Isabella de Beaumont

[4] When Isabella and her husband travelled to Gascony in France in 1288, Edward arranged for them to have apartments next to his own royal lodgings and had them specially decorated for Christmas.

[8] Being granted governorships of castles close to conflict areas was unheard of for a woman of the period, and Edward probably did so on the basis of Isabella's personal loyalty to him.

[14] In combination, the de Beaumont family also held numerous properties in the disputed kingdom of Scotland, which would come to influence later events.

Edward, at this stage with the support of his young wife Queen Isabella, had formed a close attachment to his favourite Piers Gaveston.

[19] As a result, when the Lancastrians pushed through the Ordinances of 1311, which sought to circumscribe royal power, Isabella and her brother were banished from court.

[20] Isabella was accused of giving "evil council" and illegally securing writs for her clients, and returned to her home in Yorkshire for a short period.

[26] Through the Queen, Isabella was instrumental in getting another of her brothers, the extravagant and illiterate Louis de Beaumont, another opponent of the Lancastrians, appointed Bishop of Durham in 1317.

[30] Indeed, both Queen Isabella and the de Beaumonts rapidly found themselves on the wrong side of the Despensers' increasingly despotic regime.

[32] By 1326 Queen Isabella had grown desperate and left for Paris, ostensibly to conduct diplomacy over the disputed province of Gascony, but in reality in an attempt to raise a rebellion against Edward and the Despensers.

One of the first acts of the new regime was to appoint the late earl of Atholl's young son to the custodianship of Isabella, who then married him to one her nieces, thereby giving her and Henry control of two out of the five Scottish earldoms.

[36] In 1330, Edmund of Kent attempted to lead an uprising against Queen Isabella, with the aim of restoring Edward II, whom many believed still to be alive at this time.