Plantagenet Kings

 Edward III

King Edward III was born on November 13th, 1312 in Windsor Castle, Berkshire. He was the oldest son of King Edward II and Isabella of France, thus he was the heir to throne. 

King Edward III (1312-1377)

Edward II is remembered by all sources as a weak and incompetent king, who was always under the influence of either Pier Gaveston or Hugh Despenser. These favourites angered the nobles and his wife, and as result, a civil war broke out in 1321 between the king and the baronial opposition. In 1325, Queen Isabella left for France along with young Prince Edward. She joined Roger Mortimer, a Welsh lord who had rebelled against the king before. Isabella and Roger became lovers and they started to raise an army. They managed to secure financial support from William the I, Count of Hainault, on the condition young Edward would wed his daughter, Phillipa. 

 

William I, Count of Hainault (1286-1337), Edward III's father-in-law. 

Phillipa of Hainault (1310/1315-1369); Edward III's wife

In 1326, Isabella and Mortimer invaded England. Left without allies, King Edward III abandoned London just to be caught in South Wales. He died a year later while he was imprisoned. As a result, his son was crowned as King Edward III. Being a minor, his early reign was dominated by Isabella and her lover. In 1330, Edward managed to consolidate his power by having Roger Mortimer executed and his mother put under house arrest. At the same time, his first son, Edward the Black Prince, was born. In 1333, Edward supported Edward Balliol, son of the former Scottish King John Balliol, against King David II, son of Robert the Bruce, who was still a minor. The English army defeated the Scots at the Battle of Halidon Hill, and David was forced to leave for France. 

King David II of Scotland (1324-1371; reigned 1329-1371)

Scotland and France were traditional allies, but Edward had another strategy. His maternal grandfather was King Philip IV of France. When he died in 1314, his son Louis X followed him, but he died in 1316 without heirs. So, his younger brother Philip V ascended to the throne, but he died in 1322 without a male heir too and the throne was passed to Charles IV, the youngest son of Philip IV, who also died in 1328 without any male heirless as well, thus ending the Capetian Dynasty. Eventually, Philip VI of Valois, whose father was the younger brother of King Philip IV, became King of France. 

The Salic Law prevented women from inheriting the French Crown

Edward III accepted the succession at first, but when Philip confiscated the English Duchy of Aquitaine in 1337, he responded by laying claim to the French as the grandson of King Philip IV. However, the French nobles rejected this based on the precedents for agnatic succession in 1316 and 1322. As a result, the Anglo-French conflict known as the 100 Years War had begun. The first phase of the war (1337-1360) was a huge success for England. The French lost several major battles at Sluys (1340), Crecy (1346), and Poitiers (1356). The treaty of Bretigny (1360) forced France to give up many lands to English and pay war reparations. 

Battle of Sluys (1340)-> English naval victory

Battle of Crecy (1346)-> English decisive victory

Battle of Poitiers (1356)-> English decisive victory

King John II of France (1319-1364; reigned 1350-1364). He was captured at Poitiers by the English and the French government had to ransom him

Edward the Black Prince (1330-1376), Edward's eldest son and heir. He commanded the English army at the Battle of Poitiers where he won an astounding victory. He died before his father so he never became king.

English territorial gains (pink) after the Treaty of Bretigny (1360)

Meanwhile, David II returned to Scotland in 1346, but he was decisively defeated and captured at the Battle of Neville's Cross. He would spent 11 years in England as prisoner; in 1357, England and Scotland signed the Treaty of Berwick after which David II was released and recognized as King of Scotland by Edward. In 1369, King Charles V of France, son John II, resumed the war with England and reconquered all the lands lost by his father. In 1376, Edward the Black Prince died, followed by King Edward III a year later.

Tomb of Edward the Black Prince at Canterbury Cathedral

Richard, son of the Black Prince and grandson of Edward III, became King Richard II of England.