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In spite of all their defenses, castles sometimes were taken over by invading armies and their leaders.
For example, in the year 1321, Baroness Badlesmere refused to let Queen Isabella (who was both queen of France and married to the king of England) into Leeds Castle. Her husband, the baron, was away and he had been plotting against the king, so the baroness suspected the queen’s “visit” was some kind of trick. When the queen tried to force her way into the castle, the baroness had her archers fire and they killed six of the queen’s men. In response, King Edward II sent 500 soldiers from London along with knights in the service of the sheriffs of Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Essex, and Hampton to lay siege to Leeds Castle with catapults. The baroness surrendered the castle after just a few days. As punishment, she was imprisoned in the king’s castle in London, known as the Tower of London.
