 Edward II (1307-1327 AD)
The fourth son of Edward I Longshanks, Edward II was the first English royal to be accorded the title ‘Prince of Wales’. He lacked his father’s drive in military and commercial matters, and seems to have been something of a ‘playboy’ whose main concern was intriguing to limit the power of the aristocracy. His favourite, Piers Gaveston, a Gascon noble, had been exiled by Edward’s father due to the young prince’s inappropriate bestowal of honours upon his friend. On Gaveston’s death, Edward refused to allow his body to be buried until the ecclesiastical authorities insisted.
Edward’s campaigns in Scotland were unsuccessful, and resulted in the growing power of Robert the Bruce. Although Edward’s forces were numerically superior, they were poorly led and deployed, and their advantages were not fully exploited.
Edward married Isabella, daughter of the French King Phillip IV, but does not appear to have shown any enthusiasm for the union and spent more time at court than at the royal palace. However, he did manage to father four children with his wife, among them his son, Edward, who was to reign after him. Isabella left England, only to return with Roger Mortimer as her ally. Civil war erupted, with the king losing the support of the barony and eventually being captured and imprisoned in Kenilworth castle. Isabella and Roger Mortimer became de factor rulers of England, while the king abdicated in favour of his son (Edward III). He died at Berkeley Castle – probably suffocated by agents of Mortimer, although grislier versions exist of the manner of his death.
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