Edward Balliol

Edward Balliol or Edward de Balliol (; – January 1364) was a claimant to the Scottish throne during the Second War of Scottish Independence. With English help, he ruled parts of the kingdom from 1332 to 1356. Early life Edward was the eldest son of John Balliol and Isabella de Warenne. As a child, Edward was betrothed to Isabelle of Valois, the eldest daughter of Charles, Count of Valois (1271–1325) and his first wife Marguerite of Anjou (1273–1299). His father John resigned his title as King of Scotland in 1296, and it was likely this that caused the King of France to break the marriage contract and betroth Isabelle instead to John son of Arthur II, Duke of Brittany. Following his father's abdication, Balliol was a prisoner in the Tower of London until 1299, when he was released into the custody of his grandfather John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey. Balliol could possibly have been involved in the "Soules Conspiracy", a plot to depose king Robert I and possibly to install Balliol on the throne led by William II de Soules. Balliol possibly married Margaret of Taranto, daughter of Philip I, Prince of Taranto around 1331. If this marriage did take place, it was childless and had been annulled by the time Balliol made his bid for the Scottish crown in 1332. Claimant to the Scottish throne