Copyright 1995 by Grolier Electronic Publishing, Inc. Edward II, King of England
Edward II, b. Apr. 25, 1284, d. September 1327, King of England (1307-27), was the first Plantagenet to be deposed. He was the son of Edward I and the first English prince of Wales. He married (1308) Isabella, daughter of Philip IV of France. After his accession the magnates quickly grew hostile and suspicious of his close association with a Gascon knight, Piers Gaveston. (Edward may have had homosexual tendencies.) Leading magnates drew up the Ordinances of 1311, which enforced Gaveston's exile and placed limitations on the king's financial independence. When Gaveston returned he was executed (1312) by his enemies. The weak king failed to resist the Scots under ROBERT I, who decisively defeated (1314) an English army in the Battle of BANNOCKBURN.
Edward recovered power with the help of a new favorite, Hugh Despenser, and defeated (1322) his enemies at Boroughbridge. The oppressive rule of Edward and Despenser that followed, however, was ended by an invasion from France by Queen Isabella and her lover, Roger Mortimer (see MORTIMER family), in 1326. The deposed Edward II, who was succeeded by his son, Edward III, was imprisoned and probably murdered.
George Holmes
Bibliography: Tout, Thomas F., The Place of the Reign of Edward II in English History, 2d rev. ed. (1936; repr. 1976).
More About Edward II and Isabel: Marriage: January 22, 1307/08180
Children of Edward II and Isabel are:
+Edward III, b. November 13, 1312, Windsor Castle, England180, d. June 21, 1377, Shene Palace, S, England180.
Edward II (b. April 25, 1284, d. September 21, 1327)
Notes for Edward II: