• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
    • First Time Here?
    • Royal Oak
    • Our App
    • Contact
    • Free Anglotopia Mobile and Tablet App
    • Advertise
    • History of Anglotopia
    • Newsletter
    • Disclaimer
    • Press Room
  • Blog
    • Podcast
  • Sections
    • Anglophilia
      • Anglophile 101
      • Anglotopia Long Reads
      • Desktop Wallpapers
      • Anglophile Alerts
      • Anglophile Deals
      • Anglophile Gear
      • Anglophile Zen
      • British Food
    • British TV
      • BBC
      • Downton Abbey
      • Doctor Who News
      • British TV Videos
      • Top Gear
    • British History
      • Great Britons
      • Winston Churchill
      • British Literature
      • British Empire
      • British Military
      • English Language
      • Royal History
      • Shakespeare
    • Royal Family
      • The Queen
      • Prince Harry
      • Prince George
      • Royal Couple – Will & Kate
      • Royal Family
      • Royal History
      • Royal Traditions
    • Reviews
      • Brit DVD Reviews
      • Brit Book Reviews
      • Brit Movie Reviews
      • Brit TV Reviews
      • Brit Music Reviews
      • Attraction Reviews
  • Top British Slang
    • British Slang Archives
    • British Slang Dictionary
    • British English: The Top 50 Most Beautiful British Insults
    • British Slang: Your Guide to British Police Slang for the Telly Watcher
    • British Slang: Tea Time – British Words for Tea and Tea Related Culture
    • British Slang: British Railway Terms
    • ltimate List of Funny British Place Names
  • London
  • Tours
    • Top UK Tour Operators
    • Top London Tours
    • Top Day Trips from London
    • Anglophile Recommendations
    • UK Lodging Recommendations
  • British Forum
  • Our Books
    • Adventures in Anglotopia
    • British Slang Dictionary
    • 101 London Travel Tips
    • 101 Budget Britain Travel Tips – 2nd Edition
    • Anglophile Vignettes
    • Great Britons Book: Top 50 Greatest Brits Who Ever Lived
    • Great Events in British History
  • Royaltopia
  • British Store
    • New Arrivals
    • British Products On Sale
    • British Imports
    • Coronation Products
    • Union Jack Faerie Lights
    • Anglotopia Gear
    • British Tea in the USA

Anglotopia.net

The Website for People Who Love Britain - Anglophiles

  • Royaltopia
    • The King
    • The Coronation
    • Prince of Wales
    • Royal History
    • The Monarchs
    • Royal Traditions
    • Royal Couple – Will & Kate
    • The Queen
  • British News
  • History
    • Prehistoric Britain
    • British Legends
    • Roman Britain
    • Anglo-Saxon
    • Norman Britain
    • Medieval Era
    • Plantagenet Era
    • Tudor Era
    • Elizabethan Era
    • Carolinean Era
    • Interregnum Era
    • Jacobean Era
    • Stuart Era
    • Restoration Era
    • Georgian Era
    • Colonial America
    • Edwardian Era
    • Regency Era
    • British Empire
    • Victorian Era
    • Interwar Period
    • Winston Churchill
    • Modern Britain
    • Royal History
    • Through the Library
    • Transport History
    • The Monarchs
    • World War I Era
    • World War II
  • Entertainment
    • British TV
      • Doctor Who
      • BBC
      • Downton Abbey
      • Top Gear
      • Brit TV Reviews
      • Acorn Media
      • Britbox
    • British Movies
    • British Music
  • Columns
    • Long Reads
      • Magazine
      • Dreams of Britain
      • Inspiration
      • Great British Art
      • Inspiration Videos
      • Inspirational Places
    • Eating British in America
    • An American Student Abroad
    • A Brit Back Home
    • A Day In the Life…
    • A Church in Wales
    • Through the Lens
    • Through the Library
    • Anglophile Life
    • Laura’s Britain
    • Lost in the Pond
  • Anglophilia
    • Anglophile 101
    • Anglophile Alerts
    • Anglophile Problems
    • Anglophile Gear
    • English Language
    • Anglophile Zen
    • Pictures of England
  • British Heritage
  • Britishness
    • Art
    • British Architecture
    • British Aristocracy
    • British Weather
    • British Cars
    • British Products
    • Brit Knits
    • Brit Crafts
    • Brit Recipes
    • British Food
    • British Christmas
    • Our Trips
      • Anglotopia’s Grand Adventure – Land’s End to John O’Groats
      • Rural Writers Institute Trip
      • Harry’s Wedding
      • Anglotopia Goes to Oxford
      • England Spring 2017 Trip
      • February 2017
      • Spring 2016 Trip
      • London 2016
      • An English Christmas Trip – 2013
      • Training for Hadrian’s Wall – 2014
      • Jubilee 2012 Trip
      • Royal Wedding Trip Diaries
      • Trip to England – July 2010
      • Trip to England 2009
  • British Forum
You are here: Home / Anglotopia Magazine / The Monarchs: Edward II – The King Betrayed By His Wife

