Alice Perrers Philippa of Hainault, the respected and matronly queen of Edward III. Alice's beauty and charm caught the eye of King Edward III while at court. Shortly after, around 1366, when she was only 18 years of age (the king was 55), she became the mistress of Edward III. Only when Philippa died in 1369 of dropsy did Alice's affair with the king become more visible. Their affair aroused envy and hatred of Alice, as she was only 21 years old. Following the queen's death, a devastated Edward leaned heavily on her considerable abilities; her courtly dominance accelerated by his loss.
Alice Perrers ‘maintenance’, the offence of interfering in the due process of the law. A contemporary description of the ordinance is as follows: Because a complaint was made to the king that some women have pursued various business and disputes in the king's courts by way of maintenance, bribing and influencing the parties, which thing displeases the king; the king forbids any woman to do it, and especially Alice Perrers, on penalty of whatever the said Alice can forfeit and of being banished from the realm. She was ultimately tried for corruption and subsequently banished from the kingdom by the Good Parliament,