She-Wolves: England's Early Queens (2012)

Episode Overview

In the year 1308, a young Isabella of France, merely 12 years old, ascended to the English throne through her marriage to the king. A hundred years later, another French girl, Margaret of Anjou, would embark on a similar path. Both faced a tumultuous and violent England, feeling compelled to seize power for themselves. Isabella would be accused of murder, while Margaret would be labeled as overly ambitious, earning the infamous title of the She Wolf from Shakespeare. Historian Helen Castor explores how their assertiveness, which would be expected from men, was viewed as unnatural and even monstrous in women.