Edward II is rumored to have been bisexual. He fathered at least five children, one of them an illegitimate son named Adam FitzRoy.
His marriage to Isabella of France was a political alliance, as were virtually all royal marriages of the time. He married her the year after he became king, and it was expected that he should have sons to inherit the throne. Regardless of the fact that he preferred men as lovers, he did realize his duty to provide an heir for England and therefore continue his bloodline. It should be noted, too, that there was about eleven years difference between his age and that of his wife. When they were married in 1308, Edward II was 24 years old and Isabella was about 13 years old.
Even though he was widely believed to have had affairs with his male favorites, he did father four children with Isabella - Edward III; John, Earl of Cornwall; Eleanor, Duchess of Guelders; and Joanna, Queen of Scotland. Edward II is the undisputed father of Edward III and the other three children. Contemporary records and household accounts show that Edward and Isabella were together in the nine months before each child was born, so he is the father of all four. There is no evidence that Isabella had any other lover than Roger Mortimer.. and that relationship began almost five years after the birth of her youngest child, Joanna.
Her marriage was not a happy one, however, because Edward II often neglected his wife, spending most of his time with his court favorites (and presumed lovers). Isabella grew to hate her husband and his friends.
In the early years of their marriage, the Queen supported her husband and tried to be the model wife and consort. She did not begin her affair with Roger Mortimer until 1325, which was after her marriage to Edward was basically over. She had separated from and not lived with Edward since about 1322, and since that time had had her younger children taken from her, her lands seized and her French attendants had been arrested - all at the demand of the Despencers.
Both Isabella and Mortimer decided to overthrow Edward II and put the heir on the throne instead, because Edward's rule was becoming disastrous for England.. and she also wanted revenge on the hated Despencer family.
Mortimer's army defeated Edward and he was forced to abdicate. The Despencers were executed, and Isabella became Regent for her young son with Mortimer as the real power behind the throne. Edward II was held prisoner until 1327, when he was supposedly murdered at Berkeley Castle.
Whether Edward II's death was pre-meditated murder, accidental homicide or a "fatal accident" as was reported to Queen Isabella, is a matter of hot debate among historians. There are several theories as to the events leading up to Edward's death.
Edward III deposed Mortimer in 1330 and began ruling England in his own right. His mother had been Regent for four years, enriching both herself and Mortimer and living a lavish lifestyle at English expense. Edward brought Mortimer to trial for treason, for which he was found guilty, and had him executed at Tyburn.
The relationship between his mother and the Earl of March was never mentioned, and she was portrayed as his innocent victim. She was placed under house arrest until 1332, but by all accounts, the love between Isabella and Roger Mortimer was very real and theirs was a passionate relationship.. and a great love story. It is possible that she suffered a nervous breakdown after Mortimer's execution.
In her later years, though, she was a loving grandmother and a very wealthy woman, who spent quite a bit of her time at court and traveling around England. Eventually she took the habit of a nun before her death in 1358. She was buried in London in her wedding dress and Edward II's heart was buried with her, at her request.
** Isabella never met William Wallace. He was executed in 1305, when she was about 10 years old. Her marriage was still several years away, and she was living in France at the time of his execution. That part of Braveheart is completely a work of dramatic fiction. **
