Isabella

In Newgate Street in the city of London once stood the magnificent church of a Franciscan monastery. Entirely paved with marble, this royal mausoleum, built in the 14th century, was set to rival Westminster Abbey. Among the many crowned heads buried there was Isabella of France, Edward II s queen one of the most notorious femme fatales in history. oday, according to popular legend, Isabella s angry ghost can be glimpsed among the church ruins, clutching the beating heart of her murdered husband. It s also said that her maniacal laughter can be heard on stormy nights at Castle Rising in Norfolk. In literature she has fared no better. Christopher Marlowe s unnatural Queen, false Isabel has also been described as a woman of evil character, a notorious schemer , and as the She-Wolf of France . Tragic, cruel, tormented-how did Isabella acquire such a reputation? sabella was born in 1292, the daughter of Philip IV of France and sister to three future French kings. A pawn in the game of international politics, she was married at the age of twelve to Edward II of England. And so began a public and private life more turbulent and eventful than any heroine or anti-heroine of fi