The Monarchs: Edward II – The King Betrayed By His Wife

December 11, 2019 By Jonathan Leave a Comment

Ultimately a failure as a king, Edward II spent the majority of his reign battling with the baronial lords of the time who constantly rebelled and sought to gain power over the king and control of the country. Edward II incurred large debts during his years as King and oversaw the Scots’ famous victory at Bannockburn by Robert the Bruce. Criticized for his habit of taking close personal friends and lavishly bestowing them with titles and wealth, Edward was constantly at odds with his nobles. Betrayed by his wife, in politics and matrimony, Edward was forced to renounce his throne to his son before dying a sad death while held captive at Berkeley Castle.

KEY FACTS

  • Edward II was born on the 25th of April 1284 at Caernarvon.
  • He succeeded to the English throne on 7th July 1307, aged 23 and became the King of England, Overlord of Ireland and Scotland and Duke of Aquitaine.
  • Edward II was married in 1308 to Isabella of France, daughter of King Philip IV. Isabella was nicknamed the She-Wolf and after 19 years of marriage was instrumental in having Edward deposed and killed.
  • Following his abdication from the throne and ten months of imprisonment, Edward II was killed on 22nd September 1327.

The fourth son of King Edward I and his first wife Eleanor of Castile, Edward II endured a childhood marked by loss. Eleanor of Castile was separated from Edward through the majority of his childhood and died when he was just six years old following an extended illness. Edward I was fighting in three countries over the next few years of young Edward’s life. When Edward I remarried he focussed his time on his new family and rarely saw his other sons.

Raised by a dedicated Royal Household, Edward was given a religious education by Dominican friars. Edward enjoyed horse-riding and music but was criticized for his regular association with laborers and other members of the lower-class. An image of Edward as a somewhat shallow and irresponsible person took seed during his childhood years and set him on a course of hostility with his court that he would struggle with for the rest of his life.

During 1297 and 1298, Edward II was left as the acting regent of England while his father fought a campaign in Flanders against the French King Philip IV. As part of a peace treaty, Edward was betrothed to Isabella, King Phillip’s daughter who was then only seven years old. Edward was taken to Scotland with his father in 1300 to command a division and was declared the Prince of Wales in 1301. The young prince was being groomed for a future as King.

According to some historians, the single most significant person in Edward’s life was not his father, his wife or his priest but his childhood playmate Piers Gaveston. Piers was the son of a noble knight from Gascony and was brought to Edward’s household as a companion to for the young prince. Edward’s life was filled with Gaveston, and contemporary chroniclers of royal lives have launched in-depth investigations into whether or not the pair were intimate. The details of the relationship remain unclear but in 1306 Gaveston was knighted by King Edward I a few days after the Feast of Swans before being promptly exiled by him in 1307.

Just one month after his father’s death the newly crowned Edward II brought Galveston back from exile and made him the Earl of Cornwall, a title generally reserved for the royal family and married him to the wealthiest lady in the land, Margaret de Clare. As if that wasn’t enough, Edward appointed Gaveston regent of England while he went to France for his wedding to 16-year-old Isabella of France. None of this was well-received by the English aristocracy. In fact, the special treatment given to young Galveston was so badly received by the aristocracy that Edward’s own Council launched a revolt.

Thomas of Lancaster, a Marcher Lord who was in the enviable position of being a cousin to both the King and his new queen as well as holding five powerful earldoms, led the revolt against Edward. Within a year of his accession, Edward was forced by his Council to take the Earldom of Cornwall back from Gaveston and again sent him into exile. In response, Edward appointed Gaveston as his Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, a move that further enraged the Barons.

Within one year Gaveston had returned to Edward’s court thanks to Edward’s efforts that involved a complicated game of favors that involved the Pope and the monarchy of France. When Gaveston’s influence over government and excessive spending of the country’s revenue got too much for the Barons, they forced the appointing of 21 Lord Ordainers who took over the management of the economy.

