Earl Edmund of Woodstock [18975]

  General Notes:

born Aug. 5, 1301, Woodstock, Oxfordshire, Eng.
died March 19, 1330, Winchester, Hampshire

Edmund of Woodstock youngest brother of England's King Edward II, whom he supported to the forfeit of his own life.

He received many marks of favor from his brother, whom he steadily supported until the last act in Edward's life opened in 1326. He fought in Scotland and then in France and was a member of the council when Edward III became king in 1327. Soon at variance with Queen Isabella and her lover, Roger Mortimer, Edmund was involved in a conspiracy to restore Edward II, who he was led to believe was still alive (he had been murdered in September 1327); Edmund was arrested and beheaded. Although he had been condemned as a traitor, his elder son Edmund (c. 1327–33) was recognized as earl of Kent in December 1330, the title passing on his death to his brother John (c. 1330–52).

  Noted events in his life were:

• Place of Birth. Woodstock (Oxfordshire, England). A royal manor built at least by the time of Athelred II in 995 when he held a council there. It became known as Woodstock Palace by the 12 century. Henry I regularly stayed there, using it as a base for his hunting in the vicinity. Henry II held court there on a number of occasions, the most significant on 1163 where both the Welsh and Scottish rulers paid homage to him and where he first strongly disagreed with Becket. The Scottish King William the Lyon was married there.

• Title. Earl of Kent

Edmund married Margaret le Wakefield [18976] [MRIN: 6506] in Dec 1321. (Margaret le Wakefield [18976] was born about 1299 and died on 29 Sep 1349.)