Brother to the King
Unfortunately, not many accounts are written of poor Edmund, Earl of Kent. We do know, however, that Edmund was the sixth of Edward I's sons, born in 1301 at Woodstock. He was about seventeen years Edward's younger.
Unfortunately, though Edward I had specified the amount of wealth intended for his young son, he had not specified what those lands were, allowing for Edward II to do with them whatever he chose to. This meant that much of the land intended for Edmund upon his father's passing was ultimately deeded to Piers Gaveston. On 26 July 1321 he was named Earl of Kent by his brother the king.
It is clear from the play, and historically, that Kent struggled to chose a side in the battle going on between King Edward II and the nobility which surrounded him. His allegiances shift a few times throughout the play, which seems to be backed historically. "Edward himself had hesitated to leave England for fear that in his absence enemies of his court might move against him, so in March 1325 he sent Queen Isabella to France to negotiate with her brother, Charles. They quickly agreed to a truce, which was ratified by Edward in June, and the French eventually agreed to accept the homage of Edward's eldest son in his place. The young Edward departed for France and performed homage on 24 September. Towards the end of 1325 Edmund found time to marry Margaret (d. 1349), the sister of Thomas Wake, Lord Wake of Liddell, and widow of John Comyn of Badenoch (d. 1314)."
Ultimately, Kent was tried as a traitor along with the other members of the uprising against King Edward II, and was beheaded in 1330.
Though few accounts of Edmund, Earl of Kent, seem to exist outside of encyclopedia entries, this character provides a lot of opportunity for audience alignment. His loyalties are not steadfast, and his shifts seem much more reasonable than those of the other characters in this play. It is through Kent that we are able to decide where our own loyalties lie.
Below are links to some online encyclopedia entries about Kent. I think it would be more useful to read these, both of which are short, rather than my distilled version.
Unfortunately, though Edward I had specified the amount of wealth intended for his young son, he had not specified what those lands were, allowing for Edward II to do with them whatever he chose to. This meant that much of the land intended for Edmund upon his father's passing was ultimately deeded to Piers Gaveston. On 26 July 1321 he was named Earl of Kent by his brother the king.
It is clear from the play, and historically, that Kent struggled to chose a side in the battle going on between King Edward II and the nobility which surrounded him. His allegiances shift a few times throughout the play, which seems to be backed historically. "Edward himself had hesitated to leave England for fear that in his absence enemies of his court might move against him, so in March 1325 he sent Queen Isabella to France to negotiate with her brother, Charles. They quickly agreed to a truce, which was ratified by Edward in June, and the French eventually agreed to accept the homage of Edward's eldest son in his place. The young Edward departed for France and performed homage on 24 September. Towards the end of 1325 Edmund found time to marry Margaret (d. 1349), the sister of Thomas Wake, Lord Wake of Liddell, and widow of John Comyn of Badenoch (d. 1314)."
Ultimately, Kent was tried as a traitor along with the other members of the uprising against King Edward II, and was beheaded in 1330.
Though few accounts of Edmund, Earl of Kent, seem to exist outside of encyclopedia entries, this character provides a lot of opportunity for audience alignment. His loyalties are not steadfast, and his shifts seem much more reasonable than those of the other characters in this play. It is through Kent that we are able to decide where our own loyalties lie.
Below are links to some online encyclopedia entries about Kent. I think it would be more useful to read these, both of which are short, rather than my distilled version.