The period following the Peace of Langon, would see many changes within various countries. In France, King Philip IV of France would suffer a fall from a horse that left him with a damaged back, and a bad leg, and yet he would continue to rule for some time, before the great fever of 1298 took him, his oldest two sons Louis and Philip, and left his son Charles, as the heir to the throne, and subsequently, King as Charles IV. The deaths of King Philip and his oldest two sons shook the royal court in Paris, and left many wondering what would happen now. Tradition dictated that the oldest and closest Prince of the Blood assumed the regency of the now young King, however, in his will King Philip had dictated that it would be his wife, Queen Joan who would serve as regent for any children he had, and so when a convocation of nobles met at the Parlement in Paris, it was agreed to uphold the King's will. Joan was recognised as regent for her son Charles, and would work in a power sharing arrangement with her brother-in-law Louis Count of Evereux. The Queen Dowager, pursued a policy of tax reform, that her husband had been considering, something that caused resentment to grow in Flanders.
In England, Prince Alphonso, and his wife Princess Margaret welcomed another child, a girl they named Eleanor for Alphonso's mother. The child was a healthy and robust babe, born in late 1298, whilst a second son, a boy named Edward, for the King, was born in 1299. The birth of two children, especially a spare son, was greeted with great joy by the Prince and Princess, as well as by the King and his wife. Domestically, King Edward seemed content to uphold the rule of law, ordering illegal poaching to cease, executing those tax collectors who skimmed for their own pockets, and generally maintaining law and order. When Edmund, Earl of Cornwall, and cousin to the King died in 1299 from consumption, the Earldom of Cornwall merged with the crown, and was given to Prince Alphonso, making him a rich and powerful man in his own right, seen by many as a sign that the King fully trusted his heir. That, Edward, the second son of King Edward was left without an earldom, despite being fifteen at this point, had many tongues wagging, especially when the closeness of the Prince with the Gascon, Piers Gaveston was noted.
In Scotland, King Alexander continues his reforms of the system within his kingdom, the reforms of the tax collection system had seen crown profits triple within the past five years, with the treasury over flowing with money. King Alexander, however, seemed content to allow the treasury to remain bountiful, and instead spent his time reforming the legal system. As such, he took much power away from the local sheriffs and placed it in his own hands, determined to make sure local biases were cut out of the process. The number of people being convicted for treason fell substantially, mainly because the King and his wife were able to tell the true crimes from the false ones. King Alexander, also formally invested his heir Alexander with the earldom of Garioch and established him at Coull Castle following the death of Sir Alexander Durward and the merging of the Barony of O'Neil with the crown. The end of the three year truce, would see King Alexander meeting with representatives from France, discussing trade agreements, as well as with messengers from Denmark, begging the Scots King to recall the Lord of the Isles who had been doing much damage.