by Alison Weir
On 9 December, the Tower garrison was reinforced, and on the eleventh, a proclamation condemning lawlessness in London was issued. The Tower was entrusted to Lord Wake on 12 December, along with Hertford Castle.171 The City was now returning to normal, but there was still some residual unrest.
On 21 December, the court moved to Wallingford for Christmas, pausing at Oseney Abbey on the way. Isabella at last had all her children with her, as well as Mortimer.172 As she had promised, the Queen “held her court, and it was very fully attended by all the nobles and prelates of the realm, as well as the principal officers of the great cities and towns.”173 A mandate for a new government could not have been more clearly proclaimed.
At Wallingford, Isabella was joined by Archbishop Reynolds, whose plea to be placed under her protection she had willingly granted,174 and who had come to make his submission. Now that her victory was assured, Prior Eastry had also declared himself her partisan and had written wishing her “good and long life, grace on Earth and glory in Heaven.” He also praised Reynolds for having switched his allegiance to the Queen.175
The Archbishop was present at a meeting of the council summoned by the Queen to debate what was to be done with the King. Also present were Lancaster, Kent, and many bishops. There had been rumors that the King and Queen were to be reconciled,176 but this was certainly not Isabella’s intention. In fact, she and her advisers were determined upon his deposition and debated in council how this could be achieved.177 Some unnamed persons wished to go further and have the King put to death, on the grounds that he had deserved it on account of his misrule and, moreover, if left alive, would always be a focus for dissidents who might try to restore him to the throne; if that happened, they warned, those who had overthrown him could expect no mercy. However, there was no legal process for trying and executing a king, and most people were of the opinion that a king could not technically be guilty of treason. Opinions were acutely divided on this issue until John of Hainault settled the matter by expressing the view that it would be impossible to execute an anointed monarch and that the best course would be to depose him and keep him in custody in a secure fortress for the rest of his life.178
This led to a discussion of the delicate question of whether Isabella should honor her marriage vows and go to live with her husband in captivity, for Edward had already begged, weeping, to be reunited with his wife and children,179 and some people had expressed the view that the Queen’s rightful place was with her husband. Clearly, Isabella had no wish to return to Edward, nor to relinquish Mortimer, and few were willing to press her, although some of the churchmen present were clearly uncomfortable about this issue. In the end, considering the threats that Edward had made against her life, it was agreed that it was unthinkable that she rejoin him, whatever public opinion might demand.180
True to his word, Robert the Bruce had made no move against England during the invasion and the fraught weeks that followed, but all that was over now, and the Queen was anxious to have the problem of Scotland settled once and for all. She was aware that she had enough on her hands without a conflict on the northern border and was realistic enough to see that there was no point anyway in pursuing a war that could never be won and had for years drained the Exchequer and taken a heavy toll in human suffering. On 26 December, Isabella appointed commissioners to treat with the Scots for peace.
On the thirty-first, the court left Wallingford for Windsor.181
At the beginning of January, Caerphilly Castle, the last bastion of Despenser power, finally surrendered.182 More of Despenser’s treasure was found in the castle, and on the third, Isabella appointed Thomas of London, one of her clerks, to receive it on her behalf.183
The court was now moving toward London, staying at Chertsey Abbey and Merton Abbey on the way. On 2 January 1327, in advance of the arrival of the royal party, a proclamation was issued as a final warning to the Londoners to maintain the peace; and just in case they were planning to do otherwise, it stipulated that all those accompanying the Queen were commanded to bear arms in the City.184
Isabella and Prince Edward entered Westminster two days later.185 “And when they arrived, great crowds came out to meet them, and received the Queen and her son with great reverence. And the citizens gave handsome presents to the Queen” and hailed her as their deliverer. During the next few days, there were “entertainments and feasts,”186 and Isabella discovered that Edward had left £60,000 in his Treasury.
