St Peter's Parish News
Thursday 1 January 1970
The Black Prince
650 years ago, on 8 June 1376, Edward of Woodstock died. Known to history as Edward the Black Prince, he was the eldest son of King Edward III of England. Edward is renowned as one of the most successful English commanders during the Hundred Years’ War against France, and one of the greatest knights of the age. In 1337, Edward was granted a new title: Duke of Cornwall. Berkhamsted Castle became the centre of operations of the powerful Duchy of Cornwall, and much money was invested in restoring Berkhamsted Castle. Ever since, the Duke of Cornwall title has been granted to the heir to the throne (today, Prince William is the Duke of Cornwall), and until the 19th century, the Patron of St Peter’s Berkhamsted. The Black Prince, however, never became king, as he died before his father and so his son acceded to the throne instead – King Richard II.
The knight Henry of Berkhamsted was Edward’s right-hand man, and fought alongside the Black Prince at the Battles of Crécy (August 1346) and Poitiers (September 1356). Henry’s stone tomb can be seen here in St Peter’s Church, topped with a recumbent effigy of Henry and his lady wife – a typical style of a tomb honouring a knight, and very similar to the design of the Black Prince’s (conspicuously more opulent) copper-alloy tomb in Canterbury Cathedral. It is a reminder of St Peter’s ancient ties with the history that shaped England.
Berkhamsted Castle is open every day, it’s free to visit, and on weekends you can meet the friendly volunteers who can tell you all about the history of Edward the Black Prince. You can also read more about the life of the Black Prince and Henry of Berkhamsted on the Berkhamsted Castle website:
www.berkhamstedcastle.org.uk 
