I.DIVARD III., King of England, tho eldest eon of Edward II. and Isabella of France, was born at Windsor (whence he took his surname) on the 13th of November 1312. In the first negotiations with the court of France after the breaking out of the quarrel about Onienne in 1324, a props:real seems to have been made by the French king, Charles IV., for n marriage between a daughter of his uncle, the Count de Valois, and the young Prince of Wales, as Edward was styled ; but it was coolly received by the king of England, and ended in nothing.
In September of the year following Prince Edward proceeded to Paris, where his mother then was, and did homage to his uncle, King Charles, for tho duchy of Ouienne and the earldom of Ponthien, which hie father had previously resigned to him, lie was induced by his mother to remain with her at the French court, notwithstanding, the most pressing letters from his father (Itymer, iv.), begging and commanding him to return. Meanwhile Isabella, havingpreviously solicited from the pope a dispensation (which however she did not obtain), to permit her to marry her son without his father's knowledge, had arranged a compact with William earl of Hainault, by which the prince was affianced to Philippa, the second of the earl's four daughters. Edward was soon after carried by his mother to Valenciennes, the residence of the Earl of Hainault, where he met Philippa, and it is said fell 'ardently in lovo with her. He landed with his mother in England in Septem.
ber 1326, was declared guardian or regent of the kingdom about a month after, and was proclaimed king on the deposition of his father, January 25th, 1327. (Emmen IL] lie was crowned at Weatminatel the following day.
The government of the kingdom during the king's minority was placed by the parliament in the hands of a regeooy consisting of twelvs noblemen and bishops, with Henry earl of Lancaster (the brother of Thomas, executed in the preceding reign) at their head. The queer however and Mortimer (now created Earl of March) from the fit* assumed the chief management of affairs, and emu monopolised al power. They must be considered as having been the real authors o
the murder of the deposed king. Their authority seemed for tin moment to be rather strengthened than otherwise by the failure of 1 confederacy formed among the nobility to effect their overthrow in the winter of 1323.29. In March 1329 signal proof was given o their determination and daring in the maintenance of their position by the fate of the king's uncle, the Earl of Kent, who having involved in what was construed to be a plot against the government was put to death on that charge.
Meanwhile the king, young as be was, and although thus exclude' from the government, bad not passed his time in inactivity. lio we married to Philippa of liainault on the 24th of January 1328. A feu months after hie accession he hid marched at the head of a numeron army against the Fcote, who had again invaded and ravaged th northern counties ; but they eluded all his attempts to come up witl them, and after a campaign of three weeks this expedition ended ii nothing. Soon after this a treaty of peace MR concluded betwer the two kingdom*, on the basil of the recognition of the templet adependenco of Scotland. This important treaty was signed at :dinburgb on the 17th of March 1328, and confirmed in a parliament 'aid at Northampton on the 4th of May following. One of the rtieles was, that a marriage should take place between Prince David, he only son of the king of Scotland, and the sister of the king of :ngland, the Princess Joanna ; and, although the bride was only in ier seventh, and the bridegroom in his fifth year, the marriage was elebmted accordingly at Berwick on the 12th of July. The illus riots. Bruce just lived to see this truly epic consummation of his ieroio labours. He was able to receive the youthful pair on their nivel at Edinburgh after the nuptials ; but he was now worn out by disease which had for some time preyed upon him, and he expired a the following June.