As a young bride
she'd been little more than a decorative accessory to a diplomatic alliance,
but as the mother of the future King of England,
she had the possibility of real power.
But what Isabella was seeking at this time
was no more than the conventional role of a Queen,
not power for herself,
but to support her husband.
Tradition gave the Queen a formal role as a peacemaker.
Even a warrior King could show mercy
if his consort knelt before him in public to beg for peace.
Isabella's husband was no warrior king,
but she was a peacemaking Queen,
and now she helped to forge a brittle truce between Edward and his nobles.
But almost immediately her husband undermined her efforts.
In 1314 the army he led 1314
suffered the most humiliating defeat
of any English King at the hands of the Scots.