King Edward III
King Edward III took control of the English throne when he was just 17 in 1330 by having his mother’s lover executed. In 1340 the kingdom faced numerous problems with mounting debt due to a number of very costly alliances. This forced Edward III to become more involved with the armies in order to reduce the costs and secure his position of King against growing opposition.
With his control of the armies, he was able to make some substantial gains in the Hundred Years’ War, defeating the French army at the Battle of Crecy. At the Battle of Neville’s Cross, he defeated and captured King David II of Scotland which meant that the northern English borders were secured and the war was no longer happening on two fronts. His successes continued in 1346 when he managed to take Calais from the French.
Soon after this domestic issues forced the army to slow its advance in to France. The Black Death ravaged the country and forced wages to skyrocket as a third of the country was killed and farm labor was hard to find. It took until the 1350s for Edward and his son Edward, The Black Prince to be able to resume their war efforts.
When his son took King John II of France prisoner the course of the war changed. Edward III decided to make a claim on the French throne since he had a number of French possessions, the French King in custody and the government of France nearly in shambles. However, in 1359 the campaign to take the throne was not conclusive and therefore in 1360, he relinquished all rights to the French throne and released King John II.
In return, he kept his French possessions and extracted a hefty ransom for King John II. The rest of King Edward III’s reign was marked with military failure and political struggles.