The Children of Edward III

 

Of all Edward's children, The Black Prince is unquestionably the most famous and revered. But this is not to say his other children did not leave their imprint on history. John of Gaunt for instance also made a significant impact. His reputation hit a dramatic low during the time of the Peasants Revolt but, over time, would redeem himself. Here i'll be having a quick look at all of Edward III's children, not just the famous ones. Life was hard in the 14th century and there was no guarantee a child would even make it out of infancy. And this was true even for royalty. Four of Edward's children with his queen Phillipa died either shortly after birth or before they were even one. The poor babies were three boys, two Williams, a Thomas and a girl called Blanche. Blanche and William of Windsor are buried at Westminster Abbey, the other William is buried in York and Thomas in Hertfordshire. The fate of these tragic infants is a sad reality of childbirth and life in the 14th century.

The eldest of the children was Edward The Black Prince, born in 1330. His brilliant performance at Crecy aged 16 in 1346 showed he was going to become one of the mightiest warriors of his age. A decade after Crecy, at Poitiers, The Black Prince captured the King of France, John II. The Prince also went on to campaign in Castile, fighting on behalf of King Peter I of Castile at the Battle of Najera in 1367, and Aquitaine. In 1370, The Black Prince sacked Limoges in devastating fashion after it had surrendered to the French. By this point, The Black Prince was not in good health, exacerbated by his exertions across Europe, and he would die a year before his father and so missed the opportunity to become king. That instead would go to his son Richard II.

The eldest daughter of Edward III was a girl named Isabella who married the Earl of Bedford, producing two children. The next born to the king was a girl called Joan born at the Tower of London in 1333. She was betrothed to Peter, or Pedro, of Castile but died on her journey to marry him. Joan was a victim of the plague that was now gripping Europe. She was just 14. The second son to be born, that survived infancy, was Lionel of Antwerp. Lionel, as his name indicates, was born in modern day Belgium and his main duties were to oversee matters in Ireland. In Lionel's household was a man by the name of Geoffrey Chaucer.

The second most famous of Edward III's children was John of Gaunt, born in 1340. Like Lionel, he too was born in modern day Belgium. Like The Black Prince, he too would be the father of a king. The future Henry IV was born to John and his first of three wives, Blanche of Lancaster. John became an extraordinarily rich man which put him at the centre of the ire of the Peasants Revolt in 1381. His palace was destroyed but both he and Henry escaped with their lives. He also had a tetchy relationship with his nephew Richard II. After his return from Castile, where he had tried to win the crown through his second marriage to Constance of Castile, he restored calm in England as Richard II's reign began it's decline. This gave a much needed boost to his reputation. He died in 1399 and was buried at St Paul's cathedral but his tomb was destroyed by the great fire of London. The next child to be born was Edmund of Langley in 1341. Edmund joined in campaigns in France during the less successful 1370s and also assisted in his brother John's attempts to become king of Castile. In 1399, he was one of the men won over by Henry Bolingbroke to usurp the throne of Richard II. Edmund died not long after and is buried at Kings Langley in Hertfordshire where he was also born.

In 1342, Edward III and Phillipa lost their baby Blanche before a couple of years later, another girl was born to them Mary of Waltham. Sadly, Mary's life was another short one, aged just 16 when she died. She did marry John IV, Duke of Brittany, who she seems to have made an impression on and he mourned her passing. The final daughter born to Edward and Phillipa was Margaret and another tragically short life. Margaret was even younger than Mary when she died, only 15. Then around the time of the plague, two infant sons died, Thomas and William of Windsor. Going through the children of Edward III is a stark reminder of the fragility of life in 14th century England. The final son, and child, was Thomas of Woodstock, born in 1355. Thomas would be present, alongside his father, at the death of his beloved mother Phillipa. Thomas was at the forefront of the discontent at the reign of his nephew Richard II and was a leader of the Lords Appellant who sought to remove corrupt members of Richard's government. However, Richard got his revenge nearly a decade later and had his own uncle murdered.

t would have been quite easy for me to have overlooked the infant children as inconsequential and just concentrated on the older of Edward III's children but it must be remembered these were real people and babies not having a chance at life then is as tragic as it would be now. It's a reminder to us all to remember how fortunate we are in the 21st century. It's worth it to take a moment to remember not just the infants but also Joan, Margaret, Mary who also died well before their time. This is my main interest in history. It's about the human element and not just treating these individuals as some sort of inconsequential statistic. Yes, you have to remember the realities of life then but it must be done so respectfully and is worth learning about those whose existence has almost become like it never happened. After all, this'll happen to us all one day.