Formal announcement of the success of the palace coup which brought Edward III's minority to an end was made to the sheriffs on 20 October 1330 in the following terms:

The writs were confirmation of the success of a hasty, though not altogether unprepared, plot conceived by the king and his closest friends to overthrow the regents, the queen mother, Isabelle, and her ally, Roger Mortimer. While the events themselves are well known, other aspects are not. The identity of six high-profile participants has long been established, yet many more conspirators were involved and their names have only recently come to light.

Under the tutelage of Mortimer and Isabelle, Edward III had suffered a series of indignities between 1326 and 1330 well chronicled at the time. In almost every way possible, Mortimer had compromised and humiliated the king. Edward had been crowned in unique and difficult circumstances in January 1327, following the deposition of his father. Henry of Lancaster, the king's cousin, was appointed head of the regency council, but within a few months, Mortimer was bypassing the council, and quickly became the driving force behind Isabelle's policies. The situation in Scotland, in particular, was an utter humiliation. The king's only foray across the border in 1327 ended in disaster when the Scots surrounded the English camp, and took large numbers of English and Hainault soldiers prisoner.