Divorced, Beheaded, Died: The History of Britain's Kings and Queens in Bite-Sized Chunks by Kevin Flude
Authors: Kevin Flude
Tags: Historical, History, Biography & Autobiography, Reference, Europe, Great Britain, Royalty, Queens
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preference for male companions – began an affair with Roger Mortimer, one of the exiled nobles and a sworn enemy of the Despensers. The couple plotted to overthrow the King and put his son, Prince Edward, on the throne. Having raised an army, they invaded in 1326 and England fell under their control.
Edward was imprisoned by Mortimer in 1327 and was forced to abdicate in favour of his son. Having been humiliated and tortured, he was then horribly murdered, on the orders of Mortimer, by the insertion of a red-hot poker through a horn tube into his rectum, a method designed to leave no external marks of violence.
E DWARD III
Reigned 1327–1377
For the most part, the reign of Edward III was a triumph of warfare. At one time, he held the Kings of Scotland and France captive and had restored the English position in both countries. But he suffered reverses as he aged – and ultimately, what he won by the sword, he lost by the sword. Essentially, he outlived his own victories.
Edward was crowned aged fourteen in 1327, after the murder of his father. Three years later he avenged his father by arresting and executing his mother’s lover, Roger Mortimer, who was acting as regent. His mother, Isabella of France, was exiled to Castle Rising in Norfolk.
Now free to rule as he saw fit, Edward sought to revoke Scottish independence by overthrowing the Scottish King David II and giving his support to rival claimant Edward Balliol. He met with some considerable initial success, culminating in the defeat of the Scots at Halidon Hill in 1333, but Balliol’s position was weak and he was deposed in 1336. In 1346 David II invaded England but was defeated by the Archbishop of York, William la Zouche, at Neville’s Cross and imprisoned.
Edward gained the support of his nobles by offering them the opportunity to enrich themselves with loot from his series of campaigns in France. With the death of Charles IV of France in 1324, the direct line of the Capetian dynasty had come to an end. Edward had enough of a claim to the throne, through his mother, to justify war and in 1337 he felt ready to declare his intentions, thus beginning the long-drawn-out conflict that would be known as the Hundred Years War. The sea battle of Sluys in 1340 destroyed the French navy, and the English had a decisive victory at the Battle of Crécy in 1346, in which the flower of the French knighthood was seen off by the English longbowmen, marking the end of the so-called ‘Age of Chivalry’. The arrival of the Black Death of 1348, which killed at least one third of Europeans, led to a short truce, but war soon resumed. In 1356 Edward’s son, the Black Prince, defeated the French at Poitiers and the French King, Jean II, was captured. However, the Black Prince fell ill, Edward’s wife Queen Philippa died, and Edward descended into senility comforted by an unpopular mistress, Alice Perrers. He had thirteen children by Philippa and three illegitimate children by Alice. The King’s third son, John of Gaunt, took over and a new French king reversed Edward’s victories. The years of glory faded from memory, and by 1375 all that was left of the French empire was Calais, Bordeaux and Bayonne.
R ICHARD II
Reigned 1377–1399
Richard was born in 1367 at Bordeaux, the son of the Black Prince, the eldest son of Edward III. He was crowned at the age of ten, and the country was controlled by his uncle, John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster.
Richard’s finest hour came in June 1381, when at the age of fourteen he ended the Peasants’ Revolt. Serfs from Essex and Kent, led by Wat Tyler and John Ball, took control of London to protest against the poll tax. With the army divided between Scotland and France, the peasants besieged the Tower of London and seized and executed the Chancellor and Treasurer of England, amongst others. Negotiations with the King were indecisive until the final meeting took place at Smithfield. Wat Tyler, supported by 30,000 peasants, rode
Edward was imprisoned by Mortimer in 1327 and was forced to abdicate in favour of his son. Having been humiliated and tortured, he was then horribly murdered, on the orders of Mortimer, by the insertion of a red-hot poker through a horn tube into his rectum, a method designed to leave no external marks of violence.
E DWARD III
Reigned 1327–1377
For the most part, the reign of Edward III was a triumph of warfare. At one time, he held the Kings of Scotland and France captive and had restored the English position in both countries. But he suffered reverses as he aged – and ultimately, what he won by the sword, he lost by the sword. Essentially, he outlived his own victories.
Edward was crowned aged fourteen in 1327, after the murder of his father. Three years later he avenged his father by arresting and executing his mother’s lover, Roger Mortimer, who was acting as regent. His mother, Isabella of France, was exiled to Castle Rising in Norfolk.
Now free to rule as he saw fit, Edward sought to revoke Scottish independence by overthrowing the Scottish King David II and giving his support to rival claimant Edward Balliol. He met with some considerable initial success, culminating in the defeat of the Scots at Halidon Hill in 1333, but Balliol’s position was weak and he was deposed in 1336. In 1346 David II invaded England but was defeated by the Archbishop of York, William la Zouche, at Neville’s Cross and imprisoned.
Edward gained the support of his nobles by offering them the opportunity to enrich themselves with loot from his series of campaigns in France. With the death of Charles IV of France in 1324, the direct line of the Capetian dynasty had come to an end. Edward had enough of a claim to the throne, through his mother, to justify war and in 1337 he felt ready to declare his intentions, thus beginning the long-drawn-out conflict that would be known as the Hundred Years War. The sea battle of Sluys in 1340 destroyed the French navy, and the English had a decisive victory at the Battle of Crécy in 1346, in which the flower of the French knighthood was seen off by the English longbowmen, marking the end of the so-called ‘Age of Chivalry’. The arrival of the Black Death of 1348, which killed at least one third of Europeans, led to a short truce, but war soon resumed. In 1356 Edward’s son, the Black Prince, defeated the French at Poitiers and the French King, Jean II, was captured. However, the Black Prince fell ill, Edward’s wife Queen Philippa died, and Edward descended into senility comforted by an unpopular mistress, Alice Perrers. He had thirteen children by Philippa and three illegitimate children by Alice. The King’s third son, John of Gaunt, took over and a new French king reversed Edward’s victories. The years of glory faded from memory, and by 1375 all that was left of the French empire was Calais, Bordeaux and Bayonne.
R ICHARD II
Reigned 1377–1399
Richard was born in 1367 at Bordeaux, the son of the Black Prince, the eldest son of Edward III. He was crowned at the age of ten, and the country was controlled by his uncle, John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster.
Richard’s finest hour came in June 1381, when at the age of fourteen he ended the Peasants’ Revolt. Serfs from Essex and Kent, led by Wat Tyler and John Ball, took control of London to protest against the poll tax. With the army divided between Scotland and France, the peasants besieged the Tower of London and seized and executed the Chancellor and Treasurer of England, amongst others. Negotiations with the King were indecisive until the final meeting took place at Smithfield. Wat Tyler, supported by 30,000 peasants, rode
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