Isabella of Hainault

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Isabella of Hainault
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Isabella of Hainault
Queen consort of France
Tenure 28 April 1180–15 March 1190
Coronation 28 May 1180
Spouse Philip II of France
Louis VIII of France
House House of Hainaut (by birth)
House of Capet (by marriage)
Father Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut
Mother Margaret I, Countess of Flanders
Born (1170-04-05)5 April 1170
Died 15 March 1190(1190-03-15) (aged 19)
Paris, France
Burial Basilica of St Denis
Religion Roman Catholicism

Isabella of Hainault (Valenciennes,[1] 5 April 1170 – 15 March 1190, Paris) was Queen consort of France as the first wife of King Philip II of France.

Early life[edit]

Isabella was born in Valenciennes[2] on 5 April 1170, the daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut, and Margaret I, Countess of Flanders. At the age of one, her father had her betrothed to Henry, the future Count of Champagne.[3] He was the nephew of Adèle of Champagne, who was Queen of France. In 1179, both their fathers swore that they would proceed with the marriage, but her father later agreed to her marrying Philip II of France.

Queen of France[edit]

She married King Philip on 28 April 1180 at Bapaume and brought as her dowry the county of Artois. The marriage was arranged by her maternal uncle Philip, Count of Flanders, who was advisor to the King.[4]

Seal of Isabella, currently in the British Museum


The wedding did not please the queen mother, since it had meant the rejection of her nephew and the lessening of influence for her kinsmen. Though she received extravagant praise from certain annalists, she failed to win the affections of Philip due to her inability to provide him with an heir; although she was only 14 years old at the time.[5] Meanwhile, King Philip in 1184, was waging war against Flanders, and angered at seeing his wife's father, Baldwin, support his enemies, he called a council at Sens for the purpose of repudiating her. According to Gislebert of Mons, Isabella then appeared barefooted and dressed as a penitent in the town's churches and thus gained the sympathy of the people. Her appeals angered them so much that they went to the palace and started shouting loud enough to be heard inside.[6]

Robert, the king's uncle, successfully interposed and no repudiation followed as repudiating her would also have meant the loss of Artois to the French crown.[7]



Her second pregnancy was extremely difficult; on 14 March 1190, Isabella gave birth to twin boys named Robert and Philip. Due to complications in childbirth, Isabella died the next day, and was buried in the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. She was not quite 20 years old and was mourned for greatly in the capital, since she had been a popular queen.[8]

The twins lived only four days, both having died on 18 March 1190.[9] Her son Louis succeeded her as Count of Artois. Isabella's dowry of Artois eventually returned to the French Crown following the death of King Philip, when her son Louis became king.



  1. ^ World Roots Genealogy Archive
  2. ^ Note:Some online sources such as Charles Cawley's Medieval Lands give her birthdate as 23 April 1170 and her birthplace as Lille
  4. ^ Cawley: Medieval Lands
  5. ^ Cawley, Charles, Isabelle de Hainaut, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, retrieved August 2012 ,[better source needed]
  6. ^ Nolan. p. 83.  Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ^ Christian Bouyer, Les reines de France, Perrin, 1992
  8. ^ Nolan. p. 87.  Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ^




French royalty
Preceded by
Adele of Champagne
Queen consort of France
Succeeded by
Ingeborg of Denmark