordered her immediately moved inside. She was finally placed beside Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. . . . #onthisdayinhistory #thisdayinhistory #theyear1246 #d4jun #IsabellaofAngoulême #CountessofAngoulême #QueenConsort #HouseofPlantagenet #HouseofTaillefer #kingjohn #History #englishmonarchy #britishmonarchy #KingJohn #RoyalFamily #RoyalHistory #HistoryFacts #historyfact #OnThisDay (at Fontevrault-L'Abbaye, Pays De La Loire, France) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByTLFpZglOE/?igshid=19oha4y2sjo40