June 21, 1377: Death of Edward III, King of England and Lord of Ireland

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Charles IV of France, Edward II of England, Hundred Years War, Isabella of France, King Edward III of England and Lord of Ireland, Philippa of Hainault, Philippe VI of France, Roger Mortimer, She-Wolf of France

Edward III (November 13, 1312 – June 21, 1377) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377.

Edward was born at Windsor Castle on November 13, 1312, and was often called Edward of Windsor in his early years, before his accession.

Edward was the son of Edward II, King of England and Lord of Ireland and his wife Isabella of France (c. 1295 – August 22, 1358), sometimes described as the She-Wolf of France, was the youngest surviving child and only surviving daughter of King Philippe IV of France and Queen Joan I of Navarre.

The reign of his father, Edward II, was a particularly problematic period of English history. One source of contention was the king’s inactivity, and repeated failure, in the ongoing war with Scotland. Another controversial issue was the king’s exclusive patronage of a small group of royal favourites. The birth of a male heir in 1312 temporarily improved Edward II’s position in relation to the baronial opposition. To bolster further the independent prestige of the young prince, the king had him created Earl of Chester at only twelve days of age.

In 1325, Edward II was faced with a demand from his brother-in-law, Charles IV of France, to perform homage for the English Duchy of Aquitaine. Edward was reluctant to leave the country, as discontent was once again brewing domestically, particularly over his relationship with the favourite Hugh Despenser the Younger. Instead, he had his son Edward created Duke of Aquitaine in his place and sent him to France to perform the homage. The young Edward was accompanied by his mother Isabella, who was the sister of King Charles, and was meant to negotiate a peace treaty with the French.

Edward was crowned at age fourteen after his father was deposed by his mother, and her lover Roger Mortimer. At age seventeen he led a successful coup d’état against Mortimer, the de facto ruler of the country, and began his personal reign.

Edward and Philippa of Hainault became engaged in 1326.

Philippa of Hainault was the daughter of Count William of Hainaut and French princess Joan of Valois, the second eldest daughter of the French prince Charles, Count of Valois, and Margaret, Countess of Anjou and Maine. Joan of Valois ws the sister of King Philippe VI of France

Their marriage was celebrated in York Minster on 24 January 24, 1328, some months after Edward’s accession to the throne of England and Isabella of France’s infamous invasion.

After her husband reclaimed the throne, Philippa influenced King Edward to take interest in the nation’s commercial expansion, was part of the successful Battle of Neville’s Cross, and often went on expeditions to Scotland and France.

After a successful campaign in Scotland he declared himself rightful heir to the French throne in 1337. This started what became known as the Hundred Years’ War.

Following some initial setbacks, this first phase of the war went exceptionally well for England; victories at Crécy and Poitiers led to the highly favourable Treaty of Brétigny, in which England made territorial gains, and Edward renounced his claim to the French throne. This phase would become known as the Edwardian War. Edward’s later years were marked by international failure and domestic strife, largely as a result of his inactivity and poor health.

Edward III Iis noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after the disastrous and unorthodox reign of his father, Edward II. Edward III transformed the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe.

His fifty-year reign was one of the longest in English history, and saw vital developments in legislation and government, in particular the evolution of the English Parliament, as well as the ravages of the Black Death. He outlived his eldest son, Edward the Black Prince.

Around September 29, 1376 he fell ill with a large abscess. After a brief period of recovery in February 1377, the king died of a stroke at Sheen on June 21 and the throne passed to his grandson, Richard II.

Succession

In 1376, Edward III signed letters patent on the order of succession to the crown, citing in second position John of Gaunt, born in 1340, but ignoring Philippa, daughter of Lionel, born in 1338. Philippa’s exclusion contrasted with a decision by Edward I in 1290, which had recognized the right of women to inherit the crown and to pass it on to their descendants.

