Isabella, Queen of England died on June 4th 1246. Her tenure as consort was long over, almost three decades in the past but her reputation for controversy had continued until the moment she passed away.
Fontevraud Abbey, near Chinon, where Isabella of Angouleme died
(By Pierre Mairé, PixAile.com - www.pixAile.com, CC BY 2.5, Wiki Commons)
Isabella died at Fontevraud Abbey in Anjou where she had been living for the past few years. There was nothing unusual about a high ranking woman spending her final months in a religious establishment. In fact, it was a well worn path. But Isabella's arrival at Fontevraud had been heralded by all the drama that had followed her during her time as Queen of England.
By the time she got to Fontevraud, she was also known as Countess of La Marche. Her second husband, the man she had wed despite her own daughter being promised to him in marriage, had proved to be just as determined as her. Together, they had begun to conspire against the King of France, Louis IX. In 1244, two cooks were arrested for attempting to poison Louis and told their inquisitors that they were working for Isabella. She promptly fled to Fontevraud and never left its walls again.
The tomb of Isabella of Angouleme
(By UAltmann, Public Domain, Wiki Commons)
Isabella was buried in the Abbey graveyard but her son, King Henry III of England, later had her remains reinterred inside the church where she lies alongside King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine.
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