Isabella had just given birth to her fourth child,
and yet again she had to go down on her knees in the ritual of queenly intervention,
to persuade Edward to banish Despenser.
She won a temporary truce,
but little more than two months later,
with terrible irony,
it was Isabella herself who precipitated the country into Civil War.
In October 1321, Isabella was on her way to Canterbury on pilgrimage. 1321
At the end of a hard day's ride,
she found herself at the gates of Leeds Castle,
a mighty stronghold built near the Kent coast,
seeking shelter for the night.
To welcome the Queen as a guest would normally be an honour,
but the castle's lord, Bartholomew Badlesmere,
was one of the rebels who had marched on London.