Dukes of Aquitaine - Plantagenet Rulers of Aquitaine

Plantagenet Rulers of Aquitaine

In 1337, King Philip VI of France reclaimed the fief of Aquitaine from Edward III, King of England. Edward in turn claimed the title of King of France, by right of his descent from his maternal-grandfather King Philip. This triggered the Hundred Years' War, in which both the Plantagenets and the House of Valois claimed the supremacy over Aquitaine due to the King of France.

In 1360 both sides signed the Treaty of Bretigny, in which Edward renounced the French crown but remained sovereign Lord of Aquitaine (rather than merely Duke). However, when the treaty was broken in 1369, English claims and the war resumed.

In 1362, King Edward III, as Lord of Aquitaine, made his eldest son Edward, Prince of Wales Prince of Aquitaine.

• Edward, the Black Prince (1362–72), first son of Edward III and Queen Philippa, also Prince of Wales.

In 1390, King Richard II, son of Edward the Black Prince appointed his uncle John of Gaunt as Duke of Aquitaine. That title passed on to John's descendants.

• John of Gaunt (1390–1399), fourth son of Edward III and Queen Philippa, also Duke of Lancaster.
• Henry IV of England (1399-1400), inherited the duchy from his father, but ceded it to his son upon becoming King of England.
• Henry V of England (1400–1422), son of previous, also King of England 1413–22.

Henry V continued to rule over Aquitaine as King of England and Lord of Aquitaine. He invaded France and emerged victorious at the siege of Harfleur and the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. He succeeded in obtaining the French crown for his family by the Treaty of Troyes in 1420. Henry V died in 1422, when his son Henry VI inherited the French throne at the age of less than a year; his reign saw the gradual loss of English control of France.