EDWARD THE BLACK PRINCE [b.1330 - d.1376]
© P.E. Blanche 1998

It is perhaps somewhat ironic that the only two "Royal" burials in The Cathedral represent an ancient conflict for the throne of England. Although, Edward, The Black Prince and heir to the Throne, was outlived by his Father, Edward III, his son, Richard, became Richard II. It was the son of Edward's (The Black Prince) younger brother, John, the Duke of Lancaster, also known as John of Gaunt, who deposed Richard II and eventually became Henry IV.

© P.E. Blanche 1999

The Black Prince seemed to have had a long and close association with Canterbury and its Cathedral. It is suggested, although not actually proven, the The Prince was educated by the then Prior of the Monastery. He was responsible for the construction of The Chantry in the Crypt at the time of his marriage to his Cousin, Joan Plantagenet, The Fair Maid of Kent. His will not only gave the design for his tomb but specified that he should be buried in the Crypt. This request was obviously not carried out and the "hero of the English people" was given pride of place alongside the tomb of St. Thomas in the Trinity Chapel. The effigy of The Prince, although gold in colour, was cast in latten, an alloy of copper, zinc, lead and tin.

In fact, Edward was a complex character. The leader of the English Army at the Battle of Crecy at the age of 16 and also victor at the Battle of Poitiers, ten years later when he captured the French King, John the Good. After this Battle, Edward brought King John to Canterbury and they worshipped at the tomb of St. Thomas together. It was obviously these victories that made him popular although there was a lot less enthusiasm about the level of taxes that his campaigns cost. Towards the end of his life, after subduing a rebellion at Limoges, he had 3,000 of the inhabitants, men, women and children, slaughtered. Not the kind of action that would have made acceptable reading in The Times these days.