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BBC History Magazine

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LETTER OF THE MONTH

Medieval powerbroker

I was intrigued by the short story in the November issue's Anniversaries section regarding the peaceful transfer of power from Henry III to his son Edward I –the first such occasion in English history.

I wanted to know more about why this particular transfer happened peacefully. I started to research it a little, and found that, amazingly, the transfer happened while Edward was out of the country on crusade, and he didn't make it back to England for at least another year – yet he still wasn't usurped!

It seems that there were two factors that helped. Firstly, Edward, as prince, had already made a name for himself as a strong and reliable individual

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