In 1302 Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and constable of England, married Elizabeth, Countess of Holland, widowed daughter of King Edward I. In 1310 he was appointed one of the twenty-one ordainers to regulate the king's conduct of affairs. In 1312 Humphrey joined the barons besieging Piers Gaveston, Edward II's favourite, at Scarborough. He fought and was captured at the battle of Bannockburn in 1314, and was exchanged by the Scots for Robert Bruce's wife, who had been imprisoned in England.
Humphrey de Bohun became one of the major opponents of Edward II's later favourites, the Despencers, and, in 1321, joined the league of marcher lords who were demanding their exile. Alarmed by Edward's massacre of rebels defending Leeds castle, Humphrey surrendered his castles to the king's troops without resistance. Retreating before Edward's northwards advance, he was killed at the battle of Boroughbridge.