The order of succession determined in 1376 led to the throne the House of Lancaster in 1399 (John of Gaunt was Duke of Lancaster), whereas the rule decided by Edward I would have favoured Philippa’s descendants, among them the House of York, beginning with Richard of York, her great-grandson.

Edward was a temperamental man but capable of unusual clemency. He was in many ways a conventional king whose main interest was warfare. Admired in his own time and for centuries after, he was denounced as an irresponsible adventurer by later Whig historians such as Bishop William Stubbs, but modern historians credit him with some significant achievements.

As mentioned above, Edward III reigned for 50 years and from his death to the end of the reign of George III, who reigned for 59 years, Edward III was England’s longest reigning monarch. Although I must add James VI of Scotland reigned for 57 years in that realm.

April 22, 1355: Death of Eleanor of Woodstock, Duchess of Guelders

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Edward II of England, Edward III of England, Eleanor of Castile, Eleanor of Woodstock, English Princess, Isabella of France, Lord of Ireland, Philippe IV of France, Reginald II of Guelders

Eleanor of Woodstock (June 18, 1318 – April 22, 1355) was an English Princess and the Duchess of Guelders by marriage to Reginald II of Guelders. She was a younger sister of Edward III of England.

Early life

Eleanor was born at Woodstock Palace in Oxfordshire to King Edward II of England, Lord of Ireland and Isabella of France, the daughter of King Philippe IV of France and Queen Joan I of Navarre.

Eleanor was named after her paternal grandmother, Eleanor of Castile, daughter of Fernando III of Castile and Joan, Countess of Ponthieu.

It’s interesting to note that although Eleanor of Woodstock was named after her Castilian grandmother, her name traces back to English royalty.

Eleanor of Castile’s name, was Leonor in her native land but became Alienor or Alianor in England, and Eleanor in modern English. Eleanor of Castile was in turn named after her paternal great-grandmother, Eleanor of England, the daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II of England.

In 1325, there were negotiations between England and Castile for Eleanor to be betrothed to Alphonso XI of Castile, but this fell through due to the dowry.

In early 1328 Eleanor’s new sister-in-law, Philippa of Hainaut, wife of Edward III, became Eleanor’s guardian. In 1329, during the minority government, negotiations were underway for a match between Eleanor and the future Jean II of France; the following year the prospective bridegroom was Pedro, son of Alphonso IV of Aragon, but these negotiations fell through also.

Duchess of Guelders

In May 1332 Eleanor married the count of Guelders, Reinoud II “the black” (English: Reginald), of the House of Wassenberg (born c. 1287), a marriage arranged by her brother, Edward III, and her mother’s cousin Joan of Valois. The groom, quite dark of colour and according to chronicles, also of character, was a widower with four daughters. He was known for, among other things, having imprisoned his father for over six years.

According to legend, she was sent from court in 1336 under the pretext that she had leprosy. Her husband was reportedly under the influence of the priest Jan Moliart, who had been active in her exile and the false pretense of her alleged leprosy. During her supposed exile, she is said to have stayed in Deventer; she does appear to have been active as the protector of the Franciscan Friars, and a financier of their new church.

Again according to legend, her husband tried to annul the marriage. Although there is no firm evidence to support this story, which finds parallels in the legends surrounding numerous other royal women, Eleanor turned up in Court in Nijmegen to contest the annulment, and proceeded to strip down, proving she was no leper, and thus forcing her husband to take her back. He died from a fall from his horse on October 12, 1343.

She was regent as the guardian of their minor son Reginald III from 1343 until 1344.

On April 22, 1355, twelve years after she became a widow, Eleanor died at age 36 and was buried in the Franciscan church in Deventer. Her tombstone had the simple inscription ELEANOR on it; however, in England, on the south side of Philippa of Hainault’s tomb in Westminster Abbey there is an image of her and her husband.

The Life of Edward II, King of England and Lord of Ireland: Conclusion.

