Edward

Edward, 11 kings of England. There were 3 Saxon kings: Edward the Elder (A.D. 870–924), Edward the Martyr (963–978), and Edward the Confessor (1002–1066). Since the Norman Conquest in 1066, there have been 8 English kings named Edward. Edward I (1239–1307) reigned 1272–1307. He subjugated Wales and, inconclusively, Scotland, centralized the national administration, and reduced baronial and clerical power. He also summoned the Model Parliament (1295). Edward II (Edward of Caernarvon; 1284–1327), first heir apparent to be created prince of Wales (1301), reigned 1307–27. He spent his reign resisting his barons. His poorly directed Scottish campaigns were highlighted by his defeat at Bannockburn (1314) by Robert Bruce. In 1326 he was unseated in a revolt led by his wife, Queen Isabella, and her paramour Roger de Mortimer. Edward was imprisoned and forced to abdicate in favor of his son, and was probably murdered. Edward III (1312–77) reigned 1327–77. Edward's claim to part of Guienne in France was one of the causes of the Hundred Years War. Despite decisive victories at Crécy (1346) and Poitiers (1356), he had lost most French territory by the end of his reign. In 1348–49 the Black Death decimated the population, resulting in major economic and social upheavals. Edward IV (1442–83) reigned 1461–70 and 1471–83 during the Wars of the Roses. A Yorkist, Edward deposed the Lancastrian Henry VI in 1461 and again in 1471 after the latter had been restored in 1470 by the Earl of Warwick. Edward reestablished the power of the monarchy, improved administration and law enforcement, and increased England's trade and prosperity. Edward V (1470–83?), who reigned April-June 1483, was one of the “princes in the tower.” He is believed to have been murdered at the order of his uncle and protector, Richard Duke of Gloucester, who became Richard III. Edward VI (1537–53), Henry VIII's only son, reigned 1547–53. A sickly child who was to die of consumption, he succeeded to the throne as a minor. Struggles over the succession and between Protestants and Roman Catholics soon engulfed him. His reign saw the introduction, under Archbishop Cranmer, of the first Book of Common Prayer (1549). Edward VII (1841–1910), king of Great Britain and Ireland 1901–10, had a reputation as a bon vivant. He was concerned with Britain's role in Europe and helped to promote ententes with France and Russia and to defuse the rivalry with Germany. Edward VIII (1894–1972), king of Great Britain and Ireland Jan. 20-Dec. 11, 1936, had enjoyed great popularity as prince of Wales and heir, but his association with U.S. divorcée Wallis Warfield Simpson was treated as a scandal by the press and met stern opposition from government and Church. To avoid a constitutional crisis, Edward abdicated, becoming duke of Windsor. He married Mrs. Simpson in 1937 and thereafter lived mainly in France.