by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024
Adam FitzRoy’s father King Edward II of England (in red) in a contemporary illustration; Credit – Wikipedia
Born circa 1307, possibly at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, Adam FitzRoy was the illegitimate son of King Edward II of England and an unknown mother. His mother could have been one of the ladies or maids of his father’s second wife Margaret of France who was younger than her stepson Edward. Adam was probably born before his father succeeded to the throne in 1307 and certainly before his father married Isabella of France, daughter of King Philippe IV of France, in 1308. Adam’s surname FitzRoy comes from the Anglo-Norman Fitz, meaning “son of” and Roy, meaning “king”, implying the original bearer of the surname was a child of a king. Adam’s paternal grandparents were King Edward I of England and his first wife Eleanor of Castile.
Adam had four royal half-siblings from his father’s marriage with Isabella of France:
- King Edward III of England (1312 – 1377), married Philippa of Hainault, had fourteen children
- John of Eltham, 1st Earl of Cornwall (1316 – 1336), unmarried
- Eleanor of Woodstock (1318 – 1355), married Reinoud II of Guelders, had two children
- Joan of The Tower (1321 – 1362), married King David II of Scotland, no children
Adam is first mentioned in King Edward II’s wardrobe account of 1322: Ade filio domini Regis bastardo (Adam, bastard son of the lord king). Between June 6, 1322 and September 18, 1322, Adam was given a total of thirteen pounds and twenty-two pence to buy himself armatura et alia necessaria (armor and other necessaries) to participate in King Edward II’s campaign in Scotland planned for the autumn of 1322, in the First War of Scottish Independence (1296–1328) against the formidable Robert Bruce, King of Scots. Edward II had taken up arms against Robert the Bruce before. In 1314, he attempted to complete his father’s campaign in Scotland. This resulted in a decisive Scottish victory at the Battle of Bannockburn by a smaller army led by Robert the Bruce, King of Scots. In 1320, the Declaration of Arbroath was sent by a group of Scottish nobles to the Pope affirming Scottish independence from England.
Statue of Robert the Bruce in Stirling, Scotland; Credit – By Ally Crockford – Own work, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28842870
King Edward II assembled an army of about 23,000 men including his illegitimate son Adam who was probably about 15 -17 years old. Edward II and his army reached Edinburgh, Scotland, and plundered Holyrood Abbey. However, Robert the Bruce purposefully avoided battle with Edward II and lured his army inland. With the English army inland, the plans to supply the English army by sea failed and the English ran out of supplies and had to retreat to Newcastle, England. Many English soldiers became ill with dysentery and died. On September 18, 1322, the teenage Adam FitzRoy died, probably from dysentery. On September 30, 1322, Adam was buried at Tynemouth Priory in Tynemouth, England. His father King Edward II was unable to attend the funeral due to the continuation of his Scottish campaign. However, he paid for a silk coverlet with gold thread to cover the body of his son.
The ruins of Tynemouth Priory; Credit – By Agnete – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62804912
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Works Cited
- Flantzer, Susan. (2016). King Edward II of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-edward-ii-of-england/
- Flantzer, Susan. (2017). Robert I, King of Scots (Robert the Bruce). Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/robert-i-king-of-scots-robert-the-bruce/
- Wikimedia Foundation. (2021). Adam Fitzroy. Wikipedia (German). https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_FitzRoy
- Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Adam Fitzroy. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_FitzRoy
- Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Adam Fitzroy. Wikipedia (French). https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_FitzRoy
- Wikimedia Foundation. (2022). Фицрой, Адам. Wikipedia (Russian). https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D0%B8%D1%86%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B9,_%D0%90%D0%B4%D0%B0%D0%BC
- Wikimedia Foundation. (2024). Tynemouth Castle and Priory. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tynemouth_Castle_and_Priory