Berkeley family Constable (Alnod), a high official under King Edward the Confessor. Berkeley Castle, the "caput" of the barony, and the adjoining town of Berkeley are located in the county of Gloucestershire and are situated about five miles west of Dursley and eighteen miles southwest of Gloucester, and northeast of Bristol. The location has conferred various titles on the family over the centuries, including Baron Berkeley (barony by writ), Earl of Berkeley, and Marquess of Berkeley. Berkeley Castle was originally granted by William the Conqueror to the Norman Roger de Berkeley, feudal baron of Dursley, under the feudal tenure of fee-farm. However,
Edward II of England move was highly unpopular. Isabella and Mortimer both amassed, and spent, great wealth, and criticism of them mounted. Relations between Mortimer and the young Edward III became strained and in 1330 the King conducted a "coup d'état" at Nottingham Castle. He arrested Mortimer and then executed him on fourteen charges of treason, including the murder of Edward II. Edward III's government sought to blame Mortimer for all of the recent problems, effectively politically rehabilitating the late King. The King spared Isabella, giving her a generous allowance, and she soon returned to public life. Edward's body was embalmed at Berkeley Castle,