Being a royal Edward in England, was not such a great deal. For every King (and a few Princes), came to grief of some kind, and often shared it with their friends and relatives.
Edward The Elder (869-924A.D.)
Prior to the Norman Conquest in 1066, English kings were not numbered (although sometimes their days were). Thus, the three Saxon Edwards, have nicknames. Edward the Elder (to distinguish him from the next Edward), during twenty-five years on the throne, ran off the Dane lords, north and south of the Humber River. He also ran through three wives. On Edward's death, his son by Wifey #2, Aelfweard mounted the throne, and was kicked off it less than a month later, by Athelstan, son of Numero Uno wife. (Boys, boys! Such squabbling!)
Edward The Martyr (963-978A.D.)
Came to the throne at the age of 12, and hardly had time to warm it. Eddie was murdered, possibly at the instigation of his wicked stepmother Elfriday, whose ten year old son, took over. After miracles at his tomb, Edward was declared a Saint and Martyr. Such a shame he wasn't around to enjoy the attention.
Edward The Confessor (1003-1066)
The fact that his father's name was Ethelred the Unready should have told us something. Although the term "unready" is not supposed to mean unprepared, but rather...stubborn and unwilling to accept outside advice.
His own name as "Confessor" meant that he had lived his life in the faith, including the construction of Westminster Abbey, and didn't die as a martyr. History is divided as to whether his reign was 24 years of peace, or simply being too lazy to act. A declared celibate, he married, but left no children. (Maybe he learned his lesson from Edward the Elder's experience.)
King Edward I (1239-1307A.D.)
Edward seized the moment at age 32. He stomped Wales into submission, kicked all the Jews out of England, and kept up a running battle with Scotland because they just wouldn't lay down and say "I give." When he defeated them in 1298, he took their Stone of Scone, the traditional rock upon which all Kings of Scotland were confirmed. (It was returned in 1996). That, and his capture and execution of William Wallace in 1305, made Edward, Plantagenet non grata. He expired on his way to yet another Scottish campaign. As demanded, he had supplied the people of Wales with a Prince who spoke neither English nor Welsh- his infant son, who would one day become King Edward II. They might not have been so grateful if they'd known how he'd turn out.
King Edward II (1284-1327A.D.)
The King who should have cut his ship of state loose from the Piers. The son of his father's friend, Piers Gaveston became notorious as Edward's lover, bedecking himself in the bride's jewels, when Edward married Isabella, in 1308. The 16-year old queen was not amused, and her ire would earn her the name "She Wolf of France".
Lacking his father's dignity and skills as a soldier, Edward's reign was typified by upheaval from within and without, terminating with his abdication and murder by Isabel's supporters. Piers was executed, as was Hugh Dispenser, his next favourite. Roger Mortimer, his wife's lover was executed after their son wrested the throne from his mother.
King Edward III (1312-1377A.D.)
Talk about your running feuds! Edward was a grasping kind of guy, and when he laid claim to the throne of France in 1337, he was lighting the wick of the Hundred Years War (technically, a string of battles and skirmishes, but who's counting?) His reign would be plagued, quite literally with three waves of the Black Death, and its fallout: shortages of labour, food, inflation, and unrest. Two of his sons, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and Edmund, First Duke of York, would sow the seeds for the War of the Roses. A fertile family...but very feisty!
Edward picked up other things as well. Including the garter of the Countess of Salisbury, which fell from her leg to the floor, during an evening of dance and merriment. The Order of the Garter was founded on his pronouncement "Honi soit qui mal y pense" (Shame on him who thinks evil of it), a reference to those who wondered just how close the two were (she later married his son, the Black Prince) and whether where she wore it, indicated participation in witchcraft. (And who was looking up her dress to find out, hmmmmmmmm?)
Edward, The Black Prince (1330-1376)
If he had lived, his son Richard II (son Edward died at 5 years old, the same year) would not have inherited the throne in 1370, or been deposed then murdered at 32, by his cousin, setting the stage for the ascension of the house of Lancaster. Edward's lasting contribution to the family is the Prince of Wales motto: "Ich Dien" (I serve) Seems like his serve was off.
King Edward IV (1442-1483A.D.)
Edward put a white York rose on the throne in 1461, after defeating and executing his cousin Henry VI. He also disposed of Edward, Henry's son. (But what's another murder between cousins, eh?) Finding that a handy way to avert trouble, he had his second brother, George Duke of Clarence, judicially murdered in 1478 for treason. His reign was unremarkable except for the fact that his heir was left in the hands of brother Richard, whose reign would be...murder.
King Edward V (1470-1483)
What can you say about the shortest reign in history? Popular opinion has it that King Edward V and his younger brother Richard Duke of York, were either murdered by Richard III or Henry VII. Take your pick.
Imprisoned in the Tower of London on their father's death in 1483, their uncle brought a claim of pre-contract of marriage against their mother, making the boys illegitimate, and naming himself King Richard III. After two months in the Spring, there are no reliable reports of sightings. Edward would remain uncrowned and unfound for two hundred years. In 1674, bones were located under a wall of the tower, and "identified" as theirs, by Thomas More's account in "A History of Richard III". The bones were placed in a white urn and moved to St. George's Chapel, Windsor, where they remain today. Awaiting DNA tests that would put the story, if not the king and his brother, to rest.
King Edward VI (1447-1563)
Left to follow in father Henry VIII's big (really big) footsteps at age nine, Edward became engaged to his cousin, Mary Queen of Scots. Had he lived, she surely would have been ahead of the game. Weak and malleable in his last consumptive illness, Edward declared his half sisters Mary and Elizabeth to be bastards, and passed the throne to Henry VIII's great niece, Jane Grey. Jane was promptly married off to a court intriguer, made queen and reigned for nine days, before "Blood Mary", daughter of Katherine of Aragon and Henry VIII, seized the throne and executed her. He would be the last royal Edward for 400 years.
King Edward VII (1841-1910)
Eddie became an expert at the game of patience, waiting till age 60 to ascend the throne. (Hang in there, Charles. There's hope for you yet!) Denied any meaningful role as a Royal Prince, he threw off Queen Victoria's apron strings with a vengeance, plunging into the excesses of food, drink, gambling and women. Despite having married the unbelievably tolerant Princess Alexandra, in 1863, he continued his profligate ways, while also building a fair image as politician and statesman. (In America, he'd have been White House material.) Never one to take heed, he died in 1910 after a string of heart attacks.
King Edward VIII (1894-1972)
Love, before the "Land of Hope and Glory"? Apparently so. The second shortest reign in English history was over in 1936, less than a year after it started. Edward abdicated to marry "the woman I love", a twice-divorced American. Now titled the Duke of Windsor (although Wallis Simpson would never be granted the right to be called Duchess), he did a little royal visiting, served as a non-combatant General in WWII, and then passed some time as the Governor of the Bahamas. On his death in 1972, Wallis Simpson Windsor was finally admitted to the Palace. And in 1986 was buried beside him at Frogmore, Windsor, where she had never been invited in life.
Prince Edward ? (1964-)
Don't think you need to worry, Ed old son. You're only seventh in line to the throne.
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