Berkhamsted of the monastic order of Bonhommes, in 1283. In 1300, after Edmund died, Edward I - aka 'Longshanks' took the castle and subsequently granted it to his second queen, Margaret of France. In 1309, Edward I and Margaret's son, Edward II, granted Berkhamsted to his favourite, Piers Gaveston; afterwards In 1317, the castle was given to Edward II's queen, Isabella of France. Edward III further developed the castle and gave it to his son, Edward, the Black Prince, who expanded the hunting grounds. By tradition, Berkhamsted Castle still belongs to the eldest son of the reigning English monarch, via the
Edward the Black Prince in demolishing a large piece of wall which filled the ditches with its ruins. The town was then stormed, with the inevitable destruction and loss of life. The Victorian historian, William Hunt and author of the Black Prince's biography in the "Dictionary of National Biography" (1889) relying on Froissart as a source wrote that when the bishop (who was the most responsible for the surrender) was brought before the Prince, the Prince told him that his head should be cut off (Lancaster persuaded him not to carry out the deed), but that the city was never the less pillaged and