Edward III of England Timeline

(13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377)

Edward III was King of England from 1327 to 1377. He became king at the age of 14 after his father Edward II was deposed, and he later asserted control by overthrowing his mother Isabella of France and her lover Roger Mortimer in 1330. His reign saw the start of the Hundred Years' War with France, major English military victories at Crécy and Poitiers, and the establishment of the Order of the Garter. More Less

Go to: Timeline | Event List | Key Facts | Directory

Early Life and Accession

Birth of Edward III at Windsor Castle

Nov 13, 1312

Edward III was born at Windsor Castle, the eldest son of Edward II of England and Isabella of France. His birth strengthened the position of his father's reign and secured the succession of the Plantagenet dynasty.

Image source: Edward III of England

Edward is created Earl of Chester

Nov 12, 1320

The young Edward was invested as Earl of Chester, a title traditionally held by the heir apparent to the English throne. This formal recognition marked him as the future king from an early age.

Image source: Earl of Chester

Marriage contract with Philippa of Hainaut arranged

Aug 27, 1326

As part of his mother Isabella's alliance against Edward II, a betrothal was arranged between Edward and Philippa of Hainaut. The alliance provided crucial military support for the invasion that would topple his father.

Image source: Philippa of Hainault

Isabella and Mortimer invade England

Sep 24, 1326

Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer landed in Suffolk with a small force of mercenaries, launching a successful invasion that quickly gained support and led to the collapse of Edward II's regime.

Image source: Invasion of England (1326)

Deposition of Edward II

Jan 16, 1327

Parliament forced Edward II to abdicate in favor of his fourteen-year-old son. The deposition was unprecedented in English history, ending Edward II's troubled reign and paving the way for Edward III's accession.

Image source: Edward II of England

Coronation of Edward III

Feb 1, 1327

Edward III was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey at the age of fourteen. Real power, however, remained with his mother Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer, who ruled as regents.

Image source: Coronation Chair

Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton signed

Mar 17, 1328

Mortimer and Isabella concluded a treaty recognizing Robert Bruce as king of an independent Scotland. The humiliating terms were deeply unpopular in England and damaged the regency's standing.

Execution of Roger Mortimer

Oct 29, 1330

At seventeen, Edward seized power by staging a coup at Nottingham Castle, arresting Mortimer, who was then tried and executed as a traitor. Isabella was retired to honorable confinement, and Edward began his personal rule.

Image source: Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March

Court, Family, and Legacy

Marriage to Philippa of Hainaut

Jan 24, 1328

Edward married Philippa of Hainaut at York Minster. Their long marriage produced twelve or thirteen children, including Edward the Black Prince and John of Gaunt, whose descendants shaped English history for generations.

Founding of the Order of the Garter

Apr 23, 1348

Edward founded the Order of the Garter, England's most prestigious chivalric order, traditionally associated with the motto 'Honi soit qui mal y pense'. It bound the realm's leading knights to the king's cause.

Image source: Order of the Garter

Death of Queen Philippa

Aug 15, 1369

Philippa of Hainaut died at Windsor Castle after a long illness. Her death profoundly affected Edward, who thereafter increasingly fell under the influence of his mistress Alice Perrers.

Death of Edward the Black Prince

Jun 8, 1376

Edward III's eldest son and heir died of illness, plunging the succession into uncertainty. The king's grandson Richard of Bordeaux, the Black Prince's son, became the new heir apparent.

Image source: Edward the Black Prince

Death of Edward III

Jun 21, 1377

Edward III died at Sheen Palace after a stroke, aged sixty-four, after fifty years on the throne. He was succeeded by his ten-year-old grandson Richard II, beginning a turbulent new chapter for England.

Hundred Years' War

Battle of Dupplin Moor

Aug 11, 1332

Edward Balliol, backed by English 'disinherited' lords, defeated the Scots at Dupplin Moor and briefly claimed the Scottish crown. The battle demonstrated devastating English longbow tactics used later in France.

Halidon Hill victory over Scotland

Jul 19, 1333

Edward III personally led an army to relieve Berwick, inflicting a crushing defeat on the Scots using dismounted men-at-arms supported by longbowmen. The victory installed Balliol as a puppet king of Scotland.

Image source: Battle of Halidon Hill

Outbreak of the Hundred Years' War

May 24, 1337

After Philip VI of France confiscated Aquitaine, Edward formally claimed the French throne through his mother Isabella, daughter of Philip IV. The dynastic dispute ignited a conflict that would span more than a century.

