Abdication of Edward II 1327

On the 25th of January 1327, the imprisoned Edward II abdicated in favour of his fourteen year old son, Edward III.1 Five days previously, at Kenilworth Castle, a delegation consisting, amongst others, of Thomas de Cobham Bishop of Worcester and Adam Orleton Bishop of Hereford had informed him that the lords had found him guilty of incompetence and he was given the option of abdicating in favour of his son, Edward III.2

Following his abdication Edward II was removed from Kenilworth Castle on the 3rd of April 1327, and moved to Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, where he arrived on the 5th of April in the custody of Thomas de Berkely and John Maltravers, having rested at Llanthony Abbey on the 4th of April.3

After Thomas de Cobham's death, Adam Orleton became Bishop of Worcester. There is some evidence that claims of homosexuality on the part of Edward II was an invention of Bishop Orleton who had participated in similar campaigns against Pope Boniface VIII and the Knight Templars.4

• 1. Phillips, S. Edward II. Yale English Monarchs Series (Yale University Press, 2011). p535.
• 2. ibid p534
• 3. ibid p543
• 4. Mortimer, I. Medieval Intrigue: Decoding Royal Conspiracies. (Continuum Publishing Corporation, 2012). p47-51.