Edward III (1312 - 1377)

King Edward III was born on 13 November 1312 at Windsor Castle. He was the son of King Edward III and Isabella of France.

Edward became king on 25 January 1327 when his father abdicated, He was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 29 January 1327. He was 14. Edward officially assumed power to rule in 1330 - his mother and Roger Mortimer had taken power of government until then.

Roger Mortimer was executed and Edward's mother was imprisoned for the rest of her life.

In 1328 Edward married Phillipa of Hanault (1313 - 1369) at York Minster. They possibly had seven sons and five daughters though not all survived childhood.

Like the reigns of the Plantagenet kings before him, much of Edward's reign was involved in combat, particularly against the Scots and the French.

Edward's early experience against the Scots included the Weardale campaign in 1327 which the English lost. In 1329 England recognised Scotland as an independent nation. However conflict continued. In 1333 The troops of Edward III defeated the Scottish army at Halidon Hill near Berwick. Then in 1346, David II of Scotland invaded England but was defeated at Neville's Cross. King David was captured and imprisoned until 1357 when he was released from captivity and he returned to Scotland.

The French, however, remained the greatest challenge. In 1337 King Philip VI of France annexed the English King's Duchy of Aquitaine. Edward III then responded by claiming the French crown as he was a grandson of Philip IV via his mother Isabella. This resulted in many battles between England and France which became known as the 100 Years' War.

In 1346 the French were defeated at the Battle of Crecy while in 1347 Edward besieged and captured Calais. In 1356 King Edward's son, known as Black Prince because of his black armour, defeated the French at Poitiers capturing King John II of France who was imprisoned by the English for four years. Most of South western France was now held by the English.

When King John II of France was released from prison he agreed to pay a ransom. His son, Louis of Anjou, remained in English-held Calais as a hostage. Lois escaped in 1364 and as King John II had not paid the ransom he was imprisoned in England where he died.

The fighting continued. In 1367 England and France support rival sides when there was civil war in Castille. In 1369 the French reclaimed Aquitaine while in 1370 the Black Prince attacked Limoges. French troops recaptured Poitou and Brittany in 1372 and there was a naval battle at La Rochelle. In 1373, another of King Edward's sons, John of Gaunt, led an invasion of France taking his army to the borders of Burgundy.

The Treaty of Bruges was agreed to in 1375 and English lands in France were reduced to Bordeaux and Calais.

King Edward III is not only known for fighting battles.

In 1332 Parliament was divided into two houses, the Lords and the Commons. During this time English becomes the court language replacing Norman French. In 1337, Edward created the Duchy of Cornwall to provide the heir to the throne with an independent income. In 1344 Edward founded the Order of the Garter - an award made to nobles and the military for special service to the king.

Conflict with Scotland and France was not the only challenge facing the king and the people of England.

 The Black Death, a plague occurring in 1348-9, 1361-2 and 1369 was estimated to have killed killed 30-40% of the English population. In some villages, the death toll reached 80-90%. It is estimated that London's population was reduced from 100,000 to 20,000 in one generation. The first cases were reported in Dorset in 1348. The original plague morphed into a more deadly version killing most people affected by it. With so many deaths there was an acute shortage of labour for agriculture and armies for many years.

On 21 June 1377 King Edward III died at Sheen Palace in Surrey, after ruling England for fifty years. He was 64. He was buried at Westminster Abbey.

Edward's grandson, Richard II then became king. Richard was the son of Edward, the Black Prince, who had died in 1376.