Tensions between the unpopular king and the barons remained high, and the earls opposed to the king, led by the powerful and wealthy Earl of Lancaster, kept their personal armies mobilized. In 1312 the barons had Galveston excommunicated by the Archbishop of Canterbury and seized him following a short siege. Accused of being a traitor, Gaveston was executed.

The storm clouds parted for just a moment to welcome Edward and Isabella’s first child into the world, a son who would go on to become Edward III, but soon things got even worse for the unhappy king. In 1314, seven years into his reign Edward came up against Robert the Bruce in the Battle of Bannockburn and suffered a defeat that gained Scotland its independence. It would take three centuries for the English to recover this loss and the huge debts left by Edward’s Scottish campaign made him even more unpopular with the people.

In the tense time that followed the loss of Scotland, Lancaster was able to insert himself as the leader of the Lord Ordainers, effectively the leader of the formal government of England. Excluded and despised Edward turned to his friends, most notably the Lord le Depenser and his son, who he pampered with favors and titles, just as he had pampered Gaveston.

The Earl of Lancaster and Roger de Mortimer, Earl of March formed a powerful enough alliance to wage war with the king and a civil war ensued. The le Depensers were banished, but Edward managed to capture both Lancaster and Mortimer. Lancaster was executed, and Mortimer was held in the Tower of London. By now it was known to all that Edward’s wife Isabella was having an affair with Mortimer. In 1323, Isabella took matters into her own hands, contriving Mortimer’s escape from the Tower into France and following with her son Edward III, heir to the English throne.

In September 1326, the ambitious trio landed in Suffolk with an army and declared the young prince-governor of the country. With no army and no support from his people Edward II was easily captured, his companions the le Depensers were hanged, and he was imprisoned in Kenilworth to await his fate. After being forced to abdicate by a representative delegation of barons, clergy and knights who agreed that Edward II was unfit to lead the country, his son Edward III was proclaimed King of England at Westminster Abbey on 20 January 1327.

Conveniently, Edward II died in custody on 21st September. Little is known about the circumstances of his death, but it is thought that Mortimer likely arranged for his murder. Mortimer’s dominance did not last long, however. He and Isabella soon fell out of favor with the populace as they amassed and spent a huge fortune and in 1330, King Edward III initiated a coup d’etat, arresting and executing Mortimer on charges of treason. But that’s the story of a different king.   

Legacy  

King Edward II’s legacy is not a particularly glorious one. Unpopular with his baronial lords, his court and his people, Edward’s reign was primarily spent avoiding his duties and king and buying the affection of his so-called ‘favourites.’ A dismal reign, Edward’s time on the throne saw English defeat at the Battle of Bannockburn. Much writing on Edward II following his death has focussed on his relationship with Piers Gaveston and alluding to his possible homosexuality. An unpopular and inadequate king, Edward II was nonetheless a source of fascination, particularly to the Victorians who learned about his life from the likes of Charles Dickens and Charles Knight.

Film and TV

  • Braveheart (1995)
  • Marlowe (1991)
  • Edward II (1991)
  • Edward II (1970) (TV Movie)
  • Edward II (1982) (TV Movie)

Further Research

  • Mortimer, Ian, and Warner, Kathryn (2015) Edward II: The Unconventional King
  • Jones, Dan (2013) The Plantagenets
  • Phillips, Seymour (2011) Edward II (The English Monarchs Series)
  • Doherty, Paul (2004). Isabella and the Strange Death of Edward II
  • Haines, Roy Martin (2003). King Edward II: His Life, his Reign, and its Aftermath
  • Merritt, Stephanie (2002) Gaveston (fiction)
  • Hunt, Chris (1992) Gaveston (fiction)
  • Pentford, John (1984) The Gascon (fiction)

Locations to Visit

  • Caerphilly Castle, the place Edward II spent his last weeks in hiding.
  • Warwick Castle, the location where Piers Gaveston was tried and killed.
  • Bannockburn, the place England was defeated by the Scots under Robert the Bruce during Edward II’s reign.
  • Edward II’s place of death, Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, UK
  • Edward II’s place of burial, Gloucester Cathedral in Gloucestershire, UK.
close

Daily British News

Sign-up for free daily emails with the latest news about British culture, heritage, and history!

We promise we’ll never spam!

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Share this:

  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pocket
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit

Related

Filed Under: Anglotopia Magazine, Medieval Era, Royal History, The Monarchs

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Daily British News

Sign-up for free daily emails with the latest news about British culture, heritage, and history!

We promise we’ll never spam!