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1st Earl of Kent, 1st Earl of March, 1st Earl of Norfolk, Berkeley Castle, Edmund of Woodstock, Henry of Lancaster, Isabella of France, King Edward II of England, King Edward III of England, Philippa of Hainault, Roger Mortimer, Thomas of Brotherton

Death of Edward II

Those opposed to the new government began to make plans to free Edward and restore him to the throne and Roger Mortimer decided to move him to the more secure location of Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, where Edward arrived around April 5, 1327.

It is unclear how well cared for Edward was; the records show luxury goods being bought on his behalf, but some chroniclers suggest that he was often mistreated.

Concerns continued to be raised over fresh plots to liberate Edward, some involving the Dominican order and former household knights, and one such attempt got at least as far as breaking into the prison within the castle.
As a result of these threats, Edward was moved around to other locations in secret for a period, before returning to permanent custody at the castle in the late summer of 1327.

On September 23 King Edward III was informed that his father had died at Berkeley Castle during the night of September 21. Most historians agree that Edward II did die at Berkeley on that date, although there is a minority view that he died much later. His death was, as Mark Ormrod notes, “suspiciously timely”, as it simplified Mortimer’s political problems considerably, and most historians believe that Edward probably was murdered on the orders of the new regime, although it is impossible to be certain.

Aftermath

Several of the individuals suspected of involvement in the death, including Sir Thomas Gurney, Maltravers and William Ockley, later fled England. If Edward died from natural causes, his death may have been hastened by depression following his imprisonment.

In the autumn of 1328, three members of the Royal Family United in a conspiracy against Isabella and Mortimer. these members were: Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent (August 5, 1301 – March 19, 1330) the sixth son of King Edward I of England by his second wife Margaret of France and his brother, Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk (June 1, 1300 – August 4, 1338), the fifth son of King Edward I of England (both half-brothers of King Edward II). They were joined by Henry of Lancaster (c. 1281 – September 22, 1345) was a grandson of King Henry III (1216–1272) of England and was one of the principals behind the deposition of King Edward II (1307–1327) and also his first cousin.

The conspiracy was a product of shared interest, however, rather than strong personal ties. Once it became clear that it would fail, the two brothers and the Earl of Lancaster abandoned the venture. One reason for the failure of this rebellion was due to the passivity of the young Edward III.

After participating in the planned rebellion, Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent became less popular at court. However, He was still allowed to accompany the king’s wife Philippa of Hainault to her coronation in February 1330, but his appearances at court became less frequent. At this point he became involved in another plot against the king, when he was convinced by rumours that his brother was still alive.

It later emerged that Roger Mortimer himself was responsible for leading Edmund into this belief, in a form of entrapment. The plot was revealed, and in the parliament of March 1330 Mortimer ordered the execution of Edmund and he was indicted and condemned to death as a traitor.

Upon hearing that the verdict was death, the condemned earl pleaded with Edward III for his life, offering to walk from Winchester to London with a rope around his neck as a sign of atonement. Edward III however knew that leniency was not an option for the aforementioned entrapment utilized by Mortimer could extend to him and potentially be subversive to his own kingship if his father, Edward II truly was alive. Thus Edward III sanctioned the killing of his uncle.

It was almost impossible to find anyone willing to perform the execution of a man of royal blood, until a convicted murderer eventually beheaded Edmund in exchange for a pardon. Edmund’s body was initially buried in a Franciscan church in Winchester, but it was removed to Westminster Abbey in 1331.

After the execution of Edmund of Woodstock, Henry of Lancaster prevailed upon the young king, Edward III, to assert his independence. In October 1330, a Parliament was summoned to Nottingham, just days before Edward’s eighteenth birthday, and Mortimer and Isabella were seized by Edward and his companions from inside Nottingham Castle. Mortimer was put on trial for treason.

