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Ireland. His privileges did not end here though, and he was also able to succeed to the Lordship of Trim.
    Mortimer’s happiness was short-lived, however, when his father, Lord Wigmore, was killed near Builth in 1304. Mortimer was only sixteen at the time and therefore was not entitled to inherit his father’s legacy for another two years. As a consequence, he was placed by King Edward I under the guardianship of his father’s close friend, Piers Gaveston. In 1306 Mortimer was knighted by Edward, and when he came of age this same year he also received his entire inheritance. From an early age the young Mortimer set himself out as being rather an ambitious man. He had aspirations to leadership and would stop at nothing to achieve these. He was not concerned about morality but instead was preoccupied with his own personal gain.

    U NREST  A BROAD

    In 1308 Mortimer was sent to Ireland by Edward II, in order to assert his authority over the country. In Ireland he was met with stern opposition in the form of the de Lacys who were in support of Robert Bruce, the King of Scotland. During this time Mortimer was promoted to the role of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland by Edward II. This seems to have been what triggered the king’s ultimate downfall as he fed the desire for power that Mortimer was constantly pursuing. A successful campaign in 1316 meant that Mortimer was able to drive Bruce to Carrickfergus and the de Lacys into Connaught. Following this he led an aggressive campaign of vengeance upon all who were found to be adherents to Bruce or the de Lacys.
    The next couple of years were less exciting for Mortimer as he was involved primarily in baronial disputes on the Welsh border until 1318. Throughout this time Mortimer was not afraid to take power by force, a theme commonly associated with the man of many ambitions. However, Mortimer’s power was limited over the next few years as he joined the growing opposition against the king and refused to obey his summons to appear before him in 1321. Refusing to obey the king was a treasonable act in itself, and when Mortimer was forced to surrender to the king in January 1322, he was lucky to be punished only by consignment to the Tower of London. As was to be expected from Mortimer, he did not stay in the tower for long. A mere two years later he managed to escape and fled to France.

    Q UEEN  I SABELLA

    In 1325 Edward II’s fragile hold over the throne was pushed to its limits. In an effort to escape from her husband Isabella double-crossed him by pleading to Edward to allow her to go to France in order to use her influence with her brother, Charles IV, in favour of peace. Queen Isabella had other plans in store though, and at the French court she met with Roger Mortimer and became his mistress soon afterwards. Mortimer continued to resist returning to England for as long as the Despensers remained favoured in the country. The Despensers were a particularly prominent family throughout this period and had managed to continually win the favour of Edward II. By the 1320s they had the king’s protection but were loathed by many for their greed and land grabbing tendencies. It is not hard to imagine then that Mortimer and the Queen of England could easily raise the support that they needed for a full blown invasion of England.
    Upon their return to England in 1526, they were joined by Henry, Earl of Lancaster. The support for Queen Isabella was overwhelming, and people paraded in the street to offer help towards the imminent invasion. Edward II quickly sought an escape from the invading surge of people and fled to the west of England. He was captured and imprisoned and, to add insult to injury, he was forced to abdicate in favour of his son who was crowned Edward III in January 1327. This meant little to Mortimer who sought the throne for himself. He proved that he would go to every length to gain himself the title of the King of England, even though he was not actually married to