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Edward II

Edward II's tomb at Gloucester Cathedral.
See full size.
From here. Used with permission.

Edward II (see here), born 1284.
He was created the first Prince of Wales 1301.
He reigned 1307-1327.
He mar 1308 to Isabella of France [born 1292].
Credibly thought since the 1300s to be homosexual.
Developed a favourite (and probably gay lover) Piers Gaveston. Gaveston was murdered 1312.
He lost Scotland at Bannockburn to Robert I the Bruce in 1314.
He founded King's Hall, Cambridge, in 1317. King's Hall later became part of Trinity College.
Developed a new favourite (and probably gay lover) Hugh le Despenser.
The Despenser War was a revolt in 1321 by Roger de Mortimer, 1st Earl of March and others against the King and his favourite Hugh le Despenser. The rebels were defeated in 1322.
He neglected Isabella for his male favourites, and she returned to France in 1325, and became his enemy.
She began an affair with his enemy Roger de Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, in 1325 at the French court.
Isabella and her lover Mortimer returned to England and led an army against her husband Edward II in Sept 1326. They captured and executed his favourite Hugh le Despenser in Nov 1326. They captured Edward II in Nov 1326.
They forced Edward II to give up the throne in January 1327.
He was murdered at Berkeley Castle (seat of Mortimer's son-in-law) in Sept 1327, age 43 yrs.
He was buried at Gloucester cathedral.
Isabella died 1358. She was bur Christ Church Greyfriars, Newgate, London (destroyed in WW2, now a ruin and garden).
Edward II and Isabella had issue:

1. Edward III, born 1312,
   reigned 1327-77.

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Edward II's tomb at Gloucester Cathedral

Edward II's tomb at Gloucester Cathedral.
From edwardthesecond.com (and blog and facebook).

Edward II's tomb at Gloucester Cathedral.
See full size. From here.

Edward II's tomb at Gloucester Cathedral.
See full size.
From Peter Forster. Used with permission.

Edward II's tomb at Gloucester Cathedral.
From here. See terms of use.

Edward II's tomb at Gloucester Cathedral.
From here. From Shirley's Royal Ancestors site. Used with permission.

Drawing of the above effigy of Edward II at Gloucester Cathedral.
From A Student's History of England by Samuel Rawson Gardiner (1916). See here.
Originally from Stothard's Monumental Effigies.

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• The play Edward II (1591) by Marlowe portrays Edward II and Gaveston as lovers.
• The movie Edward II (1991).

• Because Edward II was (probably) homosexual/bisexual, there has been speculation by some that he might not be the father of Isabella's children.
  • For example, the absurd fiction in the movie Braveheart that Isabella and William Wallace were lovers.
  • Note that even if somehow Edward II was not the father of Isabella's children, it only removes a single person from our ancestry, namely Edward II, since we also descend from Edward II's full siblings.
  • There is no evidence to support the idea of a different father to Isabella's children though. Even if Edward II was homosexual, it seems certain he fathered his own heirs. He would never have tolerated another man doing that.

• Edward II blog makes the point:
  • "Edward and Isabella's children" (and more) points out that 9 months before Edward III's birth, in early 1312, Edward and Isabella were together at a happy celebration in York.
  • Isabella did have an affair, but not until years later, things had gone sour, they had separated and she was away in France in 1325. Back in 1312, there is no realistic prospect of an affair. In 1312, Isabella was with Edward.