Now she was an independent player on the European stage and she arranged the marriage of her son to Philippa, daughter of the count of Hainault, who brought troops and ships as her dowry. On 22nd September 1326, at the head of 100 ships filled with soldiers, Isabella, Mortimer and Prince Edward set sail for England. When Isabella stepped onto the Suffolk coast, she was taking up arms against her King and husband, with her lover at her side. She could hardly have been more openly defying the conventions of female virtue. And yet she wasn't met with outrage and vilification. Instead, she was greeted with open arms. While there was no alternative to Edward's rule his people hadn't known how to resist. Isabella wasn't challenging him in her own name, she, after all, had no right to the throne, but in the name of their 13-year-old son, Prince Edward.