A Brief History Of Henry Of Windsor - Henry VI Of England

today on brief history we take a look at one of the most unfavorably remembered english kings in the history of the monarchy his perilous kingship would see many lands lost numerous heads roll and a king on the brink of madness his pious and kindly nature would be offset by his simple and careless favor which would lead to one of the bloodiest conflicts england has ever seen join me as i take a brief look at henry of windsor remembered today as henry vi of england [Music] [Music] [Music] so henry was born on december 6th 1421 at windsor castle from where his nickname would draw its origin he was the son of king henry v of england and his mother was catherine of valois he was the only child between his two parents although his mother would go on to remarry and have additional children they will come up briefly later in henry's story henry became king of england at around nine months old after his father died in france besieging the town of mo his father had made great strides in the name of england in regards to what is known today as the hundred years war which was a war between england and france that it started in henry's great great grandfather king edward the third's time and had been going on for approximately 85 years by the time henry became king as an infant edward iii had a passable claim to the french throne and in the early part of the hundred years war he had pushed this claim and for concessions of land on the continent henry's father many years after edward iii's time had been very successful in his endeavors against the french which was aided by henry's maternal grandfather king charles vi of france poor mental state it was said that henry's grandfather charles vi went mad and the subsequent political factions that arose within france due to his grandfather's madness gave henry's father an upper hand in his attempts to secure land and power on the continent this culminated in henry's father winning great victories in the war putting the french in a position to seed large swaths of land to england and recognize him as the heir to the french throne once the mad charles vi passed away henry's father's successes in france also brought on the marriage to his mother who was a daughter of the mad king charles vi and the marriage was part of the negotiations between his father and the french at that time not only was henry's father to be heir to the french throne once henry's grandfather charles vi passed away the throne was also to pass then to henry once his father died despite the fact that his grandfather charles vi still had a son alive a man also named charles henry's uncle who would have inherited the french throne should henry's father's designation as air not taken place henry's uncle charles will be discussed in much more detail later in his story before discussing henry's minority as king it is important to understand his lineage the important members of his family and how he came to be king of england in the first place henry's path to kingship starts with his great great grandfather edward the third's reign edward iii's eldest son edward of woodstock known as the black prince died before he did and therefore the throne passed to the black prince's son richard who became king richard ii of england richard ii ruled tyrannically and foolishly and was usurped by his first cousin henry of lancaster also known as henry ballingbrook who would become king henry iv of england henry iv was the father to king henry v of england and thus grandfather to young henry however henry iv was the son of john of gaunt henry's great-grandfather and john of gaunt was the third son of edward iii behind the black prince and a man named lionel of antwerp duke of clarence lionel of antwerp's lineage technically had a better claim to the throne than henry iv did but never raised their claims during his or henry v subsequent reign as both henry iv and henry v were quite powerful men and lionel antwerp's lineage at the time of henry iv's usurpation was young and had little support this lineage along with another of edward iii sons edmund of langley's lineage will be discussed in much more detail later in henry's story henry's grandfather henry iv had illegitimate half-siblings known as the beauforts who were legitimized during the reign of richard ii these men and their lineages will also be discussed at length during henry's story lastly henry had two uncles younger brothers to his father henry v they were john duke of bedford and humphrey duke of gloucester both would be heavily involved in henry's minority kingship and will be discussed shortly prior to his death henry's father had adjusted his will to give directions regarding his infant son he declared that he intended that his youngest brother humphrey duke of gloucester should be henry's main guardian and protector it is also believed that he orally relayed his desire that his conquests on the continent should remain in english hands until henry came of age to his other brother john duke of bedford who made these dying wishes of henry's father his main priority but some of these wishes by henry's father would not be fully honored when the time came after henry's father's death to see these wishes implemented objections were raised in regards to humphrey duke of gloucester's position as the lords including john duke of bedford could not accept that a younger brother humphrey would be given regent powers over an elder brother john humphrey was given watered-down titles and powers which included him being named protector and defender of the kingdom of england and principal councillor of the lord king but this was only to be in effect when john was out of the country and was far less impressive than a regency humphrey was unsurprisingly unhappy with this arrangement with this a rivalry arose in the