![]() ![]() Edward hadn’t the slightest intention of leaving his BFF in exile, but it bought him time. It was Edward’s queen, Isabella who broke the standoff, publicly pleading with the king to exile Hugh for the kingdom’s sake. Inside the walls was the king, unable to compel his besiegers’ disbandment but unwilling to meet their principle demand: to get rid of Hugh. By 1321, the aristocracy’s retinues were camped outside London’s walls, unable to break in, but too terrified of Hugh’s retribution to back down. Indeed, nobody was safe from Hugh’s depredations and one could easily lose everything they owned on the basis of a quiet chat between Despenser and the king.Ī sensible king should have foreseen the inevitable rebellion. ![]() In a world where land was power, Hugh became someone to be reckoned with. A couple of other male suiters followed before Hugh le Despenser, son of the Earl of Winchester, recklessly abused his ‘position’ to carve out a vast domain covering most of south Wales. Today it is common knowledge that Edward II enjoyed the company of both men and women, not that it mattered much in the fourteenth century God’s anointed were free to make love to whomever they wished, even though (somewhat confusingly) homosexuality was still condemned by the Catholic church.Įdward’s first favourite had been Piers Gaveston, at least until his head was chopped off by the nobility in 1312. ![]()
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