John, King of England Normandy and Anjou until 1259, but John's continental losses and the consequent growth of Capetian power in the 13th century proved to mark a "turning point in European history". John's first wife, Isabel, Countess of Gloucester, was released from imprisonment in 1214; she remarried twice, and died in 1217. John's second wife, Isabella of Angoulême, left England for Angoulême soon after the king's death; she became a powerful regional leader, but largely abandoned the children she had had by John. John had five legitimate children, all by Isabella. His eldest son, Henry III, ruled as King of England for the
The King Who Wished to Marry His Daughter the third time, the king's son had set a guard, and she escaped, but leaving a shoe behind. When the king's son tried it on women, a bird sang that it was not that one but the kitchen maid. Every woman failed, and he fell ill. His mother went to the kitchen to talk, and the princess asked to try it. She persuaded her son, and it fit. They married and lived happily ever after. The King Who Wished to Marry His Daughter "The King Who Wished to Marry His Daughter" is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis