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In 1330, Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent, son of King Edward I of England and father of the “scandalous” Joan of Kent,
In 1330, Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent, son of King Edward I of England and father of the “scandalous” Joan of Kent, was executed for treason at Winchester Castle. Edmund's plans to free his imprisoned half-brother, the deposed King Edward II, had been uncovered by Roger Mortimer, whose agents had intercepted a letter written by Edmund's wife, Margaret Wake. When Edmund was condemned to death, in an act of desperation, he began begging his nephew, King Edward III, to spare his life. He claimed he'd do anything, even “walk all the way to London with a noose round his neck” to atone for his actions. But Roger Mortimer had seen to it that there would be nothing Edward could do to save his uncle. Edmund's executioner had backed out, refusing to be responsible for the murder of man who was trying to help his brother and none of the assembled men-at-arms volunteered in his absence, neither did their captains. Hours passed before someone was found to remove Edmund'