Though not resident in the two boys' household, Edward I had taken great interest in the princes' upbringing and well-being. Before he died, the king had promised to provide Edmund with substantial grants of land. In August 1306, Edward I signed a charter promising Edmund land worth 7000 marks a year, and in May 1307, 1000 marks was added to this. He probably intended to give the earldom of Norfolk to Thomas, while Edmund would receive the earldom of Cornwall, which had been left vacant after Edward I's cousin Edmund died without children in 1300. When Edward II came to the throne, however, he went against his father's wishes by granting the earldom of Cornwall to his favourite Piers Gaveston. According to the chronicle "Vita Edwardi Secundi", this act was a grave insult to the king's younger brothers. Edward II nevertheless took steps to provide his half-brother with an income; grants made in 1315 and 1319 secured Edmund 2000 marks a year. In May 1321, Edmund received the strategically important Gloucester Castle, and further grants followed his creation as Earl of Kent on 28 July 1321.