Father – Aymer Taillefer Count of Angouleme (1160 – 1202)
Mother – Alice de Courtenay (1160 – 1218)
Spouse – m. 1220 King John of England (1166 – 1216), m. 1220 Hugh X de Lusignan (1183 – 1249)
Children – by King John – Henry III (1207 – 1272), Richard (1209 – 1272), Joan (1210 – 1238), Isabella (1214 – 1241), Eleanor (1215 – 1275),
by Hugh de Lusignan – Hugh XI (1221 – 1250), Aymer (1222 – 1260), Agnes (1223 – 1269), Alice (1224 – 1256), Guy (1225 – 1264), Geoffrey (1226 – 1274), Isabella (1227 – 1299), William (1228 – 1296), Marguerite (1229 – 1288)
1188 (around)
Isabella of Angouleme was born to Aymer Taillefer, Count of Angouleme and Alice de Courtenay.
1200 (early)
Isabella was betrothed to Hugh IX Count of Lusignan.
1200 (5th July)
King John of England decided that he wanted to marry Isabella and, despite Isabella being betrothed to Hugh of Lusignan, they became engaged.
1200 (24th August)
Isabella and King John of England were married in Bordeaux Cathedral.
1200 (after 24th August)
Hugh IX Count of Lusignan was furious when King John failed to compensate him financially for marrying his betrothed.
1200 (8th October)
Isabella of Angouleme was crowned Queen of England in Westminster Abbey.
1201 (May)
Isabella and John took up residence in Normandy.
1202 (16th June)
Isabella became Countess of Angouleme when her father died.
1204 (1st April)
John’s mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine died. He promised Isabella that she could have his mother’s lands in Poitou.
1207 (1st October)
A son, Henry, was born to Isabella and John at Winchester Castle.
1209 (5th January)
A son, Richard, was born to Isabella and John at Winchester Castle.
1210 (22nd July)
A daughter, Joan, was born to Isabella and John.
1214 (during)
A daughter, Isabella, was born to Isabella and John.
1215 (during)
A daughter, Eleanor, was born to Isabella and John.
1215 (15th June)
Magna Carta
King John, was forced to sign a charter, called Magna Carta, which met the baron’s grievances and limited the power of the King. Magna Carta contained 61 clauses which included:
The freedom and rights of the church should be guaranteed
That the King was not above the law of the land.
That no free man should be arrested, imprisoned, dispossessed, outlawed or exiled except by the lawful judgement of his peers and by the law of the land.
King John, was forced to sign a charter, called Magna Carta, which met the baron’s grievances and limited the power of the King. Magna Carta contained 61 clauses which included:
The freedom and rights of the church should be guaranteed
That the King was not above the law of the land.
That no free man should be arrested, imprisoned, dispossessed, outlawed or exiled except by the lawful judgement of his peers and by the law of the land.
1216 (18th October)
King John died at Newark Castle Lincolnshire. He was succeeded by his son, Henry who became King Henry III.
1216 (28th October)
Isabella’s son, Henry, was crowned King of England at Gloucester Cathedral.
1217 (during)
Isabella left England to accompany her eldest daughter Joan to Angouleme where she would marry Hugh X Count of Lusignan, son of the man Isabella was betrothed to in 1200. However, Isabella decided to take him for herself instead.
1220 (Spring)
Isabella married Hugh X Count of Lusignan. The marriage gave Hugh and Isabella a large power base in south-west France.
1220 (Spring)
Isabella wrote to her son, King Henry III, to explain her actions in marrying Hugh. She excused her behaviour by saying that Joan was too young to bear Hugh the heirs he desperately needed and that she had married him to prevent him seeking a French alliance. She also asked Henry to grant her the lands in Poitou that had been promised to her on her marriage to John. Henry was not happy with his mother’s marriage and refused this request.
1221 (during)
A son, Hugh, was born to Isabella and Hugh X Count of Lusignan.
1221 (25th June)
Isabella’s daughter, Joan, married King Alexander II of Scotland
1221 (September)
Isabella’s son, King Henry III, confiscated her lands in England.
1222 (during)
A son, Aymer, was born to Isabella and Hugh de Lusignan.
1223 (during)
A daughter, Agnes, was born to Isabella and Hugh de Lusignan.
1224 (during)
A daughter, Alice, was born to Isabella and Hugh de Lusignan.
1224 (during)
Determined to gain control of Poitou, Isabella and Hugh made an alliance with France.
1224 (23rd April)
Isabella’s daughter, Eleanor, from her first marriage, married William Marshal.
1225 (around)
A son, Guy, was born to Isabella and Hugh de Lusignan.
1226 (around)
A son, Geoffrey, was born to Isabella and Hugh de Lusignan.
1227 (around)
A daughter, Isabella, was born to Isabella and Hugh de Lusignan.
1228 (around)
A son, William, was born to Isabella and Hugh de Lusignan.
1229 (around)
A daughter, Marguerite, was born to Isabella and Hugh de Lusignan.
1231 (March)
Isabella’s son, Richard, married Isabel Marshal.
1235 (20th July)
Isabella’s daughter, Isabella, married Frederick II, King of Sicily
1236 (14th January)
Isabella’s son, King Henry of England, married Eleanor of Provence.
1246 (4th June)
Isabella died.
First published 2018; updated and republished Nov 11 2021 @ 12:49 – Updated – [last-modified]
Harvard Reference for this page:
Heather Y Wheeler. (2018 – 2020). Isabella of Angouleme 1168 – 1246.