Portrait of Isabelle of France, Queen of England, through five English castles, marking the 700th anniversary of Edward II's fall (November 1326)

Isabelle of France, 700 years after the fall of Edward II: the queen who overthrew her husband, in five English castles

On 16 November 1326, Edward II was captured by supporters of his wife, Isabelle, daughter of Philip IV of France. From Leeds to Castle Rising, five English castles still open to visitors tell the story of the Capetian queen who deposed an English king.

Editorial journal · Carte des Châteaux · 8 November 2026

Portrait

On 16 November 1326, in the hills of south Wales, men sent by the Queen of England laid hands on her husband. Edward II had been on the run for weeks with his favourite, Hugh Despenser; he would rule no more. The woman who had just deposed him was French: Isabelle, daughter of Philip IV of France, who had landed less than two months earlier in the Orwell estuary with a small army and her ally Roger Mortimer. Seven hundred years later, her story is still written in five English castles open to the public: Leeds, where the conflict escalated in 1321; Wallingford, which was given to her then taken away; Kenilworth, where the deposed king renounced the crown; Berkeley, where he died; and Castle Rising, where the queen spent her final years, far from court.

Leeds Castle

Kent · Broomfield and Kingswood

Leeds Castle

Leeds Castle occupies two islands in a lake formed by the River Len, east of Maidstone, in the parish of Broomfield and Kingswood. Founded in the early 12th century by the de Crevecoeur family, it became a royal residence in the late 13th century, closely associated with the queens of England, before passing into private hands in the mid-16th century. The ensemble brings together elements from several periods: the medieval gatehouse and curtain walls, the Gloriette on the northern island, whose turret houses a bell dated 1435, the so-called Maiden's Tower, of Tudor origin, and the "New Castle" built in 1822-1823 by Fiennes Wykeham Martin in a 16th-century style. The present interiors owe much to Lady Baillie, who remodelled them from 1926 onwards. Since 1974 the estate has belonged to the Leeds Castle Foundation, a charity that runs it as a visitor attraction and venue. The landscaped park, the great lake, the gardens designed notably by Russell Page, the maze with its grotto and the aviary form, together with the castle, an ensemble listed Grade I and registered as a Grade II* park.

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Medieval masonry remains at Wallingford Castle, in the meadows beside the Thames — Wallingford: fragments of 13th-century walls survive at the foot of the motte, in the Castle Meadows. — Wikimedia Commons, domaine public

Around the queen

Édouard II

1284 - 1327

Born at Caernarfon Castle, son of Edward I, he became king in 1307. His attachment to his favourites, Piers Gaveston then the Despensers, and the defeat at Bannockburn against the Scots in 1314 ruined his authority. Deposed in January 1327, he was the first king of England since the Norman Conquest forced to relinquish the throne.

Roger Mortimer

1287 - 1330

A powerful Marcher lord, he rebelled against the Despensers in 1321–1322 and ended up imprisoned in the Tower of London, from which he escaped on 1 August 1323 to reach France. Allied with Isabelle, he governed England with her from 1327 and was created Earl of March in 1328 before being overthrown by the young Edward III.

Hugh le Despenser le Jeune

vers 1287 - 1326

Chamberlain to the king from around 1318, he and his father built a considerable fortune in Welsh lands, sparking the barons’ revolt in 1321. Exiled then recalled, he dominated the government until 1326 and became the focus of the hatred that propelled Isabelle to power.

Red sandstone gatehouse at Kenilworth Castle, in Warwickshire — Kenilworth: the gatehouse built for Robert Dudley in the late 16th century now opens the visit to a castle where Edward II was held two and a half centuries earlier. — Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 1.0

Berkeley Castle

Gloucestershire · Berkeley

Berkeley Castle

Rising above the Severn Vale in the small town of Berkeley, this castle of pink and grey sandstone is one of the few medieval English fortresses still lived in by the family that received it in the 12th century. Its origins go back to the aftermath of the Norman Conquest, centred on a motte that was later encased by a circular shell keep, and then by a curtain wall enclosing the great hall. In the 14th century, Thomas de Berkeley transformed the interior into a refined seigneurial residence. The castle owes a dark renown to the captivity and death of King Edward II in 1327, while the breach made during the Civil War in 1645 is still visible. Surrounded by terraced gardens and a deer park listed on the register of historic parks, Berkeley is now open to visitors and hosts weddings, events and filming.

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Sources

Wikipedia – Isabella of France ↗Wikipedia – Invasion of England (1326) ↗Wikipedia – Margaret de Clare, Baroness Badlesmere ↗Wikipedia – Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March ↗Leeds Castle – History of the castle ↗Berkshire History – Wallingford Castle ↗English Heritage – History of Kenilworth Castle ↗Historic England – Berkeley Castle (1340692) ↗Castle Rising – official website ↗

Leeds Castle

Leeds Castle

Édouard II

Roger Mortimer

Hugh le Despenser le Jeune

Berkeley Castle

Berkeley Castle

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