The Pope offered the Sicilian crown for Henry's youngest son Edmund. The Pope wanted to add Sicily to the papal dominions. To raise the money required for such an expedition Henry met Parliament at Westminster. The barons who were not involved in the meeting forced Henry to meet again in June where they wanted Henry to reform the way the country was being run. ¹

From a provisional administration consisting of Simon de Montfort himself, the Earl of Gloucester and the Bishop of Chichester, a council of 9 were chosen to advise the king. From these 9, 3 were to be with the king at all times. ¹

Simon calls a Parliament where for the first time ordinary people were brought to represent the country. ¹

The Statute of Westminster, drawn up between Parliament and King Edward I, defined the legal privileges that landowners were allowed. These were based on the investigations carried out in 1274 into the landowners rights to own their land.

David the brother of Llywelyn was handed over to the king by his own supporters who had already surrendered. He was taken to Shrewsbury Castle where a Parliament met and sentenced him to death by execution. ¹

King Edward I called together a parliament consisting of a cross-section of society; the heads of the church, the Barons and members of the burghs. The parliament agreed that a tax could be raised to allow the king to launch attacks on the Scots and the French.

King Edward I was supposed to appear before Parliament at Westminster where the Barons wanted him to abide by rules preventing him levying taxes not agreed upon by the Barons. Edward failed to attend but the Barons tracked him down and forced him to comply.

The barons appeared at Parliament in April demanding the banishment of Gaveston. ¹

Parliament was unhappy with Gaveston's actions as Regent while Edward was away. Gaveston's closeness to Edward was also distressing for Edward's new wife as well. Parliament concluded that Edward should remove Gaveston and the knight was given the role of Lieutenant of Ireland in order to remove him from England. Gaveston was threatened with excommunication is he did not leave or if he was to return. Edward accompanied Gaveston to Bristol from where he set sail for Ireland.

Robert Bruce was formally recognised as King of Scotland by the Scottish parliament at St. Andrews. ¹

In the parliament held in April earlier in the year several demands of reform were put to the King. But Edward said that he would only agree to them if Gaveston were to return from exile. In the April parliament this was rejected, but in a parliament held at Stamford in July agreement was given. Edward had managed to have the threat of excommunication overturned and he managed to get support from some of the barons. The barons hoped that the King and Gaveston had learnt from their mistakes in running the country. ¹

Edward II left Scotland and returned to England to attend a session of Parliament. Gaveston was left behind at Bamburgh Castle where he was relatively safe from the Lords Ordainers. ¹

While the Earl of Lancaster set up camp midway between York and Scarborough to prevent Gaveston and the King rejoining, the Earls of Pembroke and Surrey besieged Scarborough castle. The castle was not prepared to withstand the stand-off and Gaveston surrendered after a couple of weeks. The terms of his surrender were generous and Pembroke gave his word that Gaveston would not be harmed until he was presented to Parliament. ¹

Hugh Despenser began obtaining lands in South Wales. He did this by exchanging estates he held in England and by obtaining grants from the king. He even obtained the Isle of Lundy. When the last male heir of the Marcher Lord Braose family died, Despenser was able to obtain the land that the family owned in and around Swansea. This angered the other Marcher Lords as they had customs that allowed land to pass into the hands of one another. The Marcher Lords threatened to start a civil war and it was agreed that a Parliament should be called to settle the matter. It was also agreed that Despenser was to be held in custody by Lancaster until the meeting but Despenser refused.