Parliament was due to meet in Westminster Hall on 7 January 1327. But the Queen and her advisers were aware that there were serious doubts as to whether a parliament held without a king was a legal assembly, and they were anxious to act within the law as far as possible. On Eastry’s advice,187 a deputation led by Stratford and Burghersh was sent to the King at Kenilworth to invite him to attend, but he declined. Lanercost states that Stratford and Burghersh asked him to appear before Parliament in order to abdicate voluntarily, but that Edward “utterly refused to comply therewith; nay, he cursed them contemptuously, declaring that he would not come among his enemies, or rather his traitors.”188
Several historians have expressed doubts that these bishops really did invite the King to attend Parliament, on the grounds that the Queen would not have wanted him there in case his presence incited sympathy or he publicly refused to cooperate. But this is unlikely, because there is good evidence that, being apparently unsatisfied with the outcome of the bishops’ mission, Isabella and her advisers sent a second deputation, headed also by two bishops (who are not named), with a further invitation for the King to attend Parliament.189 They were obviously anxious to secure the King’s cooperation because it was important that what they were planning be seen to be done with Edward’s consent and approval.
Parliament met in the King’s absence on 7 January. One otherwise reliable source190 states that it proceeded at once to the business of deposing the King, but according to several others, that matter was postponed until after the return of the second deputation from Kenilworth on 12 January.191 In the meantime, Parliament dealt with routine matters, such as petitions.192 On 8 January, in the name of Edward II, Isabella was granted all Despenser’s movables, plate, and jewels,193 and £20,000, a huge sum of money then, to pay her debts overseas. Two days later, the lands seized in 1324 were restored to her.194 On 22 January, she would be granted all the arrears of revenues due from her duchy of Cornwall.
On the evening of the twelfth, the second deputation returned from Kenilworth and informed the Queen of the King’s response to their requests.195 Isabella now acknowledged the necessity of proceeding without him. The legality of a parliament held in the absence, and without the sanction, of the King was dubious indeed, however widely it represented the political nation, yet Isabella was well aware of the strength of public feeling and was to take scrupulous care to ensure that the wishes of the people were taken into consideration at every turn, and that not only the three estates of the realm, but also representatives of every national institution, were involved in the deposition process. This served the additional purpose of distributing responsibility for what was about to happen as widely as possible. For what the Queen and her associates were proposing to do was revolutionary, insofar as no anointed English sovereign had been deposed since the Conquest; yet it was not so extreme as to encompass the destruction of the monarchy or the overthrow of the royal House. Nor was the monarchy to be stripped of any of its powers or privileges. Nevertheless, the deposition of Edward II was to set a precedent that would have far-reaching consequences for several future sovereigns.
That night, Isabella met with the magnates to discuss the King’s refusal and debate what was to be done with him. The lords were unanimous in agreeing that he should be deposed, and a strategy was agreed. Mortimer seems to have played a prominent role at this meeting.196
Given that the deputation had only returned the previous evening, it must have been on the morning of 13 January that it was announced that Edward had refused to att
end Parliament and had cursed all involved as traitors. Thereafter, events moved swiftly. Mortimer had already enlisted Lord Wake to secure the support of the Londoners,197 and it was almost certainly due to Mortimer’s influence that his friend Lord Mayor Béthune, when told of the King’s refusal to come to Parliament, promptly sent a respectful letter to the three estates, asking them to come to the Guildhall to join the City in swearing not only to maintain the cause of the Queen and her son but also to depose Edward II for his frequent offenses against his coronation oath and his crown and to crown the Prince in his stead.198
Later that day, 13 January, Mortimer led the lords, bishops, and commons in solemn procession to the Guildhall, where, under the eagle eye of Kent, they all swore a modified version of the oath the Lord Mayor had requested, namely, to uphold the Queen’s cause to the death, to rid the realm of the King’s favorites, to observe the Ordinances, and to maintain the liberties of the City.199 The other matters raised by Béthune were reserved for Parliament.
