King Edward III agreed to do homage to Philippe of Valois for the lands he held in Aquitaine. Edward did not place his hands between Philippe's, a sign of total loyalty which would have been hard to reverse, as Edward was unhappy about Philippe's claim to the French throne. Edward was hoping diplomatic endeavours would help his position and wanted Philippe's daughter Joan to marry his first son Edward the Black Prince.  ¹

Edward was born at the royal manor of Woodstock. ¹

Edward (the Black Prince) was given the title Earl of Chester. ¹

Edward, the Black Prince, was given the title Duke of Cornwall by his father King Edward III. The estate was created at this time is order to provide an annual income for the Prince and for future eldest sons of the monarch. ¹

Edward sailed to Brittany to assist English troops already there. They were supporting Jean de Montfort's claim to be the Duke of Brittany. Philippe, king of France, disputed this claim and supported his own contender to the title. Edward left his eldest son in charge of England while he was away. ¹

Edward, the Black Prince, was bestowed with the title of Prince of Wales by his father King Edward III at a ceremony at Westminster. ¹

King Edward travelled to Flanders landing at Sluys. He took his son, the Prince of Wales and attempted to have the masters of the nearby towns accept the prince as their Lord. But the murder of Van Artevelde, a wealthy commercial trader accused of accepting money for supporting the English King put an end to the plans.

King Edward III of England established the Order of the Garter, the first English order of knighthood. It was based on the Knights of the Round Table and King Arthur. The name of the order is supposed to have originated when Edward III picked up a garter that had been lost on the dance floor during a banquet. Edward tied the garter around his own leg telling all present not to pass judgement. The garter may have belonged to the beautiful Joan of Kent. Joan was later to marry Edward's son, the Black Prince.

On St. George's Day at Windsor Castle, the Order of the Garter was created. The initial Knights of the Order were: The King (Edward III); the Prince of Wales (The Black Prince); Henry, Earl (afterwards Duke) of Lancaster; Thomas Beauchamp, 3rd Earl of Warwick; the Captal of Buch; Ralph, Lord Stafford; Motacute, Earl of Salisbury; Sir Roger Mortimer; Sir John (afterward Lord) Lisle; Sir Bartholomew (afterwards Lord) Burghershe; Sir John Beauchamp; Lord Mohun; Sir Hugh Courtenay; Sir Thomas Holland; Lord Grey; Sir Richard FitzSimon; Sir Myles Stapleton; Sir Thomas Wales; Sir Hugh Wrottesley; Sir Neel Loryng; Sir John Chandos; Sir James Audley; Sir Otho Holland; Sir Henry Eam; Sir Sanchete d'Ambrichecourt; and Sir Walter Paveley. ¹

The Spanish fleet was returning from Sluys where it had stayed over winter. King Edward III had taken his time and prepared an English fleet that could attack the Spanish boats as they came back down the English Channel. The two fleets met off the south coast near Winchelsea. Fierce hand-to-hand fighting took place as the ships, using grappling hooks, came together. Both Edward III and his son the Black Prince took part in the battle and defeated the Spanish. ¹

Restormal Castle hosted Edward, the Black Prince and his court.

Edward the Black Prince set out from Bordeaux at the start of a chevauchée into lands held by King John of France. Chevauchée was a medieval term for a process destroying the towns, villages and land of an enemy lord in an attempt to reduce the wealth that the lord could extract and put to use in going to war. It also caused panic in the local population and an exodus of refugees. ¹

On Saturday 17th of September while the Black Prince was moving his army to English owned city of Bordeaux the English and French armies finally came across each other near Poitiers. Edward moved his army into a defensive position protected by hedges on three sides and a narrow lane on the fourth.

On the Sunday a Cardinal attempted to get the English prince and French king to agree a truce, but the two leaders used the Sunday to rest their troops and prepare for the battle ahead.

On Monday the 19th of September the battle of Poitiers took place. Even though the English army was outnumbered the Black Prince used superior tactics in the battle and defeated the French without suffering many losses. John, the French King, was captured along with many other French nobles and taken to Bordeaux.

On behalf of the King of England, Edward, the Black Prince arranged a two year truce with John, the King of France at Bordeaux.

The Black Prince with the French king and many other prisoners began the journey from France to England. Once back in England these nobles were ransomed for large amounts of money.

To celebrate St. George's day King Edward III held a large tournament at Windsor Castle. Edward, the Black Prince, oversaw the proceedings in which kings and nobles from all over Europe were given safe passage to take part in.

The Treaty of Bretigny brought a period of peace for nine years during the Hundred Years War. The treaty was arranged between the Black Prince and the dauphin the future King Charles V of France before being approved by King Edward III of England and King John of France. As part of the treaty Edward was given control of the areas of Gascony, Calais and Ponthieu as long as he agreed to give up his claim for the French throne. King John of France, currently being held hostage in England, was to be released on condition of a payment of 3 million gold crowns to be paid in instalments.

Edward, the Black Prince married Joan of Kent at Westminster Abbey.

King King Edward III transferred control of Gascony to his eldest son, the Black Prince. Edward the Black Prince had just married Joan of Kent at Windsor and together they created a magnificent court in Bordeaux.

The Black Prince organised the construction of the Chantry Chapel at Canterbury Cathedral and he expressed the wish to be buried there.

Restormal Castle hosted Edward, the Black Prince and his court.

Richard of Bordeaux was born at the abbey of St. Andre in Bordeaux in France. His father was Edward, the Black Prince and his mother was Joan, the Fair Maid' of Kent. He was their second son after Edward of Angouleme. Edward died at an early age and so Richard became second in line to the English throne after his father.

Edward the Black Prince went to assist Peter the Cruel, King of Castile, who had been driven from his throne by Henry Trastamara. With a combined army of English, Gascons, Navarrese and Castilians the Black Prince won a battle to put Peter back on the thrown. The victory at Nájera also brought the Castilian fleet under control which had been fighting on the side of the French when Trastamara was in power. Peter was later overthrown and the fleet again started fighting on the French side.

French forces led by the Duke of Berry retook the town of Limoges. ¹

Edward, the Black Prince, used miners to undermine the section of the town that did not surrender to the English. The walls were brought down and those who had not surrendered were executed. This included women and children. ¹

Edward, the Black Prince, arrived back in England. He had run out of money and was unable to pay his men. He was suffering with a sickness that may have started with dysentery as a result of living conditions on his campaigns. He was physically exhausted.

Edward was the first son of the Black Prince, and Joan of Kent. Edward died at an early age of around seven years old. He was second in line to the English throne at the time, The date of his death may have been late in 1370.

Heir to the English throne, the Black Prince died. His son Richard would become the next king of England as Richard II.

King Edward III of England died in June 1377. One year earlier Edward's eldest son and heir to the throne, Edward the Black Prince died. Richard, the son of the Black Prince, was proclaimed heir to the throne. King Edward was ill for some time before his death, and John of Gaunt, another of Edward's sons, took the affairs of the nation under his control. Edward was buried in Westminster Abbey in a tomb designed by Henry Yevele. ¹

Richard, the son of Edward the Black Prince, and grandson of King Edward III, became king.

A series of miniature images painted on the side of the Black Prince's tomb in Canterbury Cathedral.