Lancaster put a large amount of pressure on Edward to remove the Despensers from power. The Marcher Lords brought a force to London and threats were made that Edward would be removed from the throne if he did not comply. ¹

Edward was now back in control of the country and at the Parliament held at York the rebels who had fought against him were punished, many being executed for treason. The Ordinances against Edward were repealed and those who had supported Edward through the bad times were rewarded. The elder Hugh Despenser was made Earl of Winchester. The younger Despenser was given large amounts of land forfeited by the rebels. ¹

At a Parliament called to discuss the situation in France, it was decided to send a petition to Isabella for her return to England. She refused. In France, her brother the King had become annoyed with Isabella's conduct. Isabella left France and went to the court of William II, Count of Hainault who assisted her with preparations to invade England. A promise was made to marry Prince Edward, now Duke of Aquitaine to William's daughter Philippa. ¹

King Edward III ordered the arrest of Roger Mortimer. The King and some loyal supporters entered Nottingham Castle via a secret passage in the rocks and Roger Mortimer was arrested.

Mortimer was tried before Parliament and executed.

Parliament agreed to raise taxes so that Edward could fund an army to invade France. ¹

To raise funds for further French expeditions Edward had to confront Parliament. Parliament insisted that Edward reconfirmed various ancient charters. ¹

The English Parliament freed King Edward III from the Treaty of Bretigny that was signed in 1360. When Edward signed the treaty he had agreed to give up the claim for the French throne. Now that Edward was free from the treaty he was able to restate and pursue his claim to be the French King. ¹

William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester and chancellor, asked for supplies for war. Parliament petitioned the king to stop the practice of ecclesiastics having positions of power and not being liable to account for their actions, and that non-clerical laymen should replaced them. An important supporter of this action was John of Gaunt.

The Commons accused several of the king's advisers of misusing public money for their own gain and lending money to the king at a hgh level of interest. The motions were supported by the Black Prince who was ill at this time. The king's mistress Alice Perrers was banished from Court.

At a session of Parliament held this year both John of Gaunt and Thomas of Woodstock argued with Richard about the way in which the country was being run, his finances and the influences of his advisors.

With the French threatening to invade, Richard's continued disregard of his uncles' requests to remove his Chancellor and Treasurer from office, a delegation met Richard at Eltham. His uncle, Duke of Gloucester acted as spokesman for Parliament. He reminded Richard of his duties and demanded that his advisors be removed. He reminded Richard that if he didn't comply he could be removed from his position as King. Richard had little choice and a commission was set up to oversee the king's affairs.

An act of Parliament is passed which brings the ownership of Urquhart Castle into the hands of the English King. ¹

Parliament accepted Bolingbroke's claim to the throne. He was to become Henry IV, king of England. ¹

Owain Glyndwr called a Parliament where he declared himself to be the true 'Prince of Wales'. Embassies from France and Scotland attended the meeting and gave promises to support Glyndwr's plans to overthrow Henry IV.

Parliament agreed to give Henry V the money to invade France. Those that opposed the plans included Earl Marshal, Ralph Neville, who believed there was a better chance of subduing Scotland than France. ¹

John, Duke of Bedford, died in Rouen. Henry was still too young to rule and Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, took over as regent until Henry was old enough to rule England unaided. Gloucester was not popular and was the cause of unrest with Parliament.

The Duke of Suffolk was accused by Parliament of using his position close to the king to influence matters for his and his followers own ends. He was also accused of increasing his own wealth at the expense of the king and perverting the course of justice. Suffolk was murdered on his way to exile in May of the same year.

William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk was accused by Parliament of being the cause of the country's problems. Suffolk was arrested and imprisoned. The king allowed the Duke to be banished rather than executed but as he left the country he was attacked and killed.

Thomas Young, the member of Parliament for Bristol stood up and declared that Richard, Duke of York's claim to the throne should be considered. Thomas Young was quickly arrested and locked up in the Tower of London.

A Parliament was held after the Battle of St. Albans to confirm the changes of appointment. Richard, Duke of York became protector for the second time. ¹

At a Parliament called in Coventry the Yorkists are condemned as rebels and their land was confiscated by the crown.

Now that the Yorkists had control of the King, they started moves to regain their confiscated lands and reverse the sentences of the attainder passed by the Coventry Parliament. To this end they sent letters demanding Parliament should meet on 7th October. George Neville, the Kingmaker's brother was made chancellor of England.

