A king has to get busy! Both of John’s wives were called Issy!

Now begins a reign which for this particular king, would end in shameful pain!

For Phil ‘disgusting’ Augustus, it was gain and gain over and over again!

John was never expected to be king, so his father Henry II who had actually given him the nickname ‘Lack land’, decided to establish him as king of the newly acquired lands in Ireland.

The island of Ireland.

However John’s conduct on his trip across the Irish sea in 1185 had not endeared him to the Irish chieftains.  Gerald of Wales who had accompanied the young prince to Ireland reported that John and his entourage made fun of the Irish nobles, amusing themselves by tugging at their unruly beards.

John’s seal as king of Ireland.

John’s first diplomatic foray was somewhat less than successful, but Henry had made additional provision for his youngest son.

Wife number 1 – Issy from Gloucester.

Henry had  negotiated a marriage for John which would provide him with substantial lands. In 1189, John at the age of twenty two, had married Isabella of Gloucester at Marlborough castle in Wiltshire.  Isabella was the heiress of a large earldom on the Welsh Marches, and the marriage was arranged in order to solve the problem of John’s ‘lackland’ status.

The motte of Marlborough castle as it is today.

There was a slight problem that would have cast a shadow over the nuptials.  The couple were both great-grandchildren of Henry I, and therefore second cousins.  This made them within the condition of consanguinity, and such a union was forbidden by the church.  The Archbishop of Canterbury, Baldwin of Ford was totally opposed, but John said that he would get a papal dispensation to legitimise the union.  This was the year that Richard became king and John was not expected to ascend to the throne.

Isabella of Gloucester.

This unfortunate fact also marred another ceremony, John’s coronation in May 11199.  Isabella would not be crowned as queen because the church refused to accept the validity of her marriage to John.  Despite being married for ten years, John did not keep his promise to ask for a papal dispensation.  A disappointing start to the reign, but a moment of unpleasantness that evaporated into insignificance given the context of future happenings.

John adopts a royal stance!

He ensures his control over the Angevin lands in France!

Re-enter King Philip (disgusting) Augustus II of France.  The French king thought it politic to grant his seal of approval to John’s aspirations.

The seal of King Philip Augustus II of France.

The King of France’s support for Arthur had led to rebellions in Anjou, Maine and Touraine against John which he quickly crushed.  John was the third Plantagenet king with whom Philip (disgusting) Augustus had had to deal with and he would bide his time.  At the Treaty of Le Goulet, agreed in May 1200, Philip acknowledged John as the heir to the Lionheart’s continental lands but he had to swear fealty to the French King as overlord.  Philip’s view of the future might be summed up in the following way:

‘I am prepared to take my time and play the long game!

I have some experience of those kings of the Plantagenet name!

This particular member of the family, unlike the other two, I will ultimately tame!’

Conduct unbecoming.

‘Oh Johnny, bad, bad behaviour, what’s new?

Alas, what else would any of us ever expect from you!’

Wife number 2 – Issy from Angouleme.

John’s capacity for behaviour of an unbecoming nature continued undiminished as he proceeded in his regal role.  The king decided to put aside his wife, Isabella of Gloucester and choose another consort.  This in itself was not regarded as being beyond the pale in an age when marriage was considered as a required vehicle of material convenience.  However, the manner in which he conducted the arrangements of his second marriage most certainly was.

John’s marriage to Isabella of Gloucester was annulled on grounds of consanguinity.  Nothing wrong there, in fact it was merely seen as the rectifying of an unfortunate error.  Another Isabella had become the focal point of John’s lecherous and greedy eye.  This was the twelve year old Isabella of Angouleme who was renowned for her beauty.

Isabella of Angouleme.

Isabella’s famed beauty was one attraction for John, but there was another.  Isabella was already engaged to another man, Count Hugh de Lusignan.  Their union would mean that Isabella’s lands and Hugh’s would become as one, and this would pose a threat to the Angevin empire.  Hugh, although a man of wealth and status, could not match the King of England.  Also, because of his position as Count of Poitou, John was Hugh’s overlord and felt that he was within his rights to stop the marriage and take Isabella as his own bride.

Coat of arms of the House of Lusignan,

Isabella’s father judged that a King would prove to be a more favourable suitor than a mere Count for his daughter, and was happy with the arrangement.  John’s message to the jilted Count was :

‘I am sorry Hugh but this is simply not your cue!

Please don’t cause trouble, because if you do!

Please remember that my followers are many and yours are but few!’

John and Isabella were duly married at Bordeaux on August 24th 1200.  Hugh chose not to heed the warning from John and swore vengeance on his liege as John was as Duke of Acquitaine.  Although early in his reign, the seeds of John’s downfall were already sown.