In spite of Isabella’s entreaty to her son, “Fair son, have pity on the gentle Mortimer,” Mortimer was conveyed to the Tower. Accused of assuming royal power and of various other high misdemeanors Isabella was portrayed as an innocent bystander during the proceedings, and no mention of her sexual relationship with Mortimer was made public. Mortimer was hanged at Tyburn on November 29, 1330, but Edward III showed leniency and he was not quartered or disemboweled.

Mortimer’s body hung at the gallows for two days and nights in full view of the populace. His his vast estates forfeited to the crown. Mortimer’s widow Joan received a pardon in 1336 and survived until 1356. She was buried beside Mortimer at Wigmore, but the site was later destroyed.

After the coup, Isabella was initially transferred to Berkhamsted Castle, and then held under house arrest at Windsor Castle until 1332, when she then moved back to her own Castle Rising in Norfolk. Agnes Strickland, a Victorian historian, argued that Isabella suffered from occasional fits of madness during this period but modern interpretations suggest, at worst, a nervous breakdown following the death of her lover.

As the years went by, Isabella became very close to her daughter Joan, especially after Joan left her unfaithful husband, King David II of Scotland. Joan also nursed her just before she died. She doted on her grandchildren, including Edward, the Black Prince. She became increasingly interested in religion as she grew older, visiting a number of shrines.

She remained, however, a gregarious member of the court, receiving constant visitors; amongst her particular friends appear to have been Roger Mortimer’s daughter Agnes Mortimer, Countess of Pembroke, and Roger Mortimer’s grandson, also called Roger Mortimer, whom Edward III restored to the Earldom of March.

Isabella took the nun’s habit of the Poor Clares before she died on August 22, 1358 at Hertford Castle, and her body was returned to London for burial at the Franciscan church at Newgate, in a service overseen by Archbishop Simon Islip.

Conspiracy Theories

With Mortimer’s execution in 1330, controversies rapidly began to circulate that Edward II was not still alive had been murdered at Berkeley Castle. Accounts that he had been killed by the insertion of a red-hot iron or poker into his anus slowly began to circulate, possibly as a result of deliberate propaganda; chroniclers in the mid-1330s and 1340s spread this account further, supported in later years by Geoffrey le Baker’s colourful account of the killing.

It became incorporated into most later histories of Edward II, typically being linked to his possible homosexuality.Most historians now dismiss this account of Edward II’s death, querying the logic in his captors murdering him in such an easily detectable fashion.

Another set of theories surround the possibility that Edward did not really die in 1327. These theories typically involve the “Fieschi Letter”, sent to Edward III by an Italian priest called Manuel Fieschi, who claimed that Edward escaped Berkeley Castle in 1327 with the help of a servant and ultimately retired to become a hermit in the Holy Roman Empire. A few historians have supported versions of its narrative.

The popular historian Alison Weir believes the events in the letter to be essentially true, using the letter to argue that Isabella was innocent of murdering Edward. The historian Ian Mortimer suggests that the story in Fieschi’s letter is broadly accurate, but argues that it was in fact Mortimer and Isabella who had Edward secretly released, and who then faked his death, a fiction later maintained by Edward III when he came to power. Ian Mortimer’s account was criticised by most scholars when it was first published, in particular by historian David Carpenter.

Edward II was ultimately a failure as a king; the historian Michael Prestwich observes that he “was lazy and incompetent, liable to outbursts of temper over unimportant issues, yet indecisive when it came to major issues”, echoed by Roy Haines’ description of Edward as “incompetent and vicious”, and as “no man of business”.

Edward II did not just delegate routine government to his subordinates, but also higher level decision making, and Pierre Chaplais argues that he “was not so much an incompetent king as a reluctant one”, preferring to rule through a powerful deputy, such as Piers Gaveston or Hugh Despenser the Younger. Edward’s willingness to promote his favourites had serious political consequences, although he also attempted to buy the loyalty of a wider grouping of nobles through grants of money and fees.

The Life of Edward II, King of England and Lord of Ireland. Part VI.

