Musings on medieval monarchs and leprosy

Another day, another squabble with the Deadline Dragon, who has so outworn his welcome. I am currently doing medical research which is not fun; if I spend too much time dwelling on the grim details of a disease, I start to worry that I’m infected with it, too! Well, not always; so far I have not been worrying that I contracted Baldwin’s leprosy. We tend to think of it as a disease of the past, but that is not exactly true. I’ve read that 250,000 people worldwide have leprosy, most of them in India. It is estimated that a person is diagnosed with it every two minutes, but in the US, only 150 people a year contract it. The difference is that we now have the means to treat it, whereas Baldwin had little to combat it besides prayer. And of course we now know that it is nowhere near as contagious as people once thought and up to 90% of the population has a natural immunity to it. This is hardly the most cheerful way to begin a post, but at least I am sparing you all a detailed discussion of the symptoms!
On the historical front, June 21st, 1377 was the death date of the Plantagenet king, Edward III. He was not yet 65, so I think we can consider his death in our favorite What If game. Had he lived for another ten years, for example, his grandson Richard would have followed him to the throne as a man grown, not a child, and that would surely have changed British history; for better or for worse, who knows? Watching from the Hereafter, Henry II might have felt a twinge or two of envy for Edward’s parenting skills He had five sons and they gave him none of the troubles and grief that Henry’s four sons gave him. Edward is known for his devotion to his wife, Philippa, and then for his infatuation with his mistress, Alice Perrers. I have been trying to think if he has ever been the subject of a novel, but nothing came to mind. Readers?