Helen Castor

Well, what we know is this story gets told.

And of course it gets told because it encapsulates the whole story in one moment, does it not?

You're going to make me say this.

I am.

A red hot poker thrust into his anus to burn his intestines from the inside out.

And the story goes that, of course, this is an excellent way to kill a king.

because it leaves the outside of his body untouched, so his body can be displayed.

But also, of course, symbolically, this is hearkening back to his ill-fated and deeply unwise relationship with Piers Gaveston.

I can't prove that it isn't.

And they do appear quite early.

Let's go with it.