King Edward III of England -- State Entrance, Upper Ward, Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, UK
N 51° 29.042 W 000° 36.183
30U E 666426 N 5706377
The statue of King Edward III of England outside the State Entrance in the Upper Ward of Windsor Castle, installed in 1824
Waymark Code: WMTBG7
Location: South East England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/28/2016
Views: 2
In 1824, King George IV undertook a vast program of construction and renovations at Windsor Castle to convert the Norman stronghold into a comfortable residence for the Sovereign of England.
The State Entrance to the State Apartments in the Upper Ward were part of that program. On either side of the State Entrance, two statues are installed in niches. The statue on the left is of King Edward III, and the statue on the right is of St. George.
The statue of King Edward III at the State Entrance echoes a famous painting in the Royal collection of King Edward III wearing the crown of England and holding the crowns of France and Scotland on his sword.
The statue looks to be larger than life size, maybe 1.5 times life size. He is wearing royal robes and holds the Royal Orb in his left hand, a symbol of monarchy. In his right hand he holds an upright sword from its handle, with what appears to be three metal crowns suspended on it. These would be the crowns of France Scotland, and a smaller crown, which frankly mystifies us.
King Edward III is important at Windsor not only because he was an English King but also because he founded the Order of the Garter and built St George's Chapel.
From Wikipedia: (
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"Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377) was King of England from 25 January 1327 until his death; he is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after the disastrous and unorthodox reign of his father, Edward II. Edward III transformed the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe. His long reign of fifty years was the second longest in medieval England and saw vital developments in legislation and government—in particular the evolution of the English parliament—as well as the ravages of the Black Death.
Edward was crowned at age fourteen after his father was deposed by his mother and her lover Roger Mortimer. At age seventeen he led a successful coup against Mortimer, the de facto ruler of the country, and began his personal reign. After a successful campaign in Scotland he declared himself rightful heir to the French throne in 1337 but his claim was denied due to the Salic law. This started what would become known as the Hundred Years' War.
Following some initial setbacks the war went exceptionally well for England; victories at Crécy and Poitiers led to the highly favourable Treaty of Brétigny. Edward's later years, however, were marked by international failure and domestic strife, largely as a result of his inactivity and poor health.
Edward III was a temperamental man but capable of unusual clemency. He was in many ways a conventional king whose main interest was warfare. Admired in his own time and for centuries after, Edward was denounced as an irresponsible adventurer by later Whig historians such as William Stubbs. This view has been challenged recently and modern historians credit him with some significant achievements."