Editing Isabella of France (section)

=== Fall of Gaveston: 1308–1312 ===
[[File:Guy de Beauchamp.jpg|thumb|upright|Isabella was able to come to an understanding with her husband's first favourite [[Piers Gaveston]], shown here lying dead at the feet of [[Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick|Guy de Beauchamp]], in a 15th-century representation.]]

Edward was an unusual character by medieval standards. Edward looked the part of a [[Plantagenet]] king: he was tall, athletic, and wildly popular at the beginning of his reign.<ref>Weir 2006, p. 39.</ref> However, he rejected most of the traditional pursuits of a king for the period — [[jousting]], hunting and warfare — and instead enjoyed music, poetry and [[rural crafts]].<ref name="Weir, p. 37">Weir 2006, p. 37.</ref> Furthermore, there is the question of Edward's sexuality in a period when homosexuality was considered a serious crime, but there is no direct evidence of his sexual orientation. Contemporary chroniclers made much of his close affinity with a succession of male [[favourite]]s. Some condemned Edward for loving them "beyond measure" and "uniquely", others explicitly referring to an "illicit and sinful union".<ref name=DohertyP37>Doherty, p. 37.</ref> Nonetheless, Isabella bore four children by Edward, leading some historians to believe that Edward's affairs with his male favourites were [[Platonic love|platonic]], despite Isabella's complaints of whose bed he visited.<ref name=DohertyP37/>

When Isabella first arrived in England following her marriage, her husband was already involved with Piers Gaveston, an "arrogant, ostentatious" soldier, with a "reckless and headstrong" personality that appealed to Edward.<ref>Doherty, p. 38.</ref> Isabella, then aged twelve, was effectively sidelined by the pair. Edward chose to sit with Gaveston rather than Isabella at their wedding celebration,<ref>Doherty, p. 46.</ref> causing grave offence to her uncles [[Louis, Count of Évreux]], and [[Charles, Count of Valois]],<ref name="Weir, p. 37"/> and then refused to grant her either her own lands or her own household.<ref name=DohertyP47>Doherty, p. 47.</ref> Edward also gave Gaveston Isabella's own jewelry, which he wore publicly.<ref>{{cite book |title=Queens Consort, England's Medieval Queens |last=Hilton |first=Lisa |author-link=Lisa Hilton (writer) |page=247 |year=2008 |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nichelson |location=Great Britain |isbn=978-0-7538-2611-9}}</ref> Isabella complained to her father that Gaveston took her place next to Edward II, she received insufficient funds and Edward visited Gaveston's bed more than hers.<ref name=Parsons/> It took the intervention of Isabella's father, Philip IV before Edward began to provide for her more appropriately.<ref name=DohertyP47/>

Isabella's relationship with Gaveston was complex. For a time, her dislike of him was widely known, and she was said to be in contact with her father, the pope and cardinals in order to have him exiled.<ref name=Parsons/> Baronial opposition to Gaveston, championed by Thomas of Lancaster, increased; and Philip IV began to covertly fund this grouping, using Isabella and her household as intermediaries.<ref>Doherty, pp. 47–8.</ref> Edward was forced to exile Gaveston to Ireland for a period and began to show Isabella much greater respect, assigning her lands and patronage. In turn, Philip ceased his support for the barons. Gaveston eventually returned from [[Ireland]], and by 1309–11, the three seemed to be co-existing together relatively comfortably.<ref name=DohertyP49>Doherty, p. 49.</ref> Indeed, Gaveston's key enemy, Edward and Isabella's uncle [[Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster|Thomas of Lancaster]], considered her to be an ally of Gaveston.<ref name=DohertyP49/><ref>"Even her own uncle Lancaster came to regard her as an enemy." Isabella's mother, Joan of Navarre, was Thomas of Lancaster's older half-sister. [https://books.google.com/books?id=6VEdDAAAQBAJ&dq=Isabella+of+france+thomas+of+lancaster+uncle&pg=PT116]</ref> Isabella had begun to build up her own supporters at court, principally the Beaumont family, itself opposed to the Lancastrians. Similarly originating from France, the senior member of the Beaumont family, [[Isabella de Beaumont]], had been a close confidant of Edward's mother [[Eleanor of Castile]], supported by her brother [[Henry de Beaumont]].{{cn|date=August 2023}}

In 1311, Edward conducted a failed campaign against the Scots, during which he and Isabella barely escaped capture. In the aftermath, the barons rose up, signing the [[Ordinances of 1311]], which promised action against Gaveston and expelled Isabella and Henry de Beaumont from court.<ref name=WeirP58>Weir 2006, p. 58.</ref> England fully descended into civil war in 1312. Isabella stood with Edward, sending angry letters to her uncles Louis and Charles asking for support.<ref name=WeirP58/> Edward left Isabella against her will at [[Tynemouth Priory]] in Northumberland whilst he unsuccessfully attempted to fight the barons.<ref>Weir 2006, p. 63.</ref> The campaign was a disaster, and although Edward escaped, Gaveston found himself stranded at [[Scarborough Castle]] where his baronial enemies then surrounded and captured him. [[Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick|Guy de Beauchamp]] and Thomas of Lancaster ensured Gaveston's execution as he was being taken south to rejoin Edward.<ref>Doherty, p. 51.</ref>