Aware that he was regarded as a turncoat by the people, and nervously mindful of the fate of Stapledon, Archbishop Reynolds took advantage of this visit to the Guildhall to distribute fifty tuns of free wine to the Londoners. This did not, however, stop them from assaulting him as he left the Guildhall.200 Fortunately, it was only his pride, rather than his person, that was injured.
The Queen was present,201 a silent figure in black, when Parliament reassembled in Westminster Hall to hear an address by Mortimer on the reasons for the King’s necessary overthrow; he spoke, he said, only for the lords, for he knew their minds; he could not, however, speak for the commons. The deposition of the King, he reminded everyone, could only be brought about “if the people gave their consent.”202 At this, Wake rose, held up his hand, and declared that he, for one, would never again accept Edward II as king. There was a general murmur of assent.203
Thanks to Wake’s efforts, crowds were now conveniently gathering outside, and his words were the signal for Bishop Stratford to invite them to come in, saying that the lords were resolved to make Prince Edward king but that this needed their assent. Soon, Westminster Hall was packed with restive Londoners, who had fought their way in, eager to have their say in deposing the King. Many had been among those citizens who had orchestrated the October uprisings and riots, and their presence was undoubtedly intimidating.
Orleton now preached a sermon to the assembled lords and commons.204 “A foolish king shall ruin his people,”205 he warned, and then spent some time in utilizing the text “Woe to thee, o land, when thy king is a child” to expound on Edward II’s childish behavior.206 He spoke out in favor of granting the wishes of the Londoners, and, mindful of those who now expected Isabella to return to her husband, warned of the consequences that might befall her if Edward II were allowed to return to power: her life, he declared, would never be safe in the King’s hands, and she would surely suffer death. The Bishop concluded by asking the estates to consider whether they would have the father or the son for king and urged the estates to accept the Prince and depose Edward II.
“Away with the King!” shouted lords and people alike.
Stratford preached next,207 asking what happened to a body politic “whose head is feeble”208 and enlarging on Orleton’s earlier text, “My head, my head acheth.”209 When he had finished, Wake stood up again, stretched out his arms, and gesturing with his hands, asked the people if they would agree to the deposition of the King.210
“Let it be done! Let it be done!” the people cried. “The son shall be raised up! We will no more have this man to reign over us!”211 Only Archbishop Melton and the bishops of London, Rochester, and Worcester spoke up in favor of the King. Edward’s other remaining friends were intimidated into silence.
The people had spoken, and now all that remained was for the King to be formally deposed. This ceremony began with Archbishop Reynolds’ preaching a sermon before Parliament, based on the text “Vox populi, vox Dei!” (“The voice of the people is the voice of God!”).212 He reminded the assembly that the King’s subjects had suffered oppression for far too long and declared that, if it was their will that the King be deposed, then it was also God’s will, and the reign must come to an end.
“Is this the will of the people?” cried Wake.
“Let it be done!” they roared again in noisy approval, with a great show of hands.213
“Your voice has clearly been heard here,” said the Archbishop. Then he formally announced that, by the consent of the magnates, clergy, and people, Edward II was deposed in favor of his son.214 The assembly erupted in tumultuous acclaim.
The Articles of Deposition, which apparently had been drawn up under the auspices of Stratford,215 doubtless on instructions from the Queen and her council, were then read out to Parliament, to great acclaim. They accused Edward of many offenses: being incompetent to govern and unwilling to heed good counsel; allowing himself to be controlled by evil counselors; giving himself up to unseemly works and occupations; persecuting the Church; executing, exiling, imprisoning, and disinheriting many great men of his realm; losing Scotland, Ireland, and Gascony; violating his coronation oath to do justice to all; plundering the realm; and showing himself incorrigible through his cruelty and weakness, and beyond all hope of amendment.216
It was probably after Reynolds had finished speaking that Prince Edward was brought into the hall to cries of “Behold your King!”217 At the sight of the handsome youth, the Londoners unanimously and vociferously acclaimed him as their sovereign, crying, “Ave, Rex!” Then the lords, with greater dignity, knelt to pay him homage. It was noticed that Melton and the three bishops who had declared for Edward II did not join in.218 Afterward, the whole assembly rose for the hymn “Glory, Laud and Honour.”
