Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick
Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick was an English magnate, and one of the principal opponents of King Edward II and his favourite, Piers Gaveston. Guy was the son of William de Beauchamp, the first Beauchamp earl of Warwick, and succeeded his father in 1298. He distinguished himself at the Battle of Falkirk and subsequently, as a capable servant of the crown under King Edward I. After the succession of Edward II in 1307, however, he soon fell out with the new king and the king's favourite, Piers Gaveston. Warwick was one of the main architects behind the Ordinances of 1311, that limited the powers of the king and banished Gaveston into exile.
Guy de Beauchamp standing over the decapitated body of Piers Gaveston. From the 15th-century Rous Rolls
Seal of Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick, as appended to the Barons' Letter, 1301. The arms shown are those of Newburgh, the family of his predecessors the Beaumont Earls of Warwick. The Beauchamps frequently quartered their own arms with those of Newburgh, on occasion placing the latter in the 1st & 4th quarters, positions of greatest honour.
Warwick was in constant opposition to King Edward II. Great seal of Edward II
Edward II, also known as Edward of Caernarfon or Caernarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne following the death of his older brother Alphonso. Beginning in 1300, Edward accompanied his father on campaigns in Scotland, and in 1306 he was knighted in a grand ceremony at Westminster Abbey. Edward succeeded to the throne the next year, following his father's death. In 1308, he married Isabella of France, the daughter of the powerful King Philip IV, as part of a long-running effort to resolve the tensions between the English and French crowns.
Effigy in Gloucester Cathedral
Caernarfon Castle, Edward's birthplace
Portrait in Westminster Abbey, thought to be of Edward's father, Edward I
Early 14th-century depiction of Edward I (left) declaring his son Edward (right) the Prince of Wales