Ancestor Spotlight · Plantagenet maternal line
King Edward III
1312–1377
King of England for fifty years. Founder of the Order of the Garter, claimant to the French throne — beginning the Hundred Years’ War — and the king who first quartered the arms of France with England.
Editor’s Note
This page documents Edward III and the maternal Plantagenet descent that runs through him. Content matches the live Plantagenet Descent page (Rule #87). He stands at the head of the House of York, through his son Edmund of Langley, from whom the line continues to Edward IV.
Relationship
King Edward III is the a direct ancestor in the Plantagenet line of John, Perry, and Patrick Long, via the Plantagenet maternal line.
Biography
Edward III came to the throne in 1327 and reigned for half a century. His reign restored the authority of the crown after the disastrous rule of his father Edward II, and saw England emerge as a leading European military power. In 1337 he pressed his claim to the French crown through his mother, opening the conflict that became the Hundred Years’ War.
He founded the Order of the Garter around 1348, England’s senior order of chivalry, and in 1340 quartered the fleurs-de-lis of France with the lions of England — the royal arms that would be borne, in varying forms, for the next four centuries.
Edward III is the ancestor at the head of the House of York: through his fourth surviving son, Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, the line runs to Richard, Duke of York, and to King Edward IV. His FamilySearch record (93RN-C7J) carries 30 source descriptions; the full chain is on the Plantagenet Descent page.
Key Accomplishments
- King of England, 1327–1377
- Founded the Order of the Garter, c. 1348
- Quartered the arms of France with England, 1340
- Began the Hundred Years’ War through his claim to the French throne
- Progenitor of the House of York through Edmund of Langley
Descent to the Brothers
The milestone anchors of the maternal descent — named anchors, not every generation. The complete generation-by-generation chain is on the Plantagenet Descent page. Click any PID to open the FamilySearch record.
Generation Count
Confidence
VERIFIED on Edward III (93RN-C7J, 30 FamilySearch sources) and the House of York anchors that follow him to Edward IV, all enumerated on the Plantagenet Descent page.
External Links & Sources
- Edward III of England — Wikipedia
- FamilySearch: King Edward III (93RN-C7J, 30 sources)
- Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry (2nd ed., 2011)
- Internal: the full chain on the Plantagenet Descent page