Edward III

Miniature portrait by unknown artist (1350)

Regnal name: King Edward III of England

Birth name: Edward Wyndelsore Plantagenest d'Angevin

Born: 13 November 1312, Windsor, Berkshire, Kingdom of England

Father: King Edward II of England

Mother: Princess Isabella of France 'The She-Wolf of France'

House: Plantagenet

Nationality: English

Religion: Catholicism

Claim: Child of Edward II 

Reign: 25 January 1327 - 21 June 1377 (50 years)

Coronation: 01 February 1327

Predecessor: Edward II

Successor: Richard II 

Died: 21 June 1377 (aged 64), Richmond, Middlesex, Kingdom of England

Cause: Stroke

Burial: Westminster Abbey

Motto: Shamed be the person who thinks evil of it 

Spouse(s):

• Lady Philippa of Hainault (m. 1328 - 1369) 

Children:

• With Lady Philippa of Hainault
• Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales 'The Black Prince' (1330 - 1376)
• Princess Isabella, Countess of Bedford (1332 - 1382)
• Princess Joan (c. 1333 - 1348)
• Prince William of Hatfield (1337 - 1337)
• Prince Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence (1338 - 1368)
• Prince John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (1340 - 1399)
• Prince Edmund of Langley, Duke of York (1341 - 1402)
• Princess Blanche (1342 - 1342)
• Mary of Waltham, Duchess of Brittany (1344 - 1361)
• Princess Margaret, Countess of Pembroke (1346 - 1361)
• Prince William of Windsor (1348 - 1348)
• Prince Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester (1355 - 1397)  

Appearance:

He was described as tall and handsome, and possessed strawberry-blond hair.

 

Character:

Edward was noted to have been impulsive and often naive to danger, with the occasional bad temper. He had a keen fascination with warfare and followed the view and attitude that kings of England should be powerful and strong warriors. In this aspect, he was incredibly successful and well-known for his battle achievements and leadership. However, this could sometimes fuel his impulsiveness and nonchalant attitude towards any danger, perhaps being arrogant and overconfident in his abilities. 

 

However, he was a devoted family man, maintaining good relationships with his children, and was loyal to his wife for the majority of their marriage up until she was near death, where a mistress of court was believed to have taken advantage of Edward's emotional distress and old age. He was very generous to those closest to him. 

 

His hobbies included, hunting, falconry, architecture, and history, and he could read and write both French and Latin. Edward was also very religious, and committed to donating to, as well as helping, the poor and the sick. 

 

However, he has been described as sadistic towards his enemies.

 

Biography:

Edward was born in 1312 in Windsor, England to King Edward II of England, and his wife, Princess Isabella of France. He was the eldest of four children, though he did also have an older illegitimate half-brother from his father's relationship with a mistress. 

 

During his youth, he was mainly brought up by the Bishop of Durham, who acted as his mentor and tutor, and he received a decent education. 

 

In 1325, Edward was sent by his father to France to pay homage to the King of France as the Duke of Aquitaine, and it was during this trip that his mother began to plot against his father. His parents' relationship had fallen apart, largely due to his father's preference of male favourites. Their mother had also lost custody of his younger siblings to the family of the man that his father is believed to have been having an affair with. His mother also began having an affair with a former courtier named Roger Mortimer. Once they were in France, Isabella refused to allow both herself and her son to leave. It was while here that he became betrothed to Philippa of Hainualt in his mother's attempts to gather allies against her husband. 

 

In 1327, this rebellion was successful, and Isabella was able to have her son, Edward, declared the new King of England, deposing of her husband. Edward was now King Edward III of England and this position was quickly recognised by Parliament as his father's reign had been highly unpopular. Edward then married his wife, Philippa, and the two of them would go on to have twelve children together throughout their years together. 

 

Originally, Edward's reign was controlled by Roger Mortimer, his mother's lover and co-conspirator, but Edward quickly grew wise to his unpopularity, as well as rumours surrounding his own desires for the throne. Thus, Mortimer was arrested and executed in 1330. He also had his mother arrested as well, but eventually released her. After this, he began his own official rule, despite having not received much education regarding kingship, so he came to the throne quite naive. 
 
During his reign, he faced many wars with Scotland and France, but the main historic event during his reign was that of the Black Death pandemic. It's possible that up to sixty percent of the population of England had perished during this time, including Edward's own daughter, Princess Joan. 

 

The Hundred Years' War also began when the French King confiscated Edward's lands in Aquitaine, so Edward declared himself the King of France in retaliation, citing his claim as a descendant from King Philip IV of France. During this time, he also captured King David II of Scotland, allowing him to focus his full attention on his war with France. However, the Black Death would slow down the efforts on both sides of the war. 
 
In the later years of his life, Edward would eventually give up his claim to the French throne in exchange for keeping his conquered French territories. Unfortunately for him, many of his gains would eventually be lost by the failures of his son, Prince John of Gaunt, who he had put in charge of English military campaigns. His sons would eventually rise up and take over dealings on the battlefield, particularly his eldest son and heir, Edward, Prince of Wales, also known as 'The Black Prince'. 

 

In 1369, his wife, Queen Philippa, would eventually pass away, though he had already begun an affair with one of her ladies-in-waiting, Alice Perrers, who was believed to have taken advantage of his emotional vulnerability during this period. She would eventually be exiled. 
 
By 1375, Edward had very little to do with government matters, and was frequently ill, including suffering from an abscess. 

