Edward I 1272-1307 Edward was born in 1239. He was married twice. Firstly at a very young age to Eleanor of Castile, who died in 1290, and whom bore him the children: Eleanor, Joan, Henry, Julian, Joan of Acre, Alphonso, Isabel, Margaret, Berengaria, Mary, Alice, Elizabeth, Edward, Beatrice and Blanche. His second wife, Margaret of France, daughter of the King of France, bore him Thomas, Edmund and Eleanor. Edward was a special child to his father. He was born very late in Henry's life. He was named after the canon, Edward the Confessor, and although his title says Edward I, there were three Edwards previous to him. It was Henry who arranged for the important marriage of Edward to Eleanor, the half-sister of Alfonso X, King of Castile and Leon. It was an arranged marriage which bore many children and was full of love. Edward was made Overlord of Ireland, before he became King, and was responsible for Gascony and Wales. He was a typically spoilt adolescent,and liked to spend his time setting up jousting tournaments, in which many lives would be lost at a time. However though he had once recognised the justice of Simon de Montfort's stance against his father, he rallied to help his father. It was his role as a general that helped quash De Montfort, and after this he became an exemplary figure in the ruling of England. He was his father's Regent and succeeded unchallenged to the throne. He did not become King until the age of 35 and was devoted to personal and political integrity. He was a devoted ruler of England and developed state relations all around the world. He also fought many wars and used a great deal of the funds of England in these battles. He borrowed heavily from the Jews in England. They were expert currency manipulators. The King had tried to involve them in more productive occupations, but against all local feeling, and the lack of profit to be attained, the Jews went back to their old vocations. In 1290 Edward expelled the Jews from England. Being unable to borrow money, Edward had to impose high taxes on the local populations, which was of course highly unpopular. After having defeated and slain the last Welsh Prince of Wales, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Edward offered his baby son to the Welsh people as the Prince of Wales, in a symbolic gesture. The Welsh gave the English knowledge of the long bow, one of the most valued weapons before gunpowder, and Edward encouraged its use. The pacification of the Welsh was not instant, and it took years for the land and power to be delegated in face of harsh resentment. War with Scotland was causing great problems. It concerned an attempt to reconcile the centre of Scotland from Edinburgh to Scone, the natural but unrecognised seat of Scotland. When Alexander III, King of Scotland died, the crown passed to his three year old grand daughter, Margaret. When Margaret was aged six, Edward arranged for her to be betrothed to his heir Edward, which would have led to a peaceful union of England and Scotland. Margaret died in a ship wreck on the way to her coronation in Scotland, then the succession to the crown was disputed. Edward stepped in to arbitrate and with a balanced Commission took eighteen months to choose John Balliol. This decision led to a revolt, which Edward managed to overcome. He declared himself King of Scotland and carried the Coronation Stone of Scotland from Scone Palace off to England. It was this that led to the revolt by William Wallace who was eventually defeated by Edward. In 1306 Robert the Bruce was declared King of the Scots by the Scottish people and in the ensuing war he was at first defeated by Edward. In a later campaign to crush Robert the Bruce, Edward died at Burgh by Sands, after being the monarch of England for 35 years.