 Edward II was born in Caernarfon Castle in North Wales on 25 April 1284, less than a year after Edward I had conquered the region, and as a result is sometimes called Edward of Caernarfon. The King probably deliberately chose the castle as the location for Edward's birth, as it was an important symbolic location for the native Welsh, associated with Roman imperial history, and it formed the centre of the new royal administration of North Wales. Edward's birth brought with it predictions of greatness from contemporary prophets who believed that the Last Days of the world were imminent, declaring him to be a new King Arthur, who would lead England to glory. David Powel, a 16th-century clergyman, suggested that the baby was offered to the Welsh as a prince "that was borne in Wales and could speake never a word of English", but there is no evidence to support this account.
