King Edward (Longshanks) Plantagenet

• Birth Notes

  File: Edward I Plantagenet, King of England _ Royal Descent
    Date of Birth: 6/17/1239
    Place of Birth: Westminster Palace, London
    Notes: “Edward was born at Westminster on the night of 17 June 1239. The news was greeted with great joy. The citizens of London took to the streets and celebrated by torchlight: they felt that they could claim the prince as one of their own number. In the royal chapel the king’s clerks sang Christus Vincit to mark the event. According to Matthew Paris, the general pleasure did not last long, for Henry III made it plain that the messengers sent out to announce the event were to bring back gifts. One courtier commented: ‘God gave us this child, but the king is selling him to us’.”2.
    Baptism: Date: 6/20/1239
                   Place: Westminster Abbey
    Notes: “The ceremony was conducted at Westminster Abbey by the papal legate Otto, in the presence of the archbishop of Canterbury, the bishops of London and Carlisle, the king’s brother Richard earl of Cornwall, and his brother-in-law Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester. The baby was given an English name, reflecting Henry III’s devotion to the cult of St. Edward the Confessor, designed to add to the prestige of the monarchy”2.

• Death Notes

  File: Edward I Plantagenet, King of England _ Royal Descent
    Date of Death: 7/7/1307
    Place of Death: Burgh-by-Sands, Cumberland
    Notes: “Edward I died on 7 July 1307, at Burgh-by-Sands, a few miles northwest of Carlisle. His health had been poor for some time. The spring seems to have brought some improvement to the king’s health. He was well enough to attend parliament at Carlisle for a time. Edward was certainly not in a fit state to campaign in Scotland, but his determination was such that, on 3 July, he rode out from Carlisle. He was suffering from dysentary, and progress amounted to a bare two miles a day. He spent the night of 6 July at Burgh-by-Sands, and when his servants came to lift him from his bed the next morning, so that he could eat, he died in their arms (Guisborough, 379).”2
    Burial: Date: 10/27/1307
    Place: Westminster Abbey
    Notes: “It was not until about 18 October that the body was taken to London, where it was placed first in the monastery of Holy Trinity, and then in St Paul’s, before being carried to its last resting place, Westminster Abbey. The funeral service, on 27 October, was conducted, fittingly, by Edward’s old friend and recent adversary, Anthony Bek, bishop of Durham and patriarch of Jerusalem”2.