Biography
She was the fourth child but second daughter of King John of England and Isabella of Angoulême.
At a friendly meeting at Rieti, Pope Gregory IX suggested to emperor Frederick II that he marry princess Isabella, a sister of Henry III of England. At first Frederick II was concerned to lose his French allies; but when he realised that an English marriage would end English support for his opponents, he agreed. The betrothal was formalized in London on February 1235.
The beautiful Isabella was about twenty-one years old when she set out to marry the twice-widowed Emperor Frederick II, who was forty. On her way through Cologne, she delighted the local women when she removed the traditionally worn veil so that they could see her face.
The marriage between Isabella and Frederick took place in Worms Cathedral on 15 or 20 July 1235; in the ceremony, she was also crowned Holy Roman Empress, Queen of Germany and Sicily. Her dowry was 30,000 marks of silver (a considerable sum at the time) and she was granted the castle of Monte Sant'Angelo by her husband upon her marriage.
However, as soon as she was married she was introduced to the secluded harem life attended by black eunuchs. Their marriage had been a political match, and she was allowed to keep only two of her English women-attendants, Margaret Biset, who probably had been her nurse, and her maid Kathrein; the others were sent home.
Isabella lived in retirement at Noventa Padovana where her husband regularly visited her. When her brother, Richard, Earl of Cornwall, returned from the crusades, he was allowed to visit her, although Isabella was not allowed to be present at the official reception. While the imperial court resided at Foggia, Isabella gave birth to her last child and died. She is buried beside Frederick's previous wife, Queen Isabella II of Jerusalem, in Andria Cathedral, near Bari.
Read more about this topic: Isabella Of England
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