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1. The pains of Henry III of England.

Henry's heir, Edward, in his way to the Holy Land, landed in Tunis (summer 1270) to join hands with King Louis XI of France, only to be struck by the same epidemic that killed the French monarch, leaving two infant sons: Henry (born in May 1268) and Alphonso (born in April 1271 -1-). Henry's second son, Edmund, earl of Lancaster and of Leicester, claimed to be the new heir, in preference to the children of his late brother, claiming that the kingdom was in no shape to stand the long regency that it would follow after Henry III's death, whose heañth was declining fast since 1270.

Henry preferred to leave the throne to his grandson, but Edmund had the support of a big part of the nobility, and civil war ensued. The two opposing forces were fighting the Third Baron's War in all but in name and resulted in Henry being forced in 1274 to accept Edmund as his heir instead of his young grandsons.

However, Henry III allied himself with Alexander III of Scotland and stroke back and he seemed to be recovering forces and support in his later days. However, Henry III died in 1275, damming his son. His last will excluded Edmund, who was crowned in London nevertheless.

-1- For narrative purpose I've made Juliana to become Alphonso, Edward's posthumous son, and rushed a bit his arrival to this world.
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