By the time the French recaptured Calais in 1558, Calais had been under British control for two centuries (since 1347, when Edward III of England successfully captured it after a protracted siege).

Edward III annexed Calais in 1347 and it stayed English until recaptured by France in 1558. Article continues ... Burghers of Calais commemorates the siege of Calais in 1347.

Philip failed to lift the siege and starvation eventually forced the citizens to parley for surrender. For the French, the Calais episode was one of humiliating ... It was not recaptured by the French ...

That seems a fair synopsis of the French government's advice to the British Home Secretary, David Blunkett, as he struggles not to appear powerless over the so-called "siege of Calais".