Edward the Black Prince

Prince of Wales (1330-1376)

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Lived 1330–1376, aged 46United Kingdom

United Kingdom Historical Figures

Wikipedia
60 languages
Cross-language footprint
Era
1330–1376
Aged 46
Awards
2
recognised works

Summary

Updated 2026-06-10

The eldest son of Edward III who never became king but whose battlefield genius at Crécy and Poitiers — where he routed the French and captured their monarch — made him the shining model of medieval chivalry. He died a year before his father, so the crown passed to his son Richard II instead.

Biography

About

Edward of Woodstock was born 15 June 1330, made Duke of Cornwall at seven, and knighted by his father at sixteen before commanding the vanguard at Crécy that same year. In 1356, after a chevauchée through Auvergne and Limousin, he crushed King John II's army at Poitiers and took the French king prisoner — a feat that cemented his reputation as one of the era's greatest knights. Named Prince of Aquitaine in 1362, he campaigned in Spain, defeating Henry of Trastámara at Nájera in 1367, but the venture left him broke and his attempt to levy a hearth tax alienated the Gascon lords he governed. He…

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