伊莎贝拉与玛格丽特23

Isabella had Edward imprisoned

in Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire

But she knew that, while he remained alive

he was the obvious focus for any rebellion

Within a year, three plots to liberate him had already been uncovered

These documents here in Berkeley Castle give us a sense of

the extraordinary difficulty of keeping an ex-king in custody

We can see here, from the provisions bought for him

which included 280 eggs, or "ova" in Latin, in just three months

that at first he was kept in some comfort

But this account tells us of the reinforcement of the castle

with bolts and great bars and other ironwork

after Edward escaped from his guards in the summer of 1327

It was obvious how dangerous his continued existence was to the new regime