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Abdication, Charles IV of France, Earl of Lancaster, Hugh Despenser The Elder, Isabella of France, King Edward II of England, Parliament, Roger Mortimer, Westminster Abbey

Fall from power (1326–1327)

Isabella, with Edward’s envoys, carried out negotiations with the French in late March. The negotiations proved difficult, and they arrived at a settlement only after Isabella personally intervened with her brother, King Charles IV of France. The terms favoured the French Crown: in particular, Edward would give homage in person to Charles for Gascony. Concerned about the consequences of war breaking out once again, Edward agreed to the treaty but decided to give Gascony to his son, Edward, and sent the prince to give homage in Paris.

Edward now expected Isabella and their son to return to England, but instead she remained in France and showed no intention of making her way back. Until 1322, Edward and Isabella’s marriage appears to have been successful, but by the time Isabella left for France in 1325, it had deteriorated. Isabella appears to have disliked Hugh Despenser the Younger intensely, not least because of his abuse of high-status women. Isabella was embarrassed that she had fled from Scottish armies three times during her marriage to Edward, and she blamed Hugh for the final occurrence in 1322.

When Edward had negotiated the recent truce with Robert the Bruce, he had severely disadvantaged a range of noble families who owned land in Scotland, including the Beaumonts, close friends of Isabella’s. She was also angry about the arrest of her household and seizure of her lands in 1324. Finally, Edward had taken away her children and given custody of them to Hugh Despenser’s wife.

By February 1326, it was clear that Isabella was involved in a relationship with an exiled Marcher Lord, Roger Mortimer. It is unclear when Isabella first met Mortimer or when their relationship began, but they both wanted to see Edward and the Despensers removed from power. Edward appealed for his son to return, and for Charles IV to intervene on his behalf, but this had no effect.

During August and September 1326, Edward mobilised his defences along the coasts of England to protect against the possibility of an invasion either by France or by Roger Mortimer. Roger Mortimer, Isabella, and thirteen-year-old Prince Edward, accompanied by King Edward’s half-brother Edmund of Woodstock, landed in Orwell on September 24, with a small force of men and met with no resistance. Instead, enemies of the Despensers moved rapidly to join them, including Edward’s other half-brother, Thomas of Brotherton; Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster, who had inherited the earldom from his brother Thomas; and a range of senior clergy.

London descended into anarchy, as mobs attacked Edward’s remaining officials and associates, killing his former treasurer Walter Stapledon in St Paul’s Cathedral, and taking the Tower and releasing the prisoners inside. Edward continued west up the Thames Valley, reaching Gloucester between October 9 and 12; he hoped to reach Wales and from there mobilise an army against the invaders. Mortimer and Isabella were not far behind.

Charles IV, King of France

Edward’s authority collapsed in England where, in his absence, Isabella’s faction took over the administration with the support of the Church. Her forces surrounded Bristol, where Hugh Despenser the Elder had taken shelter; he surrendered and was promptly executed. Edward and Hugh the Younger fled their castle around November 2, leaving behind jewellery, considerable supplies and at least £13,000 in cash, possibly once again hoping to reach Ireland, but on 16 November they were betrayed and captured by a search party north of Caerphilly. Edward was escorted first to Monmouth Castle, and from there back into England, where he was held at the Earl of Lancaster’s fortress at Kenilworth. Edward’s final remaining forces, by now besieged in Caerphilly Castle, surrendered after five months in April 1327.

Isabella and Mortimer rapidly took revenge on the former regime. Hugh Despenser the Younger was put on trial, declared a traitor and sentenced to be disembowelled, castrated and quartered; he was duly executed on November 24, 1326.

Queen Isabella

Edward’s position, however, was problematic; he was still married to Isabella and, in principle, he remained the king, but most of the new administration had a lot to lose were he to be released and potentially regain power.