Image source: Hundred Years' War

Battle of Sluys

Jun 24, 1340

Edward III commanded the English fleet to a decisive naval victory over the French off Sluys in Flanders, destroying French sea power and securing English control of the Channel for years to come.

Image source: Battle of Sluys

Siege of Tournai and Truce of Espléchin

Sep 1340

Edward's campaign in Flanders stalled before Tournai amid mounting debts, forcing him to accept a truce brokered under papal pressure. The failure strained his finances and relationships with allies.

Breton War of Succession begins

1341 - 1364

Edward backed John de Montfort's claim to the Duchy of Brittany against Charles of Blois, supported by France. The prolonged proxy war kept French resources divided throughout the 1340s.

Image source: War of the Breton Succession

Battle of Morlaix

Sep 30, 1342

An English force under William de Bohun defeated a much larger French army using entrenched defensive positions and longbows, showcasing tactics that would become hallmarks of English warfare in France.

Image source: Battle of Morlaix

Battle of Crécy

Aug 26, 1346

Edward III's army routed a far larger French force at Crécy in Normandy. The combination of longbowmen and dismounted men-at-arms proved devastatingly effective, and the Black Prince won his spurs in battle.

Image source: Battle of Crécy

Siege and capture of Calais

Sep 4, 1346 - Aug 3, 1347

After nearly a year-long siege, Calais surrendered to Edward III and became an English stronghold for over two centuries. The famous episode of the six burghers symbolized the town's suffering.

Image source: Siege of Calais (1346–1347)

Victory at Winchelsea (Les Espagnols sur Mer)

Aug 29, 1350

Edward III personally commanded the English fleet against Castilian raiders near Winchelsea, winning a bloody naval engagement fought with boarding actions rather than missile exchanges.

Image source: Battle of Winchelsea

Treaty of Bordeaux truce period

Mar 23, 1351

A brief truce between England and France was agreed, allowing both exhausted kingdoms to regroup after years of campaigning, though hostilities resumed within a few years.

Image source: 1350s in England

Capture of Poitiers and King John II

Sep 19, 1356

Edward, the Black Prince, captured the French king John II at Poitiers in a stunning English victory. With France leaderless and riven by internal chaos, England gained enormous diplomatic leverage.

Image source: Battle of Poitiers

Treaty of Brétigny signed

Oct 24, 1360

The peace agreement gave Edward III vast territories in France in full sovereignty, including Aquitaine expanded greatly, in exchange for renouncing his claim to the French throne. It marked the high point of English fortunes.

Image source: Treaty of Brétigny

Resumption of war and loss of territories

1369 - 1375

Charles V of France renewed the war, and under the brilliant constable Bertrand du Guesclin, French forces reconquered most of the lands ceded at Brétigny, reversing decades of English gains.

Image source: Hundred Years' War, 1369–1389

John of Gaunt leads the Great Chevauchée

1373 - 1374

John of Gaunt led a destructive raid from Calais to Bordeaux across France, burning territory but achieving no lasting conquest, illustrating the diminishing returns of English strategy.

Domestic Rule and Politics

Black Death reaches England

Jun 1348 - 1350

The bubonic plague swept through England, killing perhaps a third to half of the population. The demographic catastrophe disrupted warfare, transformed labor relations, and prompted royal attempts to control wages.

Image source: Black Death in England

Statute of Labourers enacted

1351

In response to post-plague labor shortages and rising wages, Parliament passed the Statute of Labourers attempting to fix wages at pre-plague levels, provoking resentment among workers and peasants.

Image source: Statute of Labourers 1351

Good Parliament challenges the court

Apr 28, 1376 - Jul 10, 1376

The Good Parliament criticized corrupt royal officials and the influence of Alice Perrers, reflecting growing discontent with the aging king's government and marking rising parliamentary assertiveness.

Image source: Good Parliament

Key Facts

Edward III became King of England on 25 January 1327 at just 14 years old, following the deposition of his father, Edward II.
In 1330, aged 17, he seized power from his mother Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer, who had ruled as regents during his minority.
He claimed the French crown through his mother, triggering the Hundred Years' War in 1337, which dominated much of his reign.
English armies under his command achieved famous victories at the Battle of Crécy (1346) and the Battle of Poitiers (1356), where the French king John II was captured.
He founded the Order of the Garter around 1348, England's highest order of chivalry, and his reign also saw the devastating Black Death arrive in England in 1348-1349.

Source

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