The Hundred Years War was started in 1337 by King Edward III of England, grandfather of King Richard II. The constant fighting was taking its toll on England and France. Both King Richard and the French King Charles VI were looking for a truce, if not a complete cessation of hostilities. Richard’s wife, Anne of Bohemia had died in 1394 and it made sense for him to marry a French princess to cement any agreement. Talks began shortly after Anne’s death of a marriage between Richard and Princess Isabella of Valois.

Isabella of Valois was born on November 9, 1389 at the Louvre in Paris. She was the eldest child of King Charles VI of France and Queen Isabeau of Bavaria. King Charles suffered from bouts of madness whichmay have been made for some frightful moments for the young princess. Queen Isabeau kept her small children close to her until they were weaned from their wet nurse. When she left Paris, many times she took her children with her. When the Queen was separated from her children she would visit them and bring gifts and write letters to them.

A document exists from 1404 conveying an agreement between Queen Isabeau and the Celestines de Notre-Dame de Paris to construct a gate allowing herself and her children access to the order’s gardens and vineyards as well as the church and monastery for worshipping purposes as well as for pleasure. We can just imagine Isabella and her sisters wandering and playing in these pleasant gardens.

Isabeau purchased devotional books for