THIS ARTICLE COVERS THE FOUR PLANTAGENET KINGS, EDWARD I, EDWARD II, EDWARD III AND RICHARD II.

FOR KINGS HENRY II, RICHARD I, JOHN AND HENRY III PLEASE SEE PART ONE. 

the-plantagenet-dynasty-a-family-history-part-one

PART TWO: 

King Edward I was in Sicily fighting in the 8th Crusade when he became King of England upon the death of his father King Henry III in 1272.

The 32 year old's reign saw an improved efficiency of parliament's role in government and codified English law providing the basis for inheritance of land and improved public order laws.

Edward also ended Welsh independence, building several castles around Wales, including Harlech Castle and Caernarvon Castle.

He also waged a number of brutal wars against the Scots.During one such battle he confiscated the Scottish Royal Coronation Stone, known as the Stone of Destiny, and kept it in Westminster Abbey, where it remained until 1996, when it was finally sent back to it's rightful place in Edinburgh, Scotland.

In October of 1254, when he was 15 and he married the nine year old, Eleanor of Castile, daughter of Saint Ferdinand, King of Castile and Lyon and Joan, Countess of Ponthieu.

Although their marriage was one of diplomacy, it actually went on to become a love match of great proportions.

During her lifetime Eleanor was elemental in securing the evolution of a financial system for Queen Consorts, which included the settlement of the dowager queen system for future queen consorts.

Eleanor died in 1290 whilst the royal couple were in Nottinghamshire on parliamentary business. They were told the news of Margaret, Maid of Norway's death, and  as they began to travel to her funeral in Lincoln, Eleanor became ill with a fever, and died in the town of Harby, Nottinghamshire.

Her entrails were taken from her body at death and buried in Lincoln Cathedral and then her body was transported to Westminster Abbey for burial, where the King had a cross erected in every town that they passed through on the way. These crosses are known as the Eleanor Crosses and were situated in the towns of :

Lincoln.                            Woburn.

Grantham.                       Dunstable.

Stamford.                        St Albans.

Geddington.                    Waltham.

Northampton.                  Westcheap.

Stony Stratford.               Charing.

Only three of these crosses survive today, they are in the towns of Waltham, Northampton and Charing. Eleanor was eventually buried in Westminster Abbey on the 17th of December 1290.

During their 36 year union they produced 16 children, 10 of whom died in their infancy, they were:

A stillborn daughter 1255.

Katherine 17th June 1264 - 5th September 1264.

Joan, January 1265 - September 1265.

John 1266 - 1271.

Palestine, May 1271 - Septmber 1271.

Alphonso 1273 - 1284.

Henry 1268 - 1274.

Berengaria 1 May 1276 - 27 th June 1276.

Stillborn daughter January 1278.

Stillborn son 1280.

The children who grew into adulthood were:

Eleanor 1269 - 1298. Married Henry III, Count of Bar, son of Thibault II of Bar and Jeanne de Toucy, in 1293.They had three children 

Edward I, Count of Bar 1294 - 1336, 

Eleanor ap Owain 1296 - 1399.  

Joan, Countess of Surrey  1295 - 1361.

Joan of Acre 1272 - 1307.Married Gilbert de Clare, 6th earl of Hertford, son of Richard de Clare Earl of Hertford and Gloucester and Maud de Lacy, in 1290. They had four children before Joan was widowed in December 1295.

Gilbert, 7th Earl of Hertford 1291 - 1214.

Eleanor de Clare 1292 - 1337.

Margaret de Clare 1293 - 1342.

Elisabeth de Clare 1295 - 1360.

In 1297Joan married Sir Ralph de Monthermer in a secret ceremony because he was a man of no title. When the king found out about the secret marriage he was so enraged ( as he had already found a match for Joan ) that he had Sir Ralph imprisoned. However,the King soon relented and had Ralph knighted to give him a title. He also gave Ralph the title of Earl of Hertford, taken from Joan's son, until the youngster come of age.

