King Edward II

Edward of Caernarfon is best known today for his disastrous military defeat at Bannockburn in June 1314, where his English army was defeated by a vastly inferior Scottish force led by Robert the Bruce, leading to Scottish Independence. This catastrophe was only one event in a disastrous career marked by indolence, vengefulness, vacillation in relationships with France, deranged policies at home and constitutional wrangling, which was ultimately ended by a minor insurgency led by his vindictive wife and her paramour, a disaffected baron. Roy Martin Haines examines Edward II's upbringing, character and the salient periods of his reign, situating him in the much wider context of his times, the empire he inherited and the aftermath of his unregretted death.