Henry VI of England
Henry succeeded his father, Henry V, to the throne of England at the tender age of nine months. As part of an agreement following the Battle of Agincourt, young Henry was to become king of France as well as England, succeeding his maternal grandfather Charles VI. With Henry V's premature death and Charles' death not long after, a power struggle ensued that caused fresh troubles in the Hundred Years' War.
As an adult, Henry VI was extremely pious and at times mentally unstable. His weakness as a ruler and the ambitions of his wife, Margaret of Anjou, were significant factors in the genesis of the Wars of the Roses. Henry was captured twice by the Yorkists during the wars; the second time, he was imprisoned in the tower, where he was probably murdered on the orders of King Edward IV.
Important Dates
Born: Dec. 6, 1421
Becomes King of England: Sept. 1, 1422
Proclaimed King of France: Oct. 21, 1422
Crowned at Westminster: Nov. 6, 1429
Crowned at Notre Dame: Dec. 16, 1431
Rescued at 2nd Battle of St. Albans: Feb. 17, 1461
Died: May 22 (or possibly May 21), 1471
Dynastic Table
Medieval & Renaissance Monarchs of England
Use this table to see the progression of Kings and Queens from Egbert of Wessex in the ninth century to Elizabeth I in the sixteenth. Hyperlinks lead to entries in Who's Who.
Image
King Henry VI of England
This portrait from Cassell's History of England - Century Edition is free for your use. Part of the Medieval and Renaissance History Portrait Gallery here at this site.
On the Web
Henry VI
Thorough overview at the Encyclopedia Britannica.Henry VI
Multipage biography at Infoplease.Henry VI (1422-61, 1470-71 AD)
Concise introduction at Britannia Internet Magazine.Henry VI of England
Well-hyperlinked bio at Wikipedia.
Fiction
Henry VI, Part I
Shakespeare's play, provided online by Amanda Mabillard, About Guide to Shakespeare.Henry VI, Part II
The second part of Shakespeare's trilogy, also provided by Amanda Mabillard.Henry VI, Part III
The conclusion of the trilogy at Amanda Mabillard's Shakespeare site.
In Print
The links below will take you to a site where you can compare prices at booksellers across the web. More in-depth info about the book may be found by clicking on to the book's page at one of the online merchants.
Henry VI
(Yale English Monarchs Series)
by Bertram Wolffe; with a foreword by John WattsHenry VI and the Politics of Kingship
by John WattsThe Reign of King Henry VI
by Ralph Griffiths
Related Resources
Medieval Britain
Sites that focus on general British medieval history, people, places, events, documents, the Norman Conquest, the Wars of the Roses, and the search for a historical King Arthur.The Hundred Years' War
An index of sites that focus on the war that lasted more than a century.The Wars of the Roses
An index of sites that focus on the complex dynastic war in 15th-century Britain.
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