There was no established procedure for removing an English king. Adam Orleton, the Bishop of Hereford, made a series of public allegations about Edward’s conduct as king, and in January 1327 a parliament convened at Westminster at which the question of Edward’s future was raised; Edward refused to attend the gathering. Parliament, initially ambivalent, responded to the London crowds that called for Prince Edward to take the throne.

Shortly after this, a representative delegation of barons, clergy and knights was sent to Kenilworth to speak to the king. On January 20, 1327, the Earl of Lancaster and the bishops of Winchester and Lincoln met privately with Edward in the castle. They informed Edward that if he were to resign as monarch, his son Prince Edward would succeed him, but if he failed to do so, his son might be disinherited as well, and the crown given to an alternative candidate.

In tears, Edward agreed to abdicate, and on January 21, Sir William Trussell, representing the kingdom as a whole, withdrew his homage and formally ended Edward’s reign. A proclamation was sent to London, announcing that Edward, now known as Edward of Caernarvon, had freely resigned his kingdom and that Prince Edward would succeed him. The coronation took place at Westminster Abbey on February 2, 1327.

Life of Edward II, King of England and Lord of Ireland. Part III

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Earl of Warwick, Henry of Lancaster, Isabella of France, King Edward II of England, Ordinances of 1311, Piers Gaveston, York

Ordinances of 1311

Following his return, Gaveston’s relationship with the major barons became increasingly difficult. He was considered arrogant, and he took to referring to the earls by offensive names, including calling one of their more powerful members the “dog of Warwick”. Henry, 3rd Earl of Leicester and Lancaster and Gaveston’s enemies refused to attend parliament in 1310 because Gaveston would be present. Edward was facing increasing financial problems, owing £22,000 to his Frescobaldi Italian bankers, and facing protests about how he was using his right of prises to acquire supplies for the war in Scotland. His attempts to raise an army for Scotland collapsed and the earls suspended the collection of the new taxes.

The king and parliament met again in February 1310, and the proposed discussions of Scottish policy were replaced by debate of domestic problems. Edward was petitioned to abandon Gaveston as his counsellor and instead adopt the advice of 21 elected barons, termed Ordainers, who would carry out a widespread reform of both the government and the royal household.

Under huge pressure, he agreed to the proposal and the Ordainers were elected, broadly evenly split between reformers and conservatives. While the Ordainers began their plans for reform, Edward and Gaveston took a new army of around 4,700 men to Scotland, where the military situation had continued to deteriorate. Robert the Bruce declined to give battle and the campaign progressed ineffectually over the winter until supplies and money ran out in 1311, forcing Edward to return south.

By now the Ordainers had drawn up their Ordinances for reform and Edward had little political choice but to give way and accept them in October. The Ordinances of 1311 contained clauses limiting the king’s right to go to war or to grant land without parliament’s approval, giving parliament control over the royal administration, abolishing the system of prises, excluding the Frescobaldi bankers, and introducing a system to monitor the adherence to the Ordinances.

In addition, the Ordinances exiled Gaveston once again, this time with instructions that he should not be allowed to live anywhere within Edward’s lands, including Gascony and Ireland, and that he should be stripped of his titles. Edward retreated to his estates at Windsor and Kings Langley; Gaveston left England, possibly for northern France or Flanders.

Death of Gaveston

Tensions between Edward and the barons remained high, and the earls opposed to the king kept their personal armies mobilised late into 1311. By now Edward had become estranged from his cousin, Henry, 3rd Earl of Leicester and Lancaster who was also the Earl of Lincoln, Salisbury and Derby, with an income of around £11,000 a year from his lands, almost double that of the next wealthiest baron. Backed by the earls of Arundel, Gloucester, Hereford, Pembroke and Warwick, Lancaster led a powerful faction in England, but he was not personally interested in practical administration, nor was he a particularly imaginative or effective politician.

