Edward II

Timeline

1. 1321–1322Westminster · EnglandIn 1321 the nobles, resentful of favorite Hugh Despenser the Younger's expansion in Wales, petitioned jointly; Edward II refused to expel the Despensers, triggering the Despenser War; Marcher lords including Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, rose in arms, and the king was forced to compromise before restoring his favorites in early 1322.
2. 1322Boroughbridge · YorkshireIn March 1322 Edward II personally led the royal army to defeat the rebel lords including Lancaster and Mortimer at Boroughbridge; Thomas of Lancaster was subsequently executed, the king regained full power, and issued the Statute of 1322 limiting noble constraints on royal authority.
3. 1322–1326London · EnglandBetween 1322 and 1326 Edward II relied heavily on Hugh Despenser the Younger, who rapidly accumulated power by confiscating rebel property and manipulating fiefs; relations with Queen Isabella deteriorated, and court finances and governance grew increasingly autocratic, sowing the seeds of the 1326 coup.
4. 1324–1325Aquitaine · AquitaineIn 1324, over a dispute at the Abbey of Saint-Sardos, Charles IV of France launched war on the grounds that Edward II had not performed homage to the French king; the English lost some Gascon strongholds, a truce was made in 1325 and Queen Isabella was sent to negotiate, which instead led to her alliance with Mortimer.