Editing Edward II of England (section)

===Birth===
[[File:Caernarfon Castle 1994.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|alt=photograph of Caernarfon castle|[[Caernarfon Castle]] in north Wales, Edward's birthplace]]

Edward II was born in [[Caernarfon Castle]] in [[north Wales]] on 25 April 1284, less than a year after Edward&nbsp;I had conquered the region, and as a result is sometimes called Edward of Caernarfon.<ref>{{Harvnb|Phillips|2011|pp=33, 36}}.</ref> The King probably chose the castle deliberately as the location for Edward's birth as it was an important symbolic location for the native Welsh, associated with [[Roman Britain|Roman imperial history]], and it formed the centre of the new royal administration of North Wales.<ref>{{Harvnb|Phillips|2011|pp=35–36}}; {{Harvnb|Haines|2003|p=3}}.</ref> Edward's birth brought predictions of greatness from contemporary [[prophet]]s, who believed that the [[Eschatology|Last Days]] of the world were imminent, declaring him a new [[King Arthur]], who would lead England to glory.<ref>{{Harvnb|Coote|2000|pp=84–86}}.</ref> [[David Powel]], a 16th-century clergyman, suggested that the baby was offered to the Welsh as a prince "that was borne in Wales and could speake never a word of English", but there is no evidence to support this account.<ref>{{Harvnb|Phillips|2011|p=36}}; {{Harvnb|Haines|2003|pp=3–4}}.</ref>

Edward's name was [[Middle English|English]] in origin, linking him to the [[Anglo-Saxon]] [[saint]] [[Edward the Confessor]], and was chosen by his father instead of the more traditional [[Norman language|Norman]] and [[Castilian Spanish|Castilian]] names selected for Edward's brothers:<ref>{{Harvnb|Phillips|2011|p=39}}.</ref> John and Henry, who had died before Edward was born, and [[Alphonso, Earl of Chester|Alphonso]], who died in August 1284, leaving Edward as the heir to the throne.<ref name="Phillips2011P40">{{Harvnb|Phillips|2011|p=40}}.</ref> Although Edward was a relatively healthy child, there were enduring concerns throughout his early years that he too might die and leave his father without a male heir.<ref name=Phillips2011P40/> After his birth, Edward was looked after by a [[wet nurse]] called Mariota or Mary Maunsel for a few months until she fell ill, when Alice de Leygrave became his foster mother.<ref name="PhillipsChaplaisHaines">{{Harvnb|Phillips|2011|pp=37, 47}}; {{Harvnb|Chaplais|1994|p=5}}; {{Harvnb|Haines|2003|p=4}}.</ref> He would have barely known his natural mother, Eleanor, who was in Gascony with his father during his earliest years.<ref name=PhillipsChaplaisHaines/> An official household, complete with staff, was created for the new baby, under the direction of a clerk, Giles of Oudenarde.<ref>{{Harvnb|Phillips|2011|p=47}}.</ref>