Despite the fact that Edward is not a central figure in the stories about Ximene a large proportion of the background events occurred because of the activities of King Edward III.
This is not surprising as he was King of England and still ruled over much of what is now France.
But Edward was dogged by controversy for the whole of his life.
The genealogical tree shows the from the very beginning there were doubts about the ligitimacy of his birth.
His father Edward II was reputed to be a homosexual and had a long term relationship with Piers de Gaveston.
This gave rise to the rumors that Roger de Mortimer not Edward II was the father of Edward III.
His mother was known as the She Wolf of France and not just because of her supposed infidelity
Finally the diagram shows the roots of the Wars of the Roses.
It was also known as the Cousins War and here are the cousins on the right hand side of the diagram—Richard II, HenryIV, and the first generation of Yorkists, Phillipa de Burg and Richard of Conisburgh .
Phillipa De Burg married the great grandson of Roger de Mortimer. Of course if Roger de Mortimer was indeed the father of Edward III she was herself a great grandaughter of Roger de Mortimer.
Richard of Conisburgh married Isabelle Perez, daughter of Pedro II of Castile. This was remarkable as she was also believed to be illegitimate, but she was considered a prize as she was the product of a unique messianic line.
(see Right to Rule) (See King Edward’s Daughters-in-Law.)