Piers Gaveston

Edward responded to the baronial threat by revoking the Ordinances and recalling Gaveston to England, being reunited with him at York in January 1312. The barons were furious and met in London, where Gaveston was excommunicated by the Archbishop of Canterbury and plans were put in place to capture Gaveston and prevent him from fleeing to Scotland. Edward, Isabella and Gaveston left for Newcastle, pursued by Lancaster and his followers.

Abandoning many of their belongings, the royal party fled by ship and landed at Scarborough, where Gaveston stayed while Edward and Isabella returned to York. After a short siege, Gaveston surrendered to the earls of Pembroke and Surrey, on the promise that he would not be harmed. He had with him a huge collection of gold, silver and gems, probably part of the royal treasury, which he was later accused of having stolen from Edward.

On the way back from the north, Pembroke stopped in the village of Deddington in the Midlands, putting Gaveston under guard there while he went to visit his wife. The Earl of Warwick took this opportunity to seize Gaveston, taking him to Warwick Castle, where the Earl of Lancaster and the rest of his faction assembled on June 18.

After a brief brief trial at Warwick Castle, Gaveston was declared guilty of being a traitor under the terms of the Ordinances and was condemned to death before an assembly of barons, including Warwick, Lancaster, Hereford and Arundel. On June 19, he was taken out on the road towards Kenilworth as far as Blacklow Hill, which was on the Earl of Lancaster’s land. Here, two Welshmen ran him through with a sword and beheaded him. Gaveston’s body was not buried until 1315, when his funeral was held in King’s Langley Priory.

Life of Edward II, King of England and Lord of Ireland. Part II.

Tags

Alexander III of Scotland, Isabella of France, King Edward I of England, King Edward II of England, Kings and Queens of England, Parliament, Philip IV of France, Piers Gaveston

In 1290, Edward’s father Edward I of England, had confirmed the Treaty of Birgham, in which he promised to marry his six-year-old son to the young Margaret of Norway, who had a potential claim to the crown of Scotland. Margaret was the daughter of King Eric II of Norway and Margaret of Scotland, the firstborn child of King Alexander III of Scotland and Margaret of England (Margaret of England was the daughter the second child of King Henry III of England and his wife, Eleanor of Provence).

Alexander III died in 1286, his posthumous child was stillborn, and Margaret inherited the crown. Owing to her young age, She was finally sent to England in September 1290, but died in Orkney, sparking off the succession dispute between thirteen competitors for the crown of Scotland.

Edward II, King of England and Lord of Ireland, Duke of Aquitaine.

Edward’s mother, Eleanor of Castile, died shortly afterwards, followed by his grandmother, Eleanor of Provence. Edward I was distraught at his wife’s death and held a huge funeral for her; his son inherited the County of Ponthieu from Eleanor.

Next, a French marriage was considered for the young Edward, to help secure a lasting peace with France, but war broke out in 1294. The idea was replaced with the proposal of a marriage to a daughter of Guy, Count of Flanders, but this too failed after it was blocked by King Philippe IV of France.

Edward I returned to Scotland once again in 1300, and this time took his son with him, making him the commander of the rearguard at the siege of Caerlaverock Castle. In the spring of 1301, the king declared Edward the Prince of Wales, granting him the earldom of Chester and lands across North Wales; he seems to have hoped that this would help pacify the region, and that it would give his son some financial independence.

Edward I mobilised another army for the Scottish campaign in 1307, which Prince Edward was due to join that summer, but the elderly king had been increasingly unwell and died on 7 July 7, at Burgh by Sands. Edward travelled from London immediately after the news reached him, and on July 20, he was proclaimed king. The new King Edward II continued north into Scotland and on August 4 he received homage from his Scottish supporters at Dumfries, before abandoning the campaign and returning south.

