Edward II of England formally ended Edward's reign. A proclamation was sent to London, announcing that Edward, now known just as Edward of Caernarvon, had freely resigned his kingdom and that Prince Edward would succeed him. The coronation took place at Westminster Abbey on 2 February 1327. Those opposed to the new government began to make plans to free Edward, and Roger Mortimer decided to move Edward to the more secure location of Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, where the former King arrived around 5 April 1327. Once at the castle, Edward was kept in the custody of Mortimer's son-in-law, Thomas Berkeley, and John Maltravers,
Berkeley Castle around 1067 by William FitzOsbern shortly after the Conquest. This was subsequently held by three generations of the first Berkeley family, all called Roger de Berkeley, and rebuilt by them in the first half of the 12th century. The last Roger de Berkeley was dispossessed in 1152 for withholding his allegiance from the House of Plantagenet during the conflict of The Anarchy, and the feudal barony of Berkeley was then granted to Robert Fitzharding, a wealthy burgess of Bristol and supporter of the Plantagenets. He was the founder of the Berkeley family which still holds the castle. In 1153–54, Fitzharding