The younger men, Vere, and Pembroke, who was also Edward's cousin and whose Lusignan blood gave him the swarthy complexion that caused Edward of Carnarvon's irreverent friend, Piers Gaveston, to nickname him `` Joseph the Jew '', were relatively new to the game of diplomacy, but Pontissara had been on missions to Rome before, and Hotham, a man of great learning, `` jocund in speech, agreeable to meet, of honest religion, and pleasing in the eyes of all '', and an archbishop to boot, was as reliable and experienced as Othon himself.

But, as with Gaveston, the barons were indignant at the privileges Edward lavished upon the Despenser father and son, especially when the younger Despenser began in 1318 to strive to procure for himself the earldom of Gloucester and its associated lands.

The campaign was a disaster, and whilst Edward escaped, Gaveston found himself stranded at Scarborough Castle, where his baronial enemies first surrounded and captured him.

On 9 June, Pembroke left Gaveston at the rectory at Deddington in Oxfordshire, while he himself left to visit his wife.

By 1309, however, Edward had reconciled himself with the opposition, and Gaveston was allowed to return.

Gaveston was a relative upstart in the English aristocracy, and made himself unpopular among the established nobility by his arrogance and his undue influence on the king.

The king himself swore vengeance on his enemies, but found himself unable to move against them immediately, partly because they were in possession of a number of highly valuable royal jewels taken from Gaveston.

Although Gaveston himself is not of noble birth, he maintains that he is better than common people and craves pleasing shows, Italian masques, music and poetry.

While such sources do not, in themselves, prove that Edward and Gaveston were lovers, they at least show that some contemporaries and later writers strongly believed that this might be the case.

Edward I was reportedly concerned with his son's failure to live up to the expectations of an heir to the crown, and at one point decided to exile the prince's favourite Piers Gaveston.

After the death of Gaveston at the hands of the barons in 1312, however, Edward later turned to a new favourite, Hugh Despenser the younger, and attempted to take revenge on the barons, resulting in the Despenser War and a period of internal repression across England.

Using her own supporters at court, and the patronage of her French family, Isabella attempted to find a political path through these challenges ; she successfully formed an alliance with Gaveston, but after his death at the hands of the barons her position grew increasingly precarious.

Isabella was able to come to an understanding with her husband's first lover Piers Gaveston, shown here lying dead at the feet of Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick | Guy de Beauchamp, in a 15th-century representation.

Edward chose to sit with Gaveston rather than Isabella at their wedding celebration, causing grave offence to her uncles Louis, Count of Évreux, and Charles, Count of Valois, and then refused to grant her either her own lands or her own household.

Though the two were reconciled at a later point, the king still prevented Gaveston from rejoining the prince.

Initial from the charter granting Gaveston the Earl of Cornwall | earldom of Cornwall, showing the Coat of arms of England | arms of England at top, and Gaveston's coat of arms Impalement ( heraldry ) | impaled with those of de Clare below.

The discontent reported by the chronicles may have been the result of hindsight, however ; there is no sign that the established nobility objected to the ennoblement of Gaveston at the time.

This behaviour continued at the coronation feast after the king's return, during which the king largely ignored his new wife in favour of Gaveston.

Significantly, though, Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, who had not been involved in the campaign to exile Gaveston, seems to have become disaffected at this time.

In March, Gaveston settled at Scarborough, and began to fortify the castle.

On 4 May, the king and Gaveston were at Newcastle, and barely escaped a force led by Lancaster, Henry Percy and Robert Clifford.

The next morning he appeared at the rectory, where he took Gaveston captive and brought him back to his castle at Warwick.

The 1823 Gaveston monument at Blacklow Hill.

A proper burial could not be arranged while Gaveston was still excommunicate, and it was not until 2 January 1315, after the king had secured a papal absolution for his favourite, that he could have his body buried in an elaborate ceremony at the Dominican priory at Langley.

It was hinted at by medieval chroniclers, and has been alleged by modern historians, that the relationship between Gaveston and Edward was homosexual.

" Gaveston celebrated the marriage with a lavish tournament at Wallingford Castle.

Gaveston then returned to Scarborough, while the king left for York.

Scarborough was soon besieged by Pembroke, Warenne, Percy and Clifford, and on 19 May Gaveston surrendered to the besiegers.

If an agreement could not be reached by 1 August, Gaveston would be allowed to return to Scarborough.

Edward II granted Scarborough Castle to his favoured ' friend ', Piers Gaveston.

In 1312 King Edward II took refuge in Tynemouth Castle together with his favourite Piers Gaveston, before fleeing by sea to Scarborough Castle.

Bruce still evaded the English successfully, in early August even staging a raid into northern England, and shortly after this Gaveston withdrew to Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland.

In 1312, Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall, was captured by Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick, and imprisoned in Warwick Castle until his execution on 9 June 1312.

Gaveston was captured and transported to Oxford and then Warwick Castle for execution.

On 10 June, while Pembroke was away, Warwick forcibly carried away Gaveston to Warwick Castle.

Edward also showered favours on his companion Piers Gaveston, a knight of humble birth.

The king attributed his son ’ s preferences to his strong attachment to Piers Gaveston, a Gascon knight, and Edward I exiled Gaveston from court after Prince Edward attempted to bestow on his friend a title reserved for royalty.

Immediately following this, Edward focused on the destruction of those who had betrayed him, while the barons themselves lost impetus ( with Gaveston dead, they saw little need to continue ).

Her new husband was notorious for the patronage he lavished on his favourite, Piers Gaveston, but the queen supported Edward during these early years, forming a working relationship with Piers and using her relationship with the French monarchy to bolster her own authority and power.

It was now two years since an English army had come to Scotland, and King Edward II of England had recently been on the verge of war with his barons after the murder of Piers Gaveston in the summer of 1312.

Edward bestowed the Earldom of Cornwall on Gaveston, and arranged for him to marry his niece Margaret de Clare, sister of the powerful Earl of Gloucester.

In 1304, the king awarded Gaveston the wardship of Roger Mortimer of Wigmore, after the death of Roger's father, on the request of Edward, Prince of Wales.

Though Guisborough cannot necessarily be trusted on the details of the events, the story reflects the general exasperation the king felt with the prince's favouritism towards Gaveston, and the lavish gifts bestowed on the favourite.

From this point on Warenne – and possibly also the other two earls – became hostile to Gaveston.

Before the Stamford Parliament, however, on 27 June, Gaveston had returned to England.

When parliament met on 16 August, the king was presented with a set of proposed reforms of the royal household, as well as specific attacks on individuals, including a demand for the renewed exile of Piers Gaveston.

During the previous raid on Newcastle, the king and Gaveston had to flee quickly, leaving behind horses and jewels worth a great amount of money.

Hamilton, who wrote a biography of Gaveston in 1988, on the other hand says that " there is no question that the king and his favorite were lovers.

Instead Ormrod suggests the focus should be on the motivation behind the use of sexuality in contemporary attacks on the king and Gaveston.

If the king and Gaveston were indeed lovers, the question remains of what effect this had on their respective careers and eventual downfalls.

An 1872 painting by English artist Marcus Stone shows Edward II cavorting with Gaveston while nobles and courtiers look on with concern.

Chaplais, on the other hand, takes a different approach to the study of Gaveston and his place in the reign of Edward II.

In Derek Jarman's 1991 film, based on Marlow's play, Edward and Gaveston are presented as victims of homophobia and prejudice.