Edward promptly recalled Piers Gaveston, who was then in exile, and created him Earl of Cornwall, before arranging his marriage to the wealthy Margaret de Clare. Edward II also arrested his old adversary Bishop Langton, and dismissed him from his post as treasurer. Edward I’s body was kept at Waltham Abbey for several months before being taken for burial to Westminster, where Edward erected a simple marble tomb for his father.

Isabella of France

In 1308, Edward’s marriage to Isabella of France proceeded. Her parents were King Philippe IV of France and Queen Joan I of Navarre; her brothers Louis (X), Philippe (V) and Charles (IV) each in time became kings of France.

Edward crossed the English Channel to France in January, leaving Gaveston as his custos regni in charge of the kingdom. This arrangement was unusual, and involved unprecedented powers being delegated to Gaveston, backed by a specially engraved Great Seal. Edward probably hoped that the marriage would strengthen his position in Gascony and bring him much needed funds. The final negotiations, however, proved challenging: Edward II and Philippe IV did not like each other, and the French king drove a hard bargain over the size of Isabella’s dower and the details of the administration of Edward’s lands in France.

As part of the agreement, Edward gave homage to Philippe IV for the Duchy of Aquitaine and agreed to a commission to complete the implementation of the 1303 Treaty of Paris. Edward II and Isabella were married in Boulogne on January 25, 1308. Edward gave Isabella a psalter as a wedding gift, and her father gave her gifts worth over 21,000 livres and a fragment of the True Cross.

The pair returned to England in February, where Edward had ordered Westminster Palace to be lavishly restored in readiness for their coronation and wedding feast, complete with marble tables, forty ovens and a fountain that produced wine and pimento, a spiced medieval drink. After some delays, the ceremony went ahead on February 25, at Westminster Abbey, under the guidance of Henry Woodlock, the Bishop of Winchester.

As part of the coronation, Edward swore to uphold “the rightful laws and customs which the community of the realm shall have chosen”. It is uncertain what this meant: it might have been intended to force Edward to accept future legislation, it may have been inserted to prevent him from overturning any future vows he might take, or it may have been an attempt by the king to ingratiate himself with the barons.

The event was marred by the large crowds of eager spectators who surged into the palace, knocking down a wall and forcing Edward to flee by the back door.

Isabella was only 12 years old at the time of her wedding, young even by the standards of the period, and Edward (aged 24 at the time) probably had sexual relations with mistresses during their first few years together. During this time he fathered an illegitimate son, Adam, who was born possibly as early as 1307. Edward and Isabella’s first son, the future Edward III, was born in 1312, when Isabella was 17, amid great celebrations, and three more children followed: John in 1316, Eleanor in 1318 and Joan in 1321.

Piers Gaveston

Gaveston’s return from exile in 1307 was initially accepted by the barons, but opposition quickly grew. He appeared to have an excessive influence on royal policy, leading to complaints from one chronicler that there were “two kings reigning in one kingdom, the one in name and the other in deed”. Accusations, probably untrue, were levelled at Gaveston that he had stolen royal funds and had purloined Isabella’s wedding presents. Gaveston had played a key role at Edward’s coronation, provoking fury from both the English and French contingents about the earl’s ceremonial precedence and magnificent clothes, and about Edward’s apparent preference for Gaveston’s company over that of Isabella at the feast.

Edward II and Piers Gaveston

Parliament met in February 1308 in a heated atmosphere. Edward was eager to discuss the potential for governmental reform, but the barons were unwilling to begin any such debate until the problem of Gaveston had been resolved. Violence seemed likely, but the situation was resolved through the mediation of the moderate Henry de Lacy, 3rd Earl of Lincoln, who convinced the barons to back down.

A fresh parliament was held in April, where the barons once again criticised Gaveston, demanding his exile, this time supported by Isabella and the French monarchy. Edward resisted, but finally acquiesced, agreeing to send Gaveston to Aquitaine, under threat of excommunication by the Archbishop of Canterbury should he return. At the last moment, Edward changed his mind and instead sent Gaveston to Dublin, appointing him as the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.