They were married for ten years before Joan died in childbirth delivering a stillborn daughter on the 7th of April 1307. Joan and her daughter were buried in Clare Priory in Suffolk. The couple had four other children, they were :

Mary MacDuff, Countess of Fife 1297 - 1371.

Joan de Monthermer born in 1299 . There is no death date for young Joan, but it is known that she grew into adulthood and became a nun at Almesbury Abbey in Wiltshire.

Thomas de Monthermer 1301 - 1340.

Edward de Monthermer 1304 - 1339.

Margaret of Brabant 1275 - 1333.Married John II, Duke of Brabant ( 1275 - 1312) son of John I of Brabant and Margaretha of Flanders on the 8th of July 1290. They had one son, John III of Brabant 1300 - 1355.

Margaret was widowed in 1312 and did not remarry. She died in 1333 and was buried in Brussels, Belgium.

Mary of Woodstock 1279 - 1332. Became a Benedictine nun at Amesbury Abbey, Wiltshire in 1291, where she remained living a life of relative freedom living in her own private quarters.She travelled extensively and was given a considerable yearly income. It has been said that she even had an affair with nobleman John de Warenne, but this has never been verified. She died in 1332 and was buried in Amesbury.

Elizabeth of Rhuddlan 1282 - 1316.Married John, Count of Holland son of Floris V and Beatrice of Flanders in 1297.They had no children.Elisabeth was widowed on the 12th of November 1299 when it is said her young husband died from dysentry, although rumours have suggested a more scurrilous reason for his death.

On the 14th of November 1302 Elisabeth married Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford son of Humphrey de Bohun and Maud de Fiennes. During their union they had 11 children, although only four lived into adulthood. Included in this number were possibly two sets of twins and their eleventh child, Isabel, whom Elisabeth died delivering and who also died. Mother and daughter were buried together in Waltham Abbey in 1316.

Their four children who lived into adulthood were:

John de Bohun 1307 - 1336.

Humphrey de Bohun 1309 - 1361.

Margaret de Bohun 1311 - 1391

William ( twin) 1312 - 1360.

After the death of his first wife Eleanor of Castile, King Edward I married Margaret of France ( 1279 - 1318) sister of the French King Philip IV on the 10th of September 1299 at Canterbury Cathedral, when she was 20 years old and he was 60. Margaret was never crowned Queen Consort.

They had three children, they were:

Thomas, Earl of Norfolk 1300 - 1338.

Edmund of Kent 1301 - 1330.

Eleanor 1306 - 1310.

The King died on his way to yet another war in Scotland, at Carlisle on the 7th of July 1307.He was later interred in Westminster Abbey.

Margaret was just 26 years old when she became a widow, but she never remarried, spending the remainding ten years of her life at Marlborough Castle, doing good works for the poor.

She was buried at Greyfriars Church, Newgate, London in 1318. 

Edward of England 1284 - 1227.Became King of England upon the death of his father in July 1307.He married Isabella of France in January 1308 followed by his coronation at Westminster Abbey on the 25th of February the same year.

Edward II was considered a self centred man who lacked good judgement both in matters public and private and was a known practising homosexual who had many affairs with well known knights of the era. This caused problems within his marriage, which culminated with his wife and her lover Roger Mortimer, Earl of March imprisonng the king at Berkely Castle, Gloucester where the king was forced to abdicate in favour of his 14 year old son.He was later cruelly tortured and murdered along with his present lover Hugh de la Despenser, in 1227.

Despite all this, Edward II is supposed to have had at least five illegitimate children as well as four legitimate children with his wife, they were:

John, Earl of Cornwall 1316 - 1336. Never married, no issue.

Eleanor, Countess of Guelders 1318 - 1355.Married Reginald II of Guelders ( 1295 - 1343) son of Reginald I of Guelders and Marguerite of Flanders in 1332. They had two sons:

Reinould, Count of Guelders 1334 - 1371.

Edward of Guelders 1336 - 1371.

Joan, Queen of Scots. married David King of Scots ( 1324 - 1371) son of Robert I of Scotland and Elisabeth de Burgh in 1328, when she was just 7 years old and he just 4. The young couple were exiled to France for their own safety where they lived at Chateau Gaillard until they could safely return to Scotland in 1341.There does not appear to be any children from this union. 

