THE REGENCY (PART 5)
Extract from the Chroniques of Jean Froissart, who showed the wedding of Edward, Prince of Wales and Princess Isabella of France. King Edward II and Queen Margaret are showed next to their son.
The year 1316 was an eventful one for the French and English monarchies:
On 19 March 1316, two days after his 14th birthday, Edward, Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester, finally married with his long-time betrothed Princess Isabella of France. The ceremony, who took place at Westminster Abbey, was a magnificent and lavish event, attended by the whole court, Lords of the Kingdom and members of the Parliament. The King ("dressed in gold and purple", according to Florence of Worcester) escorted his future daughter-in-law to the altar, while the heavily pregnant Queen-Regent ("also dressed with fine silk and a large train with precious gems and a veil with a golden crown who showed the arms of Scotland, England and Norway", according to Worcester) accompanied her son, being followed by the royal children. The wedding was officed by the Primates of the English and French churches, Walter Reynolds, Archbishop of Canterbury and Robert of Courtenay-Champignelles, Archbishop of Reims (especially send by King Louis X for his sister's wedding).
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Ingeborg of Norway, Queen consort of France, gave birth a son on 16 April 1316 at the Château de Vincennes, the favorite residence of her husband King Louis X. One month later, on 20 May, the new heir of the French throne, named Philip after his later grandfather King Philip IV, was baptized in an opulent ceremony at the Chapel of the Château, with the Queen-Regent Margaret and King Edward II of England as his godparents; however, because they weren't physically present in the ceremony, the Count of Poitiers (Louis X's second brother) and his recently rehabilitated wife Jeanne, Countess Palatine of Burgundy (eldest daughter and heiress of Mahaut, Countess of Artois) acted as proxies.
Robert III of Artois -who recently returned from his long stay at the English court, where he received the Honour and Barony of Monmouth by Royal Ordinance dated 1 January 1316 for his "
loyalty and proximity in blood with the King"- took the distinction to carry the infant prince in the baptismal font, an event who caused an scandal because Countess Mahaut, as the senior female holder of a
Pairie de France, had this right. However, was Queen Ingeborg who reportedly refused to allowed that this
méchante femme (wicked woman) -as she called her- could be near her son.
Almost inmediately after her arrival to France and marriage, Queen Ingeborg began an strong campaign in favor of Robert III of Artois and his restoration of his paternal inheritance. Firstly, King Louis X (who quickly became under the complete influence of his consort) confirmed Robert III with the Lordships of Conches-en-Ouche, Domfront, and Mehun-sur-Yèvre (inheritance of his paternal grandmother Amicie de Courtenay) by Royal Decree dated 21 September 1315.
Countess Mahaut tried to reverse the Queen's animosity against her, but when she failed in this, began to poison the mind of her son-in-law the Count of Poitiers, trying to put him against his brother the King because "he was ready to take his future inheritance from him" (the Artois), and also approached to Odo IV, Duke of Burgundy, one of the leading feudal lords of the Kingdom of France and whose betrothal with Princess Jeanne of Poitiers (Mahaut's eldest granddaughter and second-in-line to inherited both the
Franche-Comté and the Artois) was already negociated.
However, Queen Ingeborg unexpectedly gained both Duke Odo IV and his powerful mother Agnes of France to her side on mid-February 1316, when she convinced the King to officially recognized Jeanne of Navarre (daughter of Louis X's first wife Marguerite of Burgundy -sister of Odo IV and daughter of Agnes- and whose legitimacy became dubious after the Tour de Nesle Affair) as his daughter, granting her the title of "Princess and First Daughter of France" (
Princesse et Première Fille de France), with rights of succession over France and Navarre after any future male or female offspring born from Louis X's second marriage and before any descendants of the Counts of Poitiers and La Marche; in addition, the Queen took her step-daughter to be raised in her Household.
Odo IV, strongly influenced by his mother (who adored her granddaughter and wanted that her rights as Princess of France could be recognized) finally broke his negociations for the hand of Jeanne of Poitiers and officially celebrated his betrothal with Marie de Châtillon-St.Pol, a sister-in-law of Count Charles of Valois on 14 March 1316, with the marriage being celebrated at the Château de Vincennes on 24 May, as a part of the celebrations for the baptism of Prince Philip.
The alliance Ingeborg-Charles of Valois-Odo IV was a serious threat for Mahaut, and she was forced to enter in negociations with the King and her nephew Robert III in order to save the Artois for her descent.
Three days after the marriage of Odo IV, on 27 May 1316, was signed the betrothal between Robert III of Artois and Princess Jeanne of Poitiers; in the marriage contract was stipulated that the Artois would be inherited by Mahaut's daughter and son-in-law, and after their deaths, by her granddaughter, who in addition with the
Franche-Comté, could be gave to her husband this lands as a dowry. Thus, although he probably could expect several years to finally inherited, Robert III could become in Count Palatine of Burgundy and Count of Artois
jure uxoris. The wedding, scheduled once the Papal dispensation arrived (because Robert III and Jeanne of Poitiers are first cousins once removed), took place on 29 August 1316 at the Priory of Saint-Cloud, near Paris, with the attendance of the whole court, Queen Ingeborg and King Louis X (who in early June suffered a sudden and "misteriously" attack of fever, from whom he barely recovered; contemporary chroniclers believed that Mahaut, in order to stopped the wedding, poisoned the King without success).
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
On 24 June 1316 at Windsor Castle, the Queen-Regent gave birth her sixth child and third daughter, named Joan after the King's late and favorite sister, Princess Joan of England, Countess of Gloucester and Herford. The baptism was celebrated two months later, at the Royal Chapel of Windsor in a private ceremony, with Gilbert de Clare, 8th Earl of Gloucester and his wife Matilda de Burgh acting as godparents.
Less than one month later, on 19 July 1316 at the Great Hall of Westminster Palace, the Queen-Regent officially renounced to the Regency of the Kingdom on behalf of her son the Prince of Wales, now married and with the legal age to take the government. The Council of Regency, leaded by the Prince of Wales, was formed by the Earls of Lancaster, Gloucester and Warwick, all strong partisans of Queen Margaret. King Edward II, who
"....after his disastrous affair with the Gascon Piers suffered from bouts of melancholy and seclusion who lasted several days....wanted to be release from the burden of the government and court activities to had a quiet life at his beloved Windsor." (Continuator of Florence of Worcester)
legitimized his son's Regency with his personal Seal. The Prince and Princess of Wales settled their residence at Eltham Palace; some months later, on mid-October 1316, Isabella announced her first pregnancy.
TO BE CONTINUED.....
