Which Isabella or Isabelle Am I? Quiz

Answer: Isabella of Gloucester

Isabella of Gloucester was a rich heiress, who was descended from King Henry I of England along an illegitimate line. When her father, Robert Duke of Gloucester, died without male issue, his title was retired and Isabella was given the title Countess of Gloucester. She married King John of England, her second cousin and youngest son of Henry II, in 1189 and he took his deceased father-in-law's title.

In 1199, before becoming king, John had the marriage annulled but was generous to his ex-wife afterwards, although he 'sold' her in marriage to the Earl of Essex for 20,000 marks.

Answer: Isabella of Mar

Robert the Bruce and Isabella had one child, Marjorie. Robert became a widower and remarried Elizabeth, daughter of the Earl of Ulster and Connaught. They had a son David who after reigning, died childless. The heiress, then became Marjorie, Robert's daughter by his first wife. Marjorie married Walter Steward (later changed to Stewart) and the Stewart line was established.

Answer: Isabella Capet

The marriage of Isabella, daughter of Philippe IV of France, to Edward Prince of Wales (later Edward II - yes, he of ill repute) was intended to resolve differences between England and France. She acquired the nickname "She-Wolf of France" towards the end of her period of "rule" gathering soldiers in France to fight her husband.

She and her lover, Mortimer, were stripped of all power a few years later by her son, Edward III. It was through Isabella that Edward III based his claim to the French throne and with that claim the Hundred Year's War started.

Answer: Robert I

Robert was a favourite name of the Bruce family. Isabella's son was Robert Bruce, her grandson was Robert and her great grandson was the first monarch of the Bruce dynasty. When the last descendant of William the Lion died, the succession reverted to the descendants of David, David I's third grandson by his son Henry.

Henry had three daughters of whom Isabella was the second. When the succession question arose with the death of Alexander II's first wife, it was determined that, since Isabella had given birth to a son, should Alexander II fail to have an heir by his second wife, the succession would fall to the descendants of Isabella. Subsequently, Alexander II had a son and it was felt that that determination would be irrelevant. However, since the line of Alexander II died out with the death of Margaret, the "Fair Maid of Norway", the matter of the succession again became contentious, especially since Margaret, Isabella's elder sister, also had a male descendant, John Balliol.

Answer: Isabella of Castille

Isabella of Castille, a warrior queen, was the wife of Ferdinand of Aragon. Catherine of Aragon was her daughter. Catherine's first husband was Arthur, Prince of Wales who died before ascending the throne. My second husband was his brother, Henry VIII. (They needed a dispensation from the Pope for this marriage to "deceased wife's brother" and this was one reason why Henry VIII was unable to obtain a second dispensation later - to divorce her).

Answer: Isabella of Valois

Richard II was the son of the Black Prince and grandson of Edward III. He was married firstly to Anne, daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, whose tomb he shares in Westminster Abbey. A childless widower, Richard married Isabella of Valois, part of the terms of one of the many truces made during the Hundred Years' War.

Answer: Isabella of Angouleme

Isabella of Angouleme was the second wife of King John and the mother of Henry III. When she died, she was buried alongside Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine and Richard I at Fontrevaux Abbey in France.

Answer: Isabella of Warenne

Isabella was the daughter of the English Earl of Surrey. Her husband, John Balliol (nicknamed toom Tabard or Empty Coat) was awarded the disputed throne by Edward I to whom the Scottish nobles had submitted the question for arbitration. Edward made the award when John Balliol promised to hold Scotland virtually as a fiefdom of England.

The result of this arrangement was control of Scotland by Edward and the subsequent risings led by William Wallace.

Answer: Isabella Marshall

Isabella Marshall was the daughter of William the Marshall, Europe's foremost knight of the time. She was married to Richard, Earl of Cornwall, brother of Henry III who was elected Holy Roman Emperor after the death of Emperor William of Holland. His election was a disputed one and he spent little time in his Imperial domains.

Answer: Isabella, Countess of Buchan

During the troubles that followed Bruce's coronation, Isabella was captured and a wooden cage was erected against the wall of Berwick Castle where Isabella was kept suspended, exposed to the gaze of passers-by for four years (!). In 1312 she was transferred to the House of the Carmelite nuns and in 1313 she was handed into the custody of Sir Henry Beaumont, after which nothing is known.