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

About Jonathan

Jonathan is a consummate Anglophile with an obsession for Britain that borders on psychosis. Anglotopia is his passionate side-gig and he's always dreaming of his next trip to England, wishing he lived there - specifically Dorset.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Free British News In Your Inbox!

Daily British News

Sign-up for free daily emails with the latest news about British culture, heritage, and history!

We promise we’ll never spam!

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Search our Extensive Archive

Get the Free Anglotopia App

Our Fabulous Advertisers

Free British Weekly Newsletter

Please enter a valid email address
That address is already in use
The security code entered was incorrect
Thanks for signing up!

Recent Discussions on the Anglotopia Forum

  • British people of Anglotopia, what do you make of the whole anglophile thing ?
  • Are you traveling to Britain in 2023?
  • Let's talk about British Food! What's your favorite?
  • British Christmas Traditions?
  • Seventy Years of Dennis the Menace
  • Box of Delights, anyone?
  • Mudlarking
  • Homesickness strikes
  • Weill you be in London for the Coronation in 2023?
  • Please share your memories of the Queen?

Recent Posts

Britain’s Natural history museums join forces to build ‘groundbreaking’ global database

King to visit York to distribute Maundy money for first time as monarch

Ten Interesting Facts about Julie Andrews

Prince of Wales thanks British troops for ‘defending our freedoms’ on trip to Poland

BBC series This Is Going to Hurt and The Responder lead Bafta TV nominations

Kenny Doughty announces departure from ITV crime drama Vera after eight years

Work starts to unearth Roman mosaic under pavement outside vape shop

Prioritise workplace wellbeing to support families, Princess of Wales urges business leaders

Queen Consort shares love of poetry with children’s laureate Joseph Coelho

Sir David Attenborough plants tree to open woodland in honor of late Queen

Best Posts on Anglotopia

  • Top 100 British Slang Words and Phrases
  • Top 50 Most Beautiful British Insults
  • Ultimate List of Funny British Place Names
  • Top 16 Best Castles in England
  • Our Love Affair with Shaftesbury Dorset Explained
  • British Stores in the USA
  • 101 Free Things to do in London
  • Top British Comedies of All Time
  • Top 11 Stately Homes in England
  • The Top 12 Castles in Scotland
  • Top Ten British Chick Flicks
  • Top 10 Anglophile Movies
  • Top 13 Best Castles in Wales
  • Brit Telly 101: Understanding British Police Ranks
  • Brit Slang: British Slang in the Bedroom
  • Finding Downton: Our Journey to Highclere Castle
  • Titanic: 10 Famous People Who Died On The Titanic
  • 33 British Slang Words and Phrases You’ll Want to Start Using Regularly Today Because They’re Awesome
  • Top 10 Classic British Motorcycles
  • Top Ten of the Best British Sweets

British Long Reads

What’s On Around Britain in March 2023

A Very Winston Christmas: Chartwell at Christmas

Laura’s Britain: A Visit to Idyllic Ightham Mote National Trust in Kent

A Church in Wales: The Housesitting Edition – Update on Welsh Church Conversion

Caroline of Brunswick: The Tabloid Princess of the Regency Era

More From the Print Magazine

Anglotopia’s Top Categories

  • British Slang Archives
  • Royal Family
  • Great Events in British History
  • Great British Houses
  • Great British Icons
  • The Monarchs
  • British Slang
  • A Day In the Life…
  • Long-form British Articles
  • British TV
  • British Culture
  • Our Travels in Britain

Footer

About Us

Anglotopia was founded by Jonathan and Jackie Thomas in 2007 in a closet in Chicago. Anglotopia is for people who love Britain - whether it's British TV, Culture, History or Travel - we cover it all. Join us as we explore Britain and everything it has to offer!

Contact Us!

Interested in advertising on the world's largest website dedicated to all things Britain? Or maybe you have a story for us or would like to work together. We want to hear from you!

Reach Us At: E-mail: info@anglotopia.net

Free British Weekly Newsletter

Please enter a valid email address
That address is already in use
The security code entered was incorrect
Thanks for signing up!

As Seen On or In:

Link Partners

  • Gold Hill Shaftesbury Live HD Webcam
  • Irishtopia.net
  • SEO Backlinks
  • Travel Blog

Top Anglotopia Categories

  • British Slang Archives
  • Royal Family
  • Great Events in British History
  • Great British Houses
  • Great British Icons
  • The Monarchs
  • British Slang
  • A Day In the Life…
  • Long-form British Articles
  • British TV
  • British Culture
  • Our Travels in Britain

Copyright © 2023 Anglotopia, LLC · Website Developed by Anglotopia, LLC · Log in