Was Edward I a loyal husband?
John Botetourt - Edward I
The supposedly disproved notion that John Botetourt was not the illegitimate son of Edward I is based on that he was loyal to his queen, Eleanor of Castile.
2nd Marriage
Whether it was the desire for another son, I am not sure what Edward I thought of his son Edward II at this point, the fact that Margaret was 20 and Edward 60 is to me at least an indication that the "affairs" of state took precedence.
While this does not mean that that was an indication of Edward's propensity for fidelity as opposed to doing what needed to be done.
1st Marriage and the birth of John Botetourt
As I speculate on my page on Joan of Acre, the reasons and timing of the marriage to Eleanor of Castile
6 July 2026 - saw 404 in server logs for this page which is strange because it is on the server.
There were links to this page on de Botetourt Parentage, Joan of Acre and Longshanks himself.
Royal Fidelity
Through history the antics of the royals has been seen as less than faithfull to their spouses. While this is mainly a make thing, the Queens are not exempt from this activity.
As supreme rulers of their domains, the power, as it is said, "corrupts". This is applying modern-day morality to those that were in charge of the country. One could suppose that this just applies to the Kings, and maybe Queens, of countries but it also applies to the religious community. Here I am aiming a critisism of the Popes and the religion of Catholisism. Many of the kings and queens of England had disputes with Popes and many were excommunicated.
The Saltire Cross
This might be a stretch but a saltire cross could be seen as a depiction of an illegitimacy.
The Botetourt arms do feature such a cross. The guide "A Complete Guide to Heraldry" Chapter 32 "Marks of Bastardy" says:
Under the present practice the due and proper marks of distinction are, for the arms, a bordure wavy round the shield of the most suitable colour, according to what the arms may be, but if possible of some colour or metal different from any of the tinctures in the arms. The crest is usually differenced by a bendlet sinister wavy, but a pallet wavy is sometimes used, and sometimes a saltire wavy, couped or otherwise. The choice between these marks generally depends upon the nature of the crest. But even with this choice, the anomaly is frequently found of blank space being carefully debruised. Seeing that the mark of the debruising is not a tangible object or thing, but a mark painted upon another object, such a result seems singularly ridiculous, and ought to be avoided.
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A royal bastard is a child of a reigning monarch born out of wedlock. The king might have a child with a mistress, or the legitimacy of a marriage might be questioned for reasons concerning succession.
