At age 15 or 16, Isabella was sent to France to marry the young Charles VI; the couple wed three days after their first meeting. Isabella was honored in with a lavish coronation ceremony and entry into Paris. In , Charles suffered the first attack of what was to become a lifelong and progressive mental illness, resulting in periodic withdrawal from government. The episodes occurred with increasing frequency, leaving a court both divided by political factions and steeped in social extravagances.
A masque for one of Isabeau's ladies-in-waiting βan event later known as Bal des Ardents βended in disaster with Charles almost burning to death. Although the King demanded Isabeau's removal from his presence during his illness, he consistently allowed her to act on his behalf.
In this way she became regent to the Dauphin of France heir apparent , and sat on the regency council, allowing her far more power than was usual for a medieval queen consort.
Isabeau shifted allegiances as she chose the most favorable paths for the heir to the throne. The war ended soon after Isabeau's son Charles had John assassinated in βan act that saw him disinherited. Isabeau attended the signing of the Treaty of Troyes , which decided that the English king should inherit the French crown after the death of her husband.
She lived in English-occupied Paris until her death in Isabeau was popularly seen as a spendthrift and irresponsible philanderess. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries historians re-examined the extensive chronicles of her lifetime, concluding that many unflattering elements of her reputation were unearned and stemmed from factionalism and propaganda.
