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This was the moment Isabella had been waiting for. When her son arrived on French soil, her position was transformed. As Edward's consort, there had been little she could do. But with her son beside her, she could speak and act as the mother of the heir to the throne in the face of her husband's tyranny. She'd been waiting for her chance and now she took it. With his son, Edward sent an instruction that his wife should return home, but Isabella had no intention of doing any such thing. And we know exactly the reason she gave. The manuscript of the greatest chronicle of the reign, the Vita Edwardi Secundi, is long lost - but its text has been passed down through the centuries. And here, in this modern translation, we hear Isabella's voice speaking for the first time. Until now, she'd been a supporting player in the unfolding drama. But now, she moved to the centre of the stage as she replied to her husband with open defiance. |