 

His eldest son, the previously mentioned Edward, The Black Prince, would pre-decease him, calling the matter of succession into question. Edward decided to bypass a law made by a previous king, Edward I, to allow inheritance to follow down the female line, effectively disinheriting Princess Isabella's line of descendants from the throne. He made the House of Lancaster, headed by his son, John of Gaunt, second in line for the throne after his grandson, the future Richard II. It was this decision that would ignite the Wars of the Roses in the years to come. 

 

Edward died in 1377, having suffered a stroke.

 

Rule:

Edward III's reign would predominantly feature many wars and battles with France, provoked by the fact that the French king had confiscated Edward's lands in Aquitaine. Edward refused to pay homage, and instead declared himself the King of France in retaliation, though it is unknown how serious his claim was, or whether or not he just wanted to cause trouble within the French government. The Hundred Years' War began, which would rage for the next century to come. There were victories and defeats on either side, leading to the deaths of many English and French troops alike. Edward would successfully conquer many areas of land within France, incorporating them into English rule, however, his sons would eventually lose his gains. 

 

An interesting decision Edward made during these times was to keep his subjects fully up to date with everything that was going on. This endeared him to the English people, and heavily boosted morale. Through this, he also utilised propaganda to further support his military campaigns in France. 

 

However, his reign would be literally heavily plagued by the Black Death, an outbreak of bubonic plague that swept across Asia, Europe, and North Africa, wiping out huge chunks of the population, including a third of England's population at the time. This caused a lot of civil unrest, both through fear, and the lack of labour. This would eventually lead to the Peasants' Revolt during his grandson's reign, as Edward did very little to address the issue, even worsening it by freezing wages within the kingdom and preventing class (particularly peasant) mobility. 

 

Edward would also begin to limit the power of the papacy within England, who had grown increasingly unpopular due to heavy taxation which they believed funded their enemies in France. Treason was also fully defined as a criminal offence, and the justice system was reformed and improved. 

 

A sense of English nationalism was also further established, especially due to the desire to distance themselves from their French enemies. French had been the main language of the aristocracy since the Norman conquest in 1066, and Edward took advantage of rumours that the French were attempting to render the English language extinct to further boost support for his war efforts. He aided in the revival of the English language, and English was now used in courts of law, was promoted in literary works, and Parliament was opened in English for the first time in 1363. However, these efforts were slow, and French would still widely be used. 

 

Overall, Edward III's reign was incredibly eventful, with a large degree of successes, particular in the formation of an English national identity. He is remembered as a warrior-king who was able to rise up and rule relatively capably, despite his lack of preparation for the role. He was well-liked by his subjects for the majority of his reign.

 

Trivia:

• His birth was described in a prophecy as 'the boar that would come out of Windsor'.
• It is believed he is the ancestor of the majority of people of English descent today.

 

Quotes:

 

"Our progenitors, the kings of England, have before these times been lords of the English sea on every side...and it would very much grieve us if in this kind of defence our royal honour should be lost."

 

 

Timeline of Reign:

| 1327: Mortimer's regency - Roger Mortimer made Edward's regent while he's still young.

| 1330: Fall of Mortimer - Growing suspicious of Mortimer's plans, Edward has him arrested.

| 1330: Queen Isabella arrested - Edward has his mother arrested for her role with Mortimer.

| 1330: Mortimer executed - Roger Mortimer executed for treason.

| 1332: Second War of Scottish Independence begins - England invades Scotland.

| 1332: Battle of Dupplin Moor - England defeats Scotland.

| 1333: Battle of Halidon Hill - England defeats Scotland.

| 1333: Edward Balliol reinstated - Edward proclaims Edward Balliol as Scottish king.

| 1334: Scottish uprisings - Scotland rebels against English control.

| 1337: Aquitaine confiscated - King of France confiscates Aquitaine from Edward.

| 1337: King of France - Edward declares himself to be the rightful King of France. 

| 1337: Hundred Years' War begins - War breaks out between England and France. 

| 1338: Second War of Scottish Independence ends - Truce between England and Scotland.

| 1338: Vicar General - Edward named Vicar General of the Holy Roman Empire.

| 1340: Battle of Sluys - English naval victory against France.

| 1340: National debt increases - War plunges England into huge debt. 

| 1346: Battle of Crécy - England defeats France.

| 1346: Battle of Neville's Cross - England defeats Scotland; King David II of Scotland captured.

| 1346: Siege of Calais - Edward captures Calais from the French.

| 1348: Order of the Garter founded - Established by Edward III. 

| 1348: Black Death pandemic begins - Black Death kills millions.

| 1351: Statute of Labourers - Edward freezes wages to pre-plague levels despite wage rise demand.

| 1351: Treason Act of 1351 - Treason more definitively defined. 

| 1356: Battle of Poitiers - England defeats France; King John II of France captured.

| 1360: Treaty of Brétigny - Edward renounces claim to the French throne, but keeps conquered land. 

| 1373: Anglo-Portuguese Treaty - Alliance between England and Portugal. 

| 1375: Treaty of Bruges - Many English land gains in France lost by Prince John of Gaunt.

| 1376: New law of succession - Edward orders the bypassing of the female line of descent.  

 

 

Sources & Further Reading:

Brain, J. (2020). King Edward III. Historic UK. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/King-Edward-III/

Cartwright, M. (2020). Edward III of England. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/Edward_III_of_England/ 

Edward III Black Prince 14thc.jpg - Wikimedia Commons. (2022). Wikimedia.org. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Edward_III_Black_Prince_14thc.jpg

Highfield, J. R. L. (2026) Edward III - The years of decline: 1360–77. In Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edward-III-king-of-England/The-years-of-decline-1360-77 

Tout, T. F. (2019). Edward III | King of England. In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edward-III-king-of-England