Event of June 17 - 18, 1239

On the night of June 17 - 18, 1239, Queen Eleanor, the consort of Henry the Third, presented her husband with a son, who was born in the Palace of Westminster, and who was instantly, says the old chronicler, named by the king, "Edward, after the glorious king and confessor, whose body rests in the church of St. Peter," immediately adjoining.

The event was greeted by the nobles and by the people of London with great manifestations of joy: by the citizens more especially, because the young prince was born among them.

The streets of the city were illuminated at night with large lanterns, and music and dancing marked it as a day of general rejoicing.