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He was too young to act alone and so Isabella acted for him. And, with the promise of a new young King and his capable mother, her husband's power simply melted away. Isabella might have been an unfaithful wife and a rebel Queen, but she was also England's champion against Edward's tyranny, no she-wolf, but the saviour of her adopted country. When news of the Queen's triumphal progress reached Edward and Despenser they were gripped with panic. They packed their saddlebags with gold and fled west, where they were captured, bedraggled figures in the Welsh rain. Isabella had Despenser brought before her. There's no question that she relished her moment of revenge. Despenser was hanged, then disembowelled and castrated when he was still alive. The supportive Queen had been transformed into a very different figure. Now Isabella was acting as if she were a King, inflicting brutal punishments on her enemies. |
