King Edward III (1312-1377), Reigned 1327-77

Sitter associated with 27 portraits
The eldest son of Edward II and Isabella of France, Edward became king at the age of fourteen after his father was deposed by his mother and her lover Roger Mortimer and subsequently murdered. They retained power as regents until 1330 when Edward imprisoned Mortimer and imposed confinement on his mother. He was popular with his people and in 1340 was the first English king to assume the title of King of France, which started the Hundred Years War. At home, Edward's reign was chiefly characterised by a serious outbreak of plague in which an estimated 200,000 people died.