Edward I was the
son of
King Henry III of
England and succeeded his
father on the
throne at the age of 33 in
1272, though he had had a lot of power beforehand as Henry had been a weak ruler. He was known as the "Hammer of the Scots" because he spent so much time trying to conquer
Scotland. He also subjugated
Wales and had many
castles built there as English strongholds. He summoned several
Parliaments, setting a
precedent for English government, and when his first wife Eleanor died on a journey to Scotland in
1290, he was so grief-stricken that he erected a memorial
cross in each place where her body stayed overnight on the trip back to London. (He did marry again, about nine years later.) At the age of 68 he was still fighting around the Scottish border and died of
dysentery in
1307 on one of those campaigns. He was succeeded on the throne by his son
Edward II.
Don't ask me why he's Edward I when he reigned after Edward the Confessor and a few other kings named Edward. (Wertperch tells me it's because the numbering of kings started after the Norman Conquest. That makes sense, I guess.)