King Edward I

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This post is the first in a series of short biographies of English/British monarchs. For a change, I am not going to present these in date order, but by name, beginning with the eight King Edwards, one at a time. After that, there will be eight Henrys, six Georges … **************************** King Edward I Born in 1239, he reigned from 1272 until his death in 1307. He was the eldest son of King Henry III (reigned 1216-72) and supported him on the battlefield during the “Barons War” of 1264-7. His most notable success was the defeat of Simon de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham in 1265. After becoming king, Edward subdued the Welsh princes during conflicts lasting from 1277 to 1284 and emphasized his overlordship of Wales by building a series of strong castles that included Caernarfon, Conwy and Harlech. He then turned his attention to Scotland, firstly by supporting the claim of John de Balliol to become King of Scotland in 1292 and then launching a full invasion in 1296, which provoked a fierce response. Edward was on his way to do battle with King Robert I (Robert the Bruce) when he died in 1307.