The conspiracy was so widespread, and so judiciously managed, that her cause was soon regarded as a national one. Nobles, clergy, and commonalty seem alike to have been in her interest. At the instigation of the Pope, she was obliged to leave Paris, but she took the opportunity of going to Hainault, and there contracting a marriage between her son Edward and the daughter of the Count, and of engaging that Prince to assist her in her enterprise. On the 24th of September she landed with her foreign auxiliaries at the mouth of the Orwell. She was joined by the King’s brothers, by his cousin Henry of Lancaster, and by all the nobility of the East. The Archbishop of Canterbury supplied her with money. London rose in her favour. The skilful management of the Bishop of Hereford won her allies on all sides, and the King found it necessary to fly before her advance. Leaving the Earl of Winchester in Bristol, he tried with young Despenser to reach Lundy Isle in the Bristol Channel. The wind prevented him, and he was driven to land in Wales. Bristol was taken by the Queen without a siege, and the King finally fell into the hands of his pursuers in Wales. He was put into the charge of Henry of Lancaster, brother of the late Earl, at Kenilworth. William Trussel, whom the Queen had made her judge, superintended the trial of the Despensers and their friends, and they were all put to death. In December the Parliament met at Westminster, and swore fealty to the Queen and Prince. The Bishop of Hereford put the question whether Edward or his son should henceforward rule. The assembly declared for the Prince, who accepted the situation, binding himself to six articles, which seem to represent the complaints against the King, and which laid to his charge, the rule of favourites, the contempt of good advice, the loss of Scotland, acts of violence against the clergy and the nobles, and the refusal of justice. Isabella pretended to be angry at this act of deposition, but her pretence could deceive nobody. Finally, a deputation waited upon the unfortunate Edward, and procured his resignation. He was hurried from fortress to fortress, and before long met a cruel death in Berkeley Castle.

Character of the opposition.

Throughout the baronial efforts of the reign, constitutional views and personal interests had been closely interwoven. The single-minded patriotism of Simon de Montfort had been entirely absent. It was the personal ambition of a Prince of the blood, of enormous wealth and influence, which had supplied the baronial party with their first leader. The vindictive feelings of personal dislike had produced an unjustifiable murder of the royal favourite. Success had been followed by an unconstitutional appropriation of all the powers of government. To support their supremacy the Barons had not shrunk from an alliance with their national enemies. To secure a second triumph and revenge they had adopted the cause of an adulterous Queen and her worthless favourite. Yet throughout, the pretence of their action had been the maintenance of the old constitution, and the act which closed the reign was a formal declaration on the part of Parliament of a constitutional right of the nation to depose a sovereign who proved himself unfit for his high position.

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EDWARD III., died 1377. | 1 2 | 3 5 +---+ +-------------------+---+-----+----------------------------+---| A | | | | | +---+ | | | | Edward, = Joan, William, Lionel, = Elizabeth | the Black | daughter died Duke of | de Burgh. | Prince, | of Earl 1335. Clarence, | | died 1376. | of Kent, died 1368. | | | widow Philippa = Edmund | | of Sir T. | Mortimer, | | Holland. | Earl of | | | March. | Richard II., | | died 1400. Roger, = Alianore | Earl of March, | Holland, | declared heir- | daughter | apparent, died | of Earl | in battle in | of Kent. | Ireland, 1398. | | | | +----------------------------------------+ | | | | +---------+ +-------+-----------+ +------------+ | | | | | Edmund = Isabel, Edmund, Anne = Richard, | Duke of | daughter died 1424. | Earl of | York, | of Pedro | Cambridge | Earl of | Castile. | beheaded at | Cambridge, | | Southampton | died 1402. | | for conspiring | | | against +--------------+ | Henry V., 1415. | Richard = Cicely Duke of York, | Neville, fought against | daughter of Henry VI. | Earl of Killed at | Westmoreland. Wakefield, | 1460. | | +-----------------------+------------------------------+ | | | Edward IV. = Elizabeth George = Isabel, daughter of | died 1483. | Woodville. Duke of Earl of Warwick | | Clarence, (The King-maker). | | killed | | 1478. | Edward V., | died 1483. +---------------------------------------+ | | +-------------------+------------+------------------+ | | | Richard III. = Anne, daughter Elizabeth = John Margaret = Duke of died 1485. | of Earl of | de la Burgundy. | Warwick, widow | Pole. | of Edward, son | | of Henry VI. | | John. Edward, Declared heir-apparent, died 1484. d. at Battle of Stoke, 1487. +---+ 4 6 | A |--------+-----------------------------+ +---+ | | | | Katherine = John = 1. Blanche, Thomas, = Eleanor Swinford | of Gaunt, | daughter of | de Bohun. | Duke of | of Duke of Woodstock, | | Lancaster, | Lancaster Duke of | | died 1399. | = 2. Constance, Gloucester, | | | daughter strangled | John, | of Pedro at Calais | Earl of | of Castile. 1397. | Somerset. | | | Henry IV. = Mary de Anne = Edmund | died 1413. | Bohun. | Stafford. +------+ | | | | Humphrey, = Anne | | First Duke Neville. | | of Buckingham | | killed at | | Northampton | | 1460. | | | +--------+---------+----------------------+ | | | | | John Owen = Katherine = Henry V. Thomas, John = 1. Anne of | | Tudor | daughter of | died Duke of Duke of Burgundy. | | | Charles VI. | 1422. Clarence, Bedford = 2. Jacquetta | | | | killed at died of Luxembourg. | | | | Beaugé, 1435. | | | | 1421. | | | | +------------------+ Margaret = Edmund Henry VI. = Margaret | | Earl of died | of Anjou. Humphrey = Jacqueline | Richmond 1471. | Duke of of Hainault. | died 1456. | Gloucester, | | rival of | | Beaufort, | | died 1446. | | | Edward = Anne, daughter Henry VII., killed at of Earl of died 1509. Tewkesbury Warwick (The 1471. King-maker).

[EDWARD III.]
1327–1377.