WHAT WAS EDWARD II LIKE?

According to some sources, Edward II was tall and muscular, enjoyed music (including Welsh music), riding, horse breeding and greyhounds, and while he did not participate in jousting, he supported the sport strongly. He disliked hunting and falconry, but liked rowing, and was known for associating with labourers and lower-class workers, which was thought of as unusual for nobility at the time.

Was Edward II gay?

As with many historical figures, it’s very difficult to say exactly what sexuality Edward II was, though there is a lot of evidence that he had relationships with both men and women during his life. He did father four legitimate children and one illegitimate child, but his relationships with and love for men are also well documented.

Various chronicles of the time, including The Chronicle of Melsa, state that Edward and his male advisors regularly gave themselves to "the vice of sodomy", though these must be taken with a pinch of salt (see A Note on Historical Sources below).

We do know that Edward gave a huge amount of attention and special treatment particularly to Piers Gaveston. The Annales Paulini claims that Edward loved Gaveston "beyond measure", while the Lanercost Chronicle says the intimacy between them was "undue". Edward certainly showered Gaveston with gifts, titles and land (including making him the Earl of Cornwall), enough to gain notice, criticism and jealousy. During his reign, Edward II often left Gaveston in charge of the country, and it was the barons’ resentment of their relationship that led to The Ordinances of 1311, which exiled Gaveston by name, and eventually led to his execution.

Later on in his life, Edward II was also recorded as being similarly inseparable from Hugh Despenser the Younger, whom he also showered with titles and land.

1308 – In January, Edward II travels to France to marry Isabella (aged 12), leaving Gaveston in charge of the kingdom. In February they return for their coronation and wedding feast. With many of the barons furious about Gaveston’s influence and power, he is exiled to Aquitaine but at the last minute, Edward II changes his mind and sends Gaveston to Dublin instead, appointing him as the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.

1309 – After negotiations with the Pope, Gaveston returns to England, though Edward II agrees to a range of concessions, including agreeing to limit the king’s powers. 

1311 – After a failed mission to Scotland, Edward II returns to be handed The Ordinances of 1311, which limit the king’s right to go to war, grant land and acquire funds. The Ordinances exile Gaveston again, even from Gascony and Ireland, and strip him of his titles.

1312 – Edward II revokes The Ordinances, recalling Gaveston to England and reuniting with him at York. Gaveston is excommunicated and eventually captured in Scarborough. Gaveston is taken to Warwick Castle, put on trial, found guilty of being a traitor and beheaded on Blacklow Hill. Edward II and Isabella’s son, the future Edward III, is born.

All these factors eventually culminated in a Civil War in 1321. While Edward II initially captured and beheaded his main opponent, the Earl of Lancaster, it was finally his deteriorating relationship with his French wife Isabella and her family, and his unpopularity with the barons that ended his reign. Isabella and her lover, the exiled Rodger Mortimer, brought an army to England, captured Edward II and forced him to abdicate in 1327. Edward III took the throne, and the deposed Edward II was imprisoned in Berkley Castle, until his death later that year.

How did Edward II die?

Edward II's death is shrouded in mystery to this day. Records state that he was kept at Berkley Castle in Gloucester until his son was informed of his death on 21 September 1327.

Some believe Edward II was murdered on the orders of Rodger Mortimer, as a way to end the possibility of the former king's rescue and restoration to the throne. While there is no written evidence for this, there are rumours that Edward II was murdered by being disemboweled by a hot iron poker - though this theory may have survived by its inclusion in Christopher Marlowe's play, Edward II.

Edward II's son, Edward III, eventually arrested and executed Mortimer, officially blaming him for his father's murder (though this was perhaps more to secure Edward III's and his future line's claim to the throne by politically reinstating his father.)

A note on historical sources

Looking back this far into history with a contemporary understanding of sexuality means we may reach different conclusions to what has been recorded in canonical historical writings about Edward II, as we are working with limited, flawed and biased sources.

In Edward II's time, homosexuality was considered to be a heretical act by the church, and therefore the king's chroniclers may have either hidden or exacerbated evidence of the king's homosexuality depending on their political motives.

The history of the criminalisation of homosexuality and its cultural impact must also be taken into account. Homosexuality was decriminalised as late in 1967 in the UK, and 1988's Section 28 that banned positive teachings about homosexuality was only lifted in 2000. Therefore, homophobic or anti-homosexual readings of history were still prevalent across much of historical and literary culture until very recently. Revisionists are now challenging these biased interpretations of history (see further reading below).

Further reading

Edward II: His Sexuality and Relationships – Kathryn Warner (2024)

Edward II  – Seymour Phillips (2011)

The Reign of Edward II: New Perspectives – Gwilym Dodd, Anthony Musson (2006)

The Three Edwards: War and State in England 1272–1377 – Michael Prestwick (2003)