22. The Murder of Edward II, Berkeley Castle, England 1327
Here, Edward I makes his son Edward, who will later be Edward II, the first Prince of Wales (which is why he’s sometimes called Edward Caernarfon). It’s 1301; the younger Edward had met Piers Gaveston the year before; in 1306, Edward, Gaveston, Hugh Despenser and Roger Mortimer would all be knighted; in 1307, Edward would become king; in 1308 he would marry Isabella, the daughter of the king of France; in 1312 Gaveston would be murdered; in 1326 Isabella and Mortimer would invade England; Mortimer would be executed that November; in 1327 Edward would be convinced to abdicate in favor of his son Edward; Edward III would be told his father was dead that September. But in the picture above, everything is great! Unless you are Welsh. From the Chronica Roffense, 14th C, held at the British Library (Cotton Nero D ii).
In September, 1327, Edward II, who was by that time no longer King of England, was murdered, at Berkeley Castle. Probably. We discuss what happened, what could have happened, what didn’t happen, and oh of course why the king was a former king, and why the former king had to be gotten rid of. Michelle explodes lots of myths. And we decide that though we would not like for Edward II to be our ruler, he was probably a wonderful dinner companion.