Richard, Duke of York returned from Ireland to claim the throne of England as a direct descendant of King Edward III. The Lords refused to abandon Henry VI and Parliament agreed he should remain King until his death after which Richard or his heir should become the next king of England.

With the king in custody there began a series of riots around the country protesting against the Earl of Warwick. Warwick did not have the backing of Parliament and in the end had little choice but to let Edward go free and return to rule the country.

Parliament declared that Elizabeth, like her elder step-sister Mary, was illegitimate. This allowed the next son of King Henry VIII to be born to become the heir to the English throne. ¹

The Succession to the Crown Act was an act passed by Parliament specifiying the order of succession to the English throne after the death of King Henry VIII. Although Edward was the youngest the order would be Edward, Mary and then Elizabeth.  ¹

Charles I called his first Parliament in June of 1625. His aim was to raise money for war against Spain although he did not tell Parliament what the money was for. Parliament refused to give the full amount and gave only limited funds. Parliament restricted Charles to collect 'Tonnage and Poundage' for only one year. Before this 'Tonnage and Poundage' was collected at any time. There were concerns over Charles' marriage to his Roman Catholic wife and favouritism shown to her religion. Further concerns related to the Duke of Buckingham and his influence over the King. Charles dissolved the Parliament in August without achieving his aims.

Charles called his second Parliament again to raise funds for his military exploits. To improve his chances of success Charles gave appointments of County Sheriff to those who had previously opposed him. It was not possible for Sheriffs to be members of the Commons. Parliament was led by Sir John Eliot who criticised the King's and Buckingham's failed military expeditions. Charles dissolved Parliament again without getting his funds.

Charles dissolved Parliament after first arresting Sir John Eliot. The king was still short of money so he resorted to 'forced loans' from well-off people in the country. Those who did not pay were threatened with imprisonment without trial. Charles also forced people to give shelter and food to his soldiers. ¹

Charles called another Parliament intent on getting money for more military campaigns. He wanted to finance another attack on La Rochelle. Parliament refused to give any money unless the king agreed to terms set out in the 'Petition of Right'.

• ending of forced loans
• ending of enforced billeting of troops
• no taxation with Parliamentary approval
• end to imprisonment without cause shown
• end to martial law

Although Parliament had agreed to give the King his money, it also pressed for the arrest of Buckingham. To protect Buckingham, Charles dissolved Parliament.

King Charles I called Parliament to ask for taxes to raise money for war against the Scots. Parliament agreed to grant the King 'twelve subsidies' on the condition that 'ship money' was abolished. Ship money was a tax normally imposed at time of war to allow the King to build ships for the defence of the country, but Charles had imposed this tax in peace times without Parliament's consent which was illegal. John Pym stood up against the King and complained about how the country was being run. Charles grew impatient and dissolved Parliament on May the 5th, only three weeks after Parliament was called. ¹

Charles I was forced to call Parliament to raise money to pay for a continued war with the Scottish. Parliament was led by John Pym who opposed the King. Parliament agreed to give Charles some money in return for concessions. These included the removal of Charles' closest advisors, Archbishop Laud and Thomas Wentworth Viscount Strafford. Laud would be kept in the Tower of London while Strafford would be executed.

Parliament passed the Grand Remonstrance, a list of grievances against King Charles. Parliament was unhappy with the King's advisors and wanted the King to allow Parliament to choose who should advise him. ¹

Charles I dismissed Sir William Balfour from his position as Constable of the Tower of London because of his support for Parliament against the King. ¹

Charles I, with a small band of soldiers, attempted to arrest key leaders of Parliament including John Pym. When Charles arrived at Westminster he found that the men had already left and had found sanctuary in the city of London. Charles had little support in the city and had little choice but to leave. ¹

Parliament authorised Robert Rich, the Earl of Warwick to take control of the English Navy before King Charles did so. ¹