government between humphrey duke of gloucester and a man named henry beauford who was at the time bishop of winchester but would eventually become a cardinal something that we will discuss shortly henry beaufort was one of the legitimized half-brothers of henry iv discussed previously and thus a half-great uncle to henry henry beaufort was in favor of henry's minority government being ran by a council rather than a regent john duke of bedford knowing that he would spend most of his time defending henry's interests in france supported rule by a council in his absence despite humphrey's insistence that he be awarded his designated role this would become a major source of contention for henry's minority government thus from september 1422 after the death of henry v government was ran by a council in the name of young henry rather than by a regent henry initially had a mostly female household around him in his early youth and his mother was in charge of him until he became older he began to be involved in stately matters even as a young child traveling for governmental purposes in his mother's care at just two years old and attending his first parliament around this age in november 1423 in 1424 he began to be taught courtesy and discipline befitting a royal child he lived mainly at windsor but other places were frequented as well a few years later in 1425 edmond mortimer earl of march died edmund mortimer was a claimant to the throne of england through lionel of antwerp's lineage discussed previously he had no children and thus his earldom and potential claim to the throne passed to his nephew the son of his sister anne this fourteen-year-old nephew was already in his youth a duke and his life would be infamously intertwined with henry's as both grew into men his name was richard duke of york also called richard plantagenet his mother anne had married a man named richard of conesboro who was the son of edmund of langley discussed previously richard duke of york will be discussed in much more detail later in henry's story in october 1425 conflict arose between henry's uncle humphrey duke of gloucester and the bishop henry beauford both wish to secure custody of the four-year-old king with men being raised by both for a potential armed conflict henry beauford wrote to henry's uncle john duke of bedford for assistance in the matter and to return to france to which he did in order to mediate the matter he initially had difficulty bringing his younger brother humphrey to the negotiating table but in february a parliament was held where humphrey was forced to attend here after young henry was removed from the proceedings john duke of bedford was appointed commissioner and the proceedings continued henry beaufort denied allegations of treasonable acts that humphrey had accused him of to which his denial was accepted but his actions to push to limit humphrey's powers as a region and thus humiliate him came at a cost in humiliating humphrey he brought about his own destruction as now in the wake of arbitration he himself was removed from his position as head of the council henry beaufort somewhat defeated for the time being left on pilgrimage and to pursue other churchly endeavors but as we will soon see this will not be the last we hear of henry beauford henry's uncle john duke of bedford had assisted in preventing the collapse of the rule of the council and had essentially taken on the role of regent while doing so something that was denied to his younger brother humphrey he returned to france and humphrey although victorious over his uncle was left to be part of the council and increased his power very little if none it was around this time in 1428 that henry's mostly female entourage was replaced by a mostly male entourage in order that he began to learn additional skills such as literacy language and continue to learn discipline and courtesy as he neared the age of seven it should be noted that by this time his mother catherine of valois had started a relationship with the welshman named owen tudor their children would play a major role in the future of the english monarchy however their relationship still carries with it many unknowns through the modern day although henry's father was successful in capturing much territory on the continent including normandy and had been declared as heir to the french throne opposition still existed to english control on the continent this was led by henry's maternal uncle the dopha charles son of charles vi of france briefly touched on previously he would have been considered heir to the french throne had henry's father's conquest not taken place henry's uncle john duke of bedford had done well maintaining young henry's interests on the continent to that point and the english controlled most of the ill de france including paris along with normandy calais gascony and the capital of men in 1425. the duke of brittany had renounced his allegiance to the dhofa in 1427 and the english forces were on track to capture all of maine and anju along with plato and other territories in order to link up their long-held lands in gascony in the southwest of france with their newly acquired lands in the north however major events began to take place in france in 1429. the english decided to lay siege to the city of oleon which ultimately would have unfortunate repercussions one of the most influential english generals the earl of salisbury was killed during the siege and the siege itself also upset england's main ally on the continent philip the good duke of burgundy who removed his forces from the combined army in his anger there was no one that could fill the killed earl's place effectively and to add to this at orleans there appeared an interesting character on the side of the french whose appearance coincided with the change and fortunes for the french forces this character was a peasant