Witnessing all this, Isabella “seemed as if she should die for sorrow” and broke down in tears.219 Was this a politic gesture, maintaining the fiction that she was still a loyal wife to her husband? Or was she overcome by the occasion and the realization that all she had fought for had come to pass and that she was now safe at last? It was probably a combination of the two; assertions that she was merely crying crocodile tears are far too simplistic. As for Mortimer, after this momentous session, he hurried off to order his sons’ robes for the coming coronation.220
But there was one obstacle to the successful conclusion of the matter. Prince Edward’s conscience was certainly uneasy about the turn events had taken; Baker says he had been “led astray by his elders to join in the revolt against his father,” and certainly, he had had little choice in the matter. He was fond of his mother and sympathetic toward her, had hated the Despensers, and had probably been convinced that there were good reasons for deposing his father. Nevertheless, he was extremely reluctant to accept the crown while his father still lived. Consequently, seeing his mother weeping, and misinterpreting the cause, he tried to comfort her by vowing that he would never accept the crown unless his father freely offered it to him.221 Over the next three days, no one could persuade him to change his mind.
Throughout, there had been concerns that the recent proceedings were not entirely lawful, so in order to give them some semblance of legality and reassure the Prince, it was necessary to persuade the King to renounce his crown in favor of his son, to demonstrate that he sanctioned Parliament’s decision. On 16 January, a new deputation of thirty persons, headed by Orleton222 and representing all the estates and institutions of the realm, was sent to Kenilworth to announce the decision of the people to Edward II and persuade him to abdicate formally. At the Queen’s request, the Franciscans were excused from sending one of their Order, so that they should not have to bear such dolorous tidings to the King who had always professed such a special devotion for them.223 This gives the lie to those historians who assert that Isabella had by now lost all her finer feelings; indeed, it is in keeping with earlier instances of her kindness and suggests that, even now, she felt some pity for her husband.
The deputation arrived at Keni
lworth by 20 January,224 when Orleton, Stratford, and Burghersh had a preliminary private audience with Edward, who was brought to them “gowned in black.” Despite the fact that Edward was clearly in a very emotional and fragile state, Orleton took great pleasure in venting his hatred for the King in bitter insults.225 Addressing Edward harshly, he recited the damning catalog of the King’s crimes, “invited” him to abdicate, and warned him that the people would repudiate the claims of his children to succeed and set up some other person not of the blood royal if he proved obdurate; the implication was that Parliament might well choose Mortimer to be king. However, he went on, if the King cooperated, his son would succeed him and he himself would be permitted to continue to live honorably. Edward was apparently too distressed or too stupid to perceive that Isabella would never permit the Prince to be disinherited and that the threat was merely a bluff; and even if he did realize this, he was in no position to take any chances. Weeping bitterly, he capitulated without further argument, for the sake of his son.
Then it was time for him to enter the presence chamber to face Lancaster and the rest of the deputation to convey to them his decision. He looked to be on the verge of collapse as, sobbing, he appeared before them. Then he suddenly fainted dead away, but, “as piteous and heavy as the sight was, it failed to excite the compassion of any of the Queen’s commissioners.”226 It was left to Lancaster and Stratford to hasten to Edward’s aid, tenderly raising him in their arms and doing everything in their power to bring him round. But as soon as Edward had come to his senses, Orleton brusquely demanded that he now renounce his crown, as he had agreed to do. In “a fresh paroxysm of weeping,” the King meekly complied, saying “he was aware that for his many sins he was thus punished, and therefore he besought those present to have compassion upon him in his adversity. Much as he grieved for having incurred the hatred of his people, he was glad that his eldest son was so gracious in their sight, and gave them thanks for choosing him to be their king.”
