EDOARDO II, king of ENGLAND. – Firstborn son of E. I, born at Carnarvon on 25 April 1284, died at Berkeley Castle (Gloucestershire) on 21 September 1327. In 1301 he was appointed prince of Wales, a title that from that moment became customary for the heirs to the English throne; and in July 1307 he succeeded his father. Of a light and indolent character, he governed with extreme weakness. Under him Scotland, led by Robert Bruce, secured its freedom (Battle of Bannockburn, 24 June 1314). Queen Isabella, with the help of her brother Charles IV of France, succeeded in fomenting a revolt, as a result of which King E. II, forced to abdicate on 24 January 1327, was assassinated a few months later.
BIBL.: C. Dewis, The baron opposition to Edward II, Cambridge 1919; T. F. Tout, The place of the reign of Edward II in English history, 2nd ed., Manchester 1937; R. Fawtner, L'Europe occidentale de 1276 à 1380, part 1; 1279-1307, Paris 1940, pp. 337-46, 439-52. Stanislao Majarelli