Edward ii death

Edward III, also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession to the throne, was born in 1312 to King Edward II & Isabella of France, and was the eldest of five children.

Edward III grew up amid struggles between his father and a number of barons who were attempting to limit the king’s power and to strengthen their own role in governing England. His mother turned against his father, and she and her lover, Roger Mortimer deposed his father in favour of Edward who was heir to the throne. His father was imprisoned at Berkeley Castle and according to traditional accounts, he was most likely murdered on the orders of the new regime.

Edward became King of England in January 1327 and was crowned Edward III on the 1st February 1327 aged 14 years old. Edward’s mother and her lover, Roger Mortimer ruled in Edward’s name until 1330, when he executed Mortimer and banished his mother, seizing control and beginning his personal rule.

Edward married Philippa of Hainault in 1328, and together they had many children. As they travelled, the children were generally known by where they were born, though the oldest son, Edward of Woodstock, became known to later generations as Edward the Black Prince. Edward’s five adult sons all became powerful magnates.

Tensions between England and France started to brew when ascendancy challenges emerged from the death of King Charles IV of France who died without any children. Edward III was the nephew of Charles IV and therefore had a legitimate claim to the throne, however it was rejected by the French parliament who instead chose Charles’s cousin, Philip VI, as the new King of France. Tensions rose further with continued French resistance to the presence of the Plantagenets in Gascony. The final straw for Edward was in 1334 when Philip chose to offer support to David II of Scotland, and two years later they began making military preparations for an invasion of England.

In 1337 Edward declared himself the rightful heir to the French throne, and so started the Hundred Years’ War. Edward’s primary focus was war with France, and in 1339, he invaded. Edward gained a victory at Sluys in 1340 and assumed the title of King of France. He overran Brittany in 1342, and in 1346 he landed in Normandy, accompanied by his son, Edward the Black Prince, and defeated the French King, Philip VI, at the Battle of Crécy. His decisive victory at Crécy scattered the French army. Edward then captured Calais, establishing it as a base for future campaigns.

In 1348, Edward created the Order of the Garter, which to this day is the oldest and most senior Order of Chivalry in Britain. Also in this year, he rejected an offer to become Holy Roman emperor. 1348 was also the year that the bubonic plague known as the Black Death first appeared in England and raged until the end of 1349.

War with France restarted in 1355 when Edward’s son, Edward the Black Prince, repeated his success and won a significant victory at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356, capturing the new French king, John II. The victories of the battles of Crécy and Poitiers led to the highly favourable Treaty of Brétigny in 1360, which gained Edward a lot of territory. Edward renounced his claim to the French throne in return for the whole of Aquitaine and securing his sovereignty of Gascony and many other parts of France. This marked the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years’ War, known as the Edwardian phase, and was the high point of English influence in France. Edward now controlled over a quarter of France. His successes consolidated the support of the nobles, lessened criticism of the taxes he raised to fund the wars, and improved relations with Parliament.

However, war started again in 1369 when the French once again declared war. Edward, by now an elderly man, left the fighting to his sons, Edward the Black Prince and John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, who enjoyed little success. They lost much of the territory they had gained in 1360, including Aquitaine. In 1375 a truce was made which lasted until Edward’s death. However, the great English possessions in France were reduced to only a handful of coastal towns, and Edward the Black Prince, heir to the English throne, returned to England in ill health.

After the death of his wife, Queen Philippa, in 1369, Edward started to lose his grip over his realm and fell heavily under the influence of his greedy mistress Alice Perrers, who was regarded as manipulating and corrupt. Also, his son John of Gaunt, who had ruled the country during Edward’s frequent absence in France, was causing problems in the royal court.

Against a backdrop of military failures in France and outbreaks of the plague, the ageing King distanced himself from the daily strife of court and played a limited role in the government of the realm. Instead, his sons, Prince Edward and John of Gaunt became the leaders of sharply divided parties in the royal court. The ‘Good Parliament’ of 1376 was summoned, which attacked the high taxes, criticised the king’s advisers, and attempted to remove Edward’s power-wielding mistress, Alice Perrers, although the real power was being seized by John of Gaunt, whose administration was neither honourable nor successful. New councillors were imposed on the king, Alice Perrers was removed and some of Gaunt’s followers were impeached.

However, before the Parliament had concluded its business, the death of the Black Prince, Edward’s heir, in 1376, interrupted the crisis and robbed the Commons of its strongest support. John of Gaunt regained power and later reversed the Good Parliament’s reforming efforts when the king died.

Edward III died of a stroke in June 1377. He outlived his eldest son and heir, Edward the Black Prince, and therefore was succeeded by his ten-year-old grandson, King Richard II, son of the Black Prince.

Edward III is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II. He transformed the kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe. His 50-year reign is one of the longest in English history, which saw vital developments in legislation, government, and the evolution of the English Parliament.