Edward of England. Became King of England after the murder of his father in 1227, at the age of only 14.Used as a pawn by his power hungry mother and lover who were his regents, when Edward came of age at the age of 18, he had Mortimer sent to the tower of London and his mother exiled to Castle Rising in Norfolk.

Edward III was an educated and powerful ruler and a celebrated warrior.

During his reign in 1348, the Black Death pandemic of Europe reached England, decimating half of the population.

Edward founded the Statute of Labourers and the Order of the Garter.

He married Philippa of Hainault ( 1314 - 1369) daughter of William, Count of Hainault and Joan of Valois, at York Minster in 1328. Their marriage was a good one, despite Edward's long term affair with one of the queen's lady's in waiting. They had 14 children, 5 of which died in infancy and five sons of whose rivalry brought about the long running dynastic War of the Roses during their adult life. Their children who died in infancy were:

William of Hatfield February - July 1337.

Blanche 1342.

Thomas of Windsor 1347.

William of Windsor June - September 1348.

Joan Plantagenet 1351.

Their children who lived into adulthood were:

Edward, the Black Prince 1330 - 1376.The only Prince of Wales never to gain the throne due to his father's long reign of over 50 years. He married Joan, Countess of Kent ( 1328 - 1385) daughter of Edmund Woodstock and Margaret Wake in October 1361 and they had two sons, the younger of which would be King of England in his place. He also had four illegitimate sons before his marriage. His legitemate sons were:

Edward of Angouleme 1365 - 1372.

Richard of England 1367 - 1400

Isabella 1332- 1379. Married Enquerand VII, Lord of Coucy ( 1340 - 1397) son of Enquerand VI and Katarina von Habsburg and had two daughters Marie of Bar 1366 - 1404 and Philippa de Vere, Duchess of Ireland 1367 - 1411.

Joan 1335 - 1348. Died in the Black Death plague at the age of 13 in Bayonne, France, where she is buried.

Lionel, 1st Duke of Clarence 1338 - 1368. Married Elisabeth de Burgh daughter of William de Burgh, 1st Earl of Ulster and Maud of Lancaster in 1352 and had one daughter, Philippa Plantagenet 1355 - 1382. He was widowed in 1363.

He went on to marry Violante Visconti daughter of Galeazzo II Viscount of Milan and Bianca of Savoy in May of 1368. They were married for just five months before Lionel died from food poisoning in the October of that same year. They had no children.

John of Gaunt, 2nd Duke of Lancaster 1340 - 1399. John had already fathered a daughter ( Blanche Plantagenet 1359 - 1388) with his mistress Marie de Saint Hilaire, when he married the first of three wives, his cousin, Blanche of Lancaster on the 19th of May 1359. They were married for 10 years before John was widowed when Blanche caught bubonic plague and died in 1369.They had 5 children, they were:

Philippa 1360 - 1415. Future Queen of Portugal.Married John King of Portugal in 1387.

Elisabeth 1364 - 1462.

Henry Bolinbroke 1365 - 1365. Future King Henry IV of England 1400.

John 1366 - 1367.

Isabel 1368 - 1368.

In 1371 John married the infanta Constance of Castile ( 1354 - 1394) daughter of Peter the Cruel and Maria de Padilla.They had one daughter, Catalina 1372 - 1418, future Queen of Castile, who married Henry III King of Castile in 1385.

During his marriage to the Infanta Constance John had fathered four children to his long time mistress Katherine Swynford and it was Katherine who became his third wife. when the infanta Constance died in 1394. John and Katherine's children were :

John Beaufort 1373 - 1410.

Henry Beaufort 1375 - 1447. Bishop - Cardinal of Winchester 1404 - 1447.

Thomas Beaufort 1377 - 1427.

Joan Beaufort 1379 - 1440.

John had all four children's births legitimised in 1397.Of his nine children, John had fathered 2 queens, 1 King and a bishop - cardinal.

Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York 1341 - 1402. Married Isabella of Castile ( 1355 - 1392) daughter of Peter of Castile and Maria de Padilla in March or April of 1372. They had three children:

Edward of Norwich 1373 - 1415.

Constance of York 1374 - 1416.

Richard of Conisburgh 1375 - 1314.

Edmund was widowed in 1392 and married a second time to Joan Holland ( 1380 - 1434), daughter of Thomas Holland Earl of Kent and Alice FitzAlan in November 1393. They were married for nine years but had no children.

Mary of Brittany 1344 - 1362.Married John V of Brittany ( 1339 - 1399) son of John de Montford and Joanna of Flanders in July 1361. By March of the following year, Mary had contracted a fever and died, just weeks after her sister Margaret. Both sisters were buried along side one another at Abingdon Abbey, Berkshire.

Margaret Duches of Pembroke 1346 - 1361.Married John Hastings Earl of Pembroke posthumous son of Laurence Hastings and Agnes Mortimer in May 1359. Margaret died of undisclosed circumstances sometimes towards the end of 1361, just weeks before her younger sister Mary.

Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester 1355 - 1397. Thomas was leader of the Lords Appellant a group of powerful noblemen who rose against and caused a rebellion against King Richard II .On the king's orders, Thomas was murdered by Nicholas Colfax, whilst in France in 1397.

Thomas had been married to Eleanor de Bohun ( 1366 - 1399) daughter of Humphrey de Bohun and Joan FitzAlan.

They had one son and four daughters:

Humphrey, 2nd Earl of Buckingham 1381 - 1399.

Anne of Gloucester 1383 - 1438.

Joan Plantagenet 1384 - 1400.

Isabel Plantagenet 1385 - 1402.

Philippa Plantagenet 1388 - 1388. 

Richard II came to the throne upon the death of his grandfather Edward II of England in 1377. His father Henry Prince of Wales also known as the Black Prince had died the year before.

Richard was only ten years old upon accession which meant he had regents running the country for him until he was 18.

Richard was a tall ( over six feet ) good looking, intelligent and religious man, who suffered a personality disorder, some have said a mental illness, but this has never been assertained.

Although he married twice, he never had an heir, which fuelled some to believe he was homosexual, as it was said he had some very close relationships with certain male friends.

His first wife was Anne of Bohemia ( 1366 - 1394), daughter of Charles IV, King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor and Elisabeth of Pomerania whom he married in January 1382. They were married for 12 years before Richard was widowed in 1394.

His second wife was isabella of Valois ( 1389 - 1409) daughter of John Dauphin and Catherine of Valois. They were married in 1396 and married for four years before Richard's death in 1400.

Towards the end of his reign it has been said that he became tyrannical, although it could of been a worsening of his personality disorder / mental illness.This lead to his being captured and held at Pontefract Castle ( both for his good and the good of the country) where he died in 1400, bringing an end to his 22 year reign and the Plantagenet Dynasty, leading to the crown being given to his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke who became King Henry IV first king of the Royal House of Lancaster.

FOR PLANTEGENET KINGS HENRY II, RICHARD I, JOHN and HENRY III the-plantagenet-dynasty-a-family-history-part-one

FOR ALL THE BRITISH MONARCHY TIMELINES, VISIT timelines-of-the-british-monarchy-1066-2010

                                                                                      Edward I 1272 - 1307 - 35 year reign.

                                                                                      Edward II - 1307 - 1327 - 20 year reign.

                                                                                      Edward III - 1327 - 1377 - 50 year reign.

                                                                                      Richard II - 1377 - 1399 - 22 year reign.

                                                                                         OTHER ARTICLES IN THIS SERIES. 

                                                                               the-norman-dynasty-a-family-history

                                                                               the-royal-house-of-lancaster-a-family-history 

                                                                               the-royal-house-of-york-a-family-history 

                                                                               the-tudor-dynasty-a-family-history 

                                                                               the-stuart-dynasty-a-family-history 

                                                                               the-royal-house-of-hanover-a-family-history 

                                                                               the-royal-house-of-windsor-a-family-history

                                                                                    © D.B.Bellamy.October, 2010.