King Edward III married Philippa of Hainault (daughter of William V, Count of Holland and Hainault) on 24th January 1328 at York Minster.  The couple had over 10 children.  Towards the end of his life, Edward also had a mistress - Alice Perrers.  Together, they had three children. However they were classed as 'illegitimate', which meant that they could not hold the throne.  In those times, only 'legitimate' children could come to the throne. To be 'legitimate', you had to be the child of married parents.

Edward's children included several famous characters. His eldest son was also named Edward, but was better known as 'The Black Prince'. Another two sons, John of Gaunt (Duke of Lancaster) and Edmund (Duke of York), would lay the foundations for the Wars of the Roses. This was a conflict between two competing sides of the family as the children of both brothers claimed a right to the throne. The War of the Roses, which saw first the Lancastrians and then the Yorkists triumphant, lasted for over a century.

Edward was successful at home and abroad and many people think he deserves the title of a 'great' king.  He fought many wars during his reign. 

He signed a treaty at Northampton in 1328, recognising the independence of the Scots, but later sided with Edward Balliol to defeat David II of Scotland (the son of Robert the Bruce). 

It was in wars with France that Edward enjoyed his greatest success though. Charles IV, King of France, died in 1328 and left no male heir. Edward had a claim to the throne of France through his mother, Isabella. This was not recognised by the French, who wanted Charles's cousin, Philippe de Valois, as king.  From the mid 1330s, Edward's intentions to fight for the throne of France became clear. He won battles at Sluys (1340), Crecy (1346) and Calais (1347). Edward's son, the Black Prince,  played an important part in many battles. He defeated the French at Poitiers (1356), capturing the French king and taking him to England. The treaty of Bretigny in 1360 gave away huge areas of northern and western France to English control.

Back at home, Edward was a successful ruler. He had overthrown his mother and Roger de Mortimer and taken control of the kingdom. He used Parliament to ensure that the Barons were given an opportunity to express their opinions. Parliament was split into two houses, with the upper house made up of nobility and high clergy, and the lower house of the middle classes. 

When the Black Death killed many people in England, Edward III and his government managed to keep the country's finances and administration running, which was very impressive.

From 1364, the French began to reclaim the land that Edward had won in the earlier years of his reign. In that year, Charles V ascended the French throne and encouraged the French subjects living under English rule to fight. John of Gaunt, the King's third son was not as capable as his elder brother (the Black Prince) and defeats were suffered. The French even came to Portsmouth in 1369 and burnt large parts of the port. By the mid 1370s, many of Edward's earlier gains had been lost. In the end, the king was left with only Calais and a coastal strip in southern Gascony.

Along with the Black Death, the wars of the period dented the country's wealth. Edward's legacy to the next king, his grandson, Richard II, was far from healthy. Furthermore, relations with the church were damaged after the king used church revenues to finance his wars.
 
At the end of his reign there was much rivalry at court between King Edward, the Black Prince and John of Gaunt, which caused problems. John of Gaunt gained control, with the help of the king's mistress Alice Perrers, before Alice and several of John's leading men were expelled following the Good Parliament of 1376.

Edward also suffered sadness towards the end of his reign.   His wife, Philippa, died in August 1369. His son, the legendary Black Prince, died a year before Edward, in 1376, leaving the way free for John of Gaunt to seize power once more.

The period saw one of the worst diseases ever to hit the world. The bubonic plague, the Black Death, struck down nearly a third of the European population. It was a fatal disease spread by fleas which lived on rats. Few who caught the disease survived and some villages and towns were completely wiped out. Fortunately it can be cured today.

Edward III instigated the Most Noble Order of the Garter in 1348, the highest British Order of Chivlary. The award is still given by The Queen to worthy people to this day. Its motto reads,

     'HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE'
    
You can often see these French words on Royal coats of arms. They mean 'Evil be unto him who thinks evil'. They may refer to people who doubted Edward's claim to the throne of France. 

The motto is also claimed to be a reference to the story of its origin. It is said that at a dance in Windsor the Countess of Salisbury dropped her garter. To save her embarrassment, the King picked up the garter and tied it around his leg. The motto may refer to the people who laughed when the garter of the Countess of Salisbury slipped.