Edward II of England
Edward II of Carnarvon
Edward II, depicted in Cassell’s History of England, published circa
1902
King of England (more...)
Reign
7 July 1307 – 20 January 1327
Coronation
25 February 1308
Predecessor
Edward I Longshanks
Successor
Edward III of Windsor
Consort
Isabella of France
Issue
Edward III of Windsor
John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall
Eleanor, Countess of Guelders
Joan, Queen of Scots
Detail
Titles and styles
King Edward II
The King
The Prince of Wales
Edward of Carnarvon
House
House of Plantagenet
Father
Edward I Longshanks
Mother
Eleanor of Castile
Born
25 April 1284(1284-04-25)
Caernarfon Castle, Gwynedd
Died
21 September 1327 (aged 43)?
Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire
Burial
Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucestershire
Edward II, (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327?) called
Edward of Carnarvon, was King of England from 1307 until
he was deposed in January 1327. He was the seventh
Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of
Henry II. Interspersed between the strong reigns of his
father Edward I and son Edward III, the reign of Edward
II was disastrous for England, marked by incompetence,
political squabbling, and military defeats. Although large
in stature and powerfully built, he was more interested
in light entertainment and simple pleasures than in the
duties of governing. Widely supposed to be homosexual,
he was unable to deny even the most grandiose favours
to his male favorites—first a Gascon knight named Piers
Gaveston, later a young English lord named Hugh
Despenser—which led to constant political unrest and
his eventual deposition. Whereas Edward
I had
conquered all of Wales and the Scottish lowlands, and
ruled them with an iron hand, the army of Edward II was
devastatingly defeated at Bannockburn, freeing Scotland
from English control and allowing Scottish forces to raid
unchecked throughout the north of England. In addition
to these disasters, Edward II is remembered for his mys-
terious death in Berkeley Castle, apparently by murder,
and more positively for being the fi