Edward II (25th April 1284 – 21st September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was the fourth son of Edward I. His place of birth was probably a deliberate ploy on his father’s behalf, being less than a year after Edward I had conquered the region. Edward II was 4 months old when he became Heir Apparent to the Throne following the death of his elder brother Alphonso, but wasn’t Prince of Wales until he was 17. The legend that Edward's father conquered the Welsh and then promised them a prince who spoke no English, producing his baby son who wasn't old enough to speak any recognised language, is probably apocryphal. The baby Edward was his father's fourth son, two other elder brothers having died in infancy and the story can only be traced back to the 16th century. The English aristocracy at the time spoke Norman French, not English, anyway. |
Following his father's death, Edward succeeded to the throne in 1307 and took on his father's undifferenced Arms. Soon after his father's death, Edward married Isabella, the daughter of the powerful King Philip IV of France, in 1308, as part of a long-running effort to resolve tensions between the English and French crowns. However, the Queen would not prove to be a problem yet...
Edward had a close and controversial relationship with Piers Gaveston, who had joined his household in 1300. The precise nature of their relationship is uncertain; they may have been friends, lovers, or sworn brothers. Gaveston's presence at the royal wedding aggravated the English nobility enough, but his presence at Edward and Isabella's Coronation at Westminster a few days later, with Gaveston carrying St Edward's Crown, proved worse. Edward was forced to exile him. On Gaveston's return, the barons pressed the King into agreeing to wide-ranging reforms, called the Ordinances of 1311. The newly empowered barons banished Gaveston, to which Edward responded by revoking the reforms and recalling his favourite. Led by Edward's cousin Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, a group of the barons seized and executed Gaveston in 1312, beginning several years of armed confrontation. English forces were pushed back in Scotland, where Edward was decisively defeated by Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Widespread famine followed, and criticism of the king's reign mounted.
The Despenser family, in particular Hugh Despenser the Younger, became close friends and advisers to Edward, but Lancaster and many of the barons seized the Despensers' lands in 1321, and forced the King to exile them. In response, Edward led a short military campaign, capturing and executing Lancaster. Edward and the Despensers strengthened their grip on power, formally revoking the 1311 reforms, executing their enemies and confiscating estates. Opposition to the regime grew and, when Isabella was sent to France to negotiate a peace treaty in 1325, she turned against Edward and refused to return. Instead, she allied herself with the exiled Roger Mortimer and invaded England with a small army in 1326. Edward's regime collapsed and he fled to Wales, where he was captured in November. The King was forced to relinquish his crown in January 1327 in favour of his 14-year-old son, Edward III, and he died in Berkeley Castle on 21st September, probably murdered on the orders of the new regime.
Isabella of France
Isabella arrived in England at the age of 12 during a period of growing conflict between the King and the powerful baronial factions. Her new husband, Edward II, was notorious for the patronage he lavished on his favourite, Piers Gaveston, but the Queen supported Edward during these early years, forming a working relationship with Piers and using her relationship with the French monarchy to bolster her own authority and power. After the death of Gaveston at the hands of the barons in 1312, however, Edward later turned to a new favourite, Hugh Despenser the Younger, and attempted to take revenge on the barons. Isabella could not tolerate Hugh Despenser and by 1325 her marriage to Edward was at a breaking point.
Travelling to France on a diplomatic mission, Isabella may have begun an affair with Roger Mortimer, and the two may possibly have agreed at this point to depose Edward and oust the Despenser family. The Queen returned to England with a small mercenary army in 1326, moving rapidly across England, and the King's forces deserted him. Isabella deposed Edward, becoming regent on behalf of her son, Edward III. Some believe that Isabella or Mortimer then arranged the murder of Edward II. However, Isabella and Mortimer's regime soon began to crumble, partly because of her lavish spending, but also because the Queen successfully, but unpopularly, resolved long-running problems such as the wars with Scotland.
In 1330, aged 18, Edward III forcibly asserted his authority, and Mortimer was executed. Isabella lost her regency and was put under arrest for two years, but her son reprieved her and she lived for many years in considerable style.
On one of Isabella's seals, she dimidiates England and France ancient, but on another seal she bears two escutcheons simultaneously, one with the arms of England and the other dimidiating the arms of her parents, Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre. Another seal shows Isabella's as quarterly of four:
Quarterly, 1st England, 2nd France ancient (Philip IV of France), 3rd, Gules, a cross saltire and an orle of chains linked together Or (Navarre), 4th, Azure, a bend Argent cotised potent-counter-potent Or (Champagne)
John of Eltham, 1st Earl of Cornwall
John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall (15th August 1316 – 13th September 1336) was the second son of Edward and Isabella. He was Heir Presumptive to the English Throne until the birth of his nephew Edward, the Black Prince. On 6th October 1328, at the age of twelve, he was created Earl of Cornwall. Caught in the throes of the war between his parents, his growing years were turbulent. He was even held in the Tower of London for a time before his brother, Edward III, led a coup against their mother and assumed his majority. Information on John is scant, but by most historical accounts he was highly competent and highly trusted by Edward. The Scots view him, however, as ruthless. He was named "Guardian of the Realm" when Edward III was out of the country, was asked to open Parliament in Edward's absence, and was named Warden of the northern Marches, which gave him virtual autonomy in that portion of England. No negotiations for his marriage came to any fruition and John died at Perth, probably from a fever, shortly after turning 20. In January 1337, Edward buried his brother with all honours in a beautiful alabaster-carved tomb in Westminster Abbey, and regularly had masses said for his soul. |