Continental interlude and a grievous personal loss!

‘After his backbreaking labours in the valleys of the west!

Edward was intent on enjoying a much needed rest!

The aftermath of his successful endeavours in Wales saw Edward turn his gaze northwards to Scotland, the other Celtic fringe with which England shared a land border. Clearly, frosty Scotland could not have been too far from his mind, but there was more pressing matters to be attended to in sunnier climes. Edward held lands in southwestern France, Aquitaine and Gascony, courtesy of the French crown. Thank God, his dreadful grandfather, King John had been unable to lose those lands along with the rest of his French empire, some eighty years before.

The flag of Aquitaine.

 Edward was certainly most unlike the late, unlamented John and intended to secure control of what remained of the Angevin empire. In 1286, Edward had paid homage to the newly crowned King of France, Philip IV for his lands as Duke of Aquitaine and Gascony. In fact, he spent three years there enjoying the good weather and fine wine. Also, as an Englishman of French descent and fluent in the language, he felt immensely comfortable amidst the beautiful scenery and splendid architecture. Edward could relax, unwind and be himself amongst his people here. After the ghastly time that he had endured in the mists of Wales dealing with those Welsh savages, his sojourn in France was nothing less than a much needed tonic.

‘I spent so long hunting those Welsh wretches through the hills, cold and drenched in rain!

Now here in the balmy ambience of France, my peace of mind, once more I can regain!’

King Philip IV of France.

In some ways the two men were rather alike, both were incredibly fine male specimens. King Philip was known as ‘le bel’ or ‘the fair’, due to his handsome appearance, and Edward was noted for his great height and long, lithe limbs. The resemblance was not merely physical, as both men possessed great force of character and a firm determination to attain their objectives. This became apparent when the two monarchs later quarrelled over Edward’s lands in Aquitaine and Gascony.

King Edward paying homage to King Philip for his French duchies.

But, this unpleasantness with the formidable Philip lay in the future. In 1290, Edward’s visceral anti-Semitism came to the fore and he banished the Jewish people from England’s shores. This was of course to be expected; one has only to look at the Plantagenet family history to discern as much.

He had now been king for eighteen years, and marvelling at his various achievements, he felt supremely at ease with himself. However, that same year, something truly horrible happened which affected Edward deeply, and probably permanently. His Queen Consort, the beloved Eleanor of Castile took ill, and died in the county of Nottinghamshire that November.

Eleanor of Castile.

The moment that Edward had heard that Eleanor was ill, he had rushed to her side. He then sent for their children for one last, melancholy meeting. They had been married for thirty-six blissful years ever since she stood before the altar in Burgos, Spain with Edward as a girl of thirteen. In the interim, the queen had endured some sixteen pregnancies, with just six of her children surviving to adulthood. This included the king’s heir, the future Edward II, who had been born in 1284. Now, at the reasonably advanced age of forty-nine, she had been called to her eternal rest. The king was distraught and accompanied the body on the 12 day journey to Westminster, where she would be interred in the Abbey.

Edward later erected crosses at every place where the funeral cortege halted overnight on its way to Westminster.

‘Farewell my sweet, dearly beloved Queen, Eleanor of Castile!

Your absence at my side is a loss, and sorrow that I will forever feel!’

As he led the cortege south, Edward’s face was skull like, his features contorted with grief, he had never known such sorrow.

There was another death in that autumn of 1290 which would have serious implications for Edward’s reign. Margaret, the Maid of Norway, the heir to Scotland’s throne, had died in Orkney. The seven year old princess had been betrothed to the six year old, Edward, son of Edward I.

Margaret, the Maid of Norway and heir to the Scottish throne.

This left Scotland without an undisputed heir, and there soon appeared a number of competing claimants. Such a development was normally a recipe for trouble and this particular situation was no exception.