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Henry VI (December 6, 1421 - May 20, 1471) was King of England from 1437 to 1461 and then from 1470 to 1471.
Childhood
Henry was the only child and heir of King Henry V of
England, therefore great things were expected of him from birth. He was born on December 6, 1421 at Windsor, but his father died when he was only a few months old. His mother, Catherine of Valois, was French and only twenty years old. Because of
general suspicion of her nationality, she was prevented from having much to do with her son's upbringing, and regents ruled the
kingdom on his behalf.
Henry's half-brothers, Edmund and Jasper, the sons of his mother's second
marriage, were later given earldoms, Edmund being the father of Henry Tudor, later King Henry VII of England.
Coronations
Henry was eventually crowned King of England in Westminster
Abbey on November 6, 1422 at the age of eight, and King of France at Notre Dame in Paris on December 16, 1431. However he did not assume the
reins of government until he was declared of age in 1437 - the year in which his mother
died.
Early in the child king's reign, the most powerful of the regents were his uncles, John, Duke of Bedford and Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. The former died in 1435; the latter was disgraced, accused of
treason and probably murdered in 1447.
Reign
As a result of his successes in the Hundred Years' War,
Henry V had left England in possession of considerable territories in France, but the
momentum was lost on his death. While Henry VI was still a child, much of the ground his father had gained would be lost. A
revival of French fortunes, beginning with the military victories of Joan of
Arc, led to the repudiation of Henry's title to rule France, and the crowning of the French dauphin at Reims. Diplomatic
errors as well as military failures resulted in the loss of most of the English territories in France. On gaining his majority,
Henry VI proved to be a deeply spiritual man, lacking the worldly wisdom necessary to allow him to rule effectively. His wife,
Margaret of Anjou, whom he married in 1445, was far more capable. By the time of the birth of their first and only child, Edward Prince of Wales, in 1453, the king had suffered a mental breakdown,
and it was rumoured by enemies that the child was not his.
Disaffected nobles who had grown in power during Henry's reign took matters into their own hands by backing the claims of the
rival House of York, first to the Regency, and then to the throne itself.
After a violent struggle between the houses of Lancaster and
York, (see Wars of the Roses), Henry was deposed on March 4, 1461 by his cousin, who became King Edward IV of England.
Queen Margaret was determined to win back the throne on behalf of her husband and son, and eventually formed an alliance with
Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick,
who had fallen out with the new king. After marrying off his daughter to the Prince of Wales, Warwick returned to England,
defeated the Yorkists in battle, and restored Henry VI to the throne on October
30, 1470. His return to power lasted a very short time. Warwick overreached himself by
declaring war on Burgundy, whose ruler responded by giving Edward IV the assistance
he needed to win back his throne by force. The Prince of Wales was killed at the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471.
Death and Legacy
Henry VI was imprisoned in the Tower of London, where he was
murdered some time during May of 1471. Although legend has accused Richard, Duke of Gloucester of his murder, Richard is an
unlikely suspect, having been only nineteen at the time.
King Henry VI was originally buried in Chertsey Abbey then his body was moved to Windsor
Castle.
He was succeeded by Edward IV, son of Richard, Duke of
York.
Ironically for one so personally pious and peace-loving, Henry left a great legacy of strife and civil war. Perhaps his one
lasting positive achievement was his fostering of education -- he founded both Eton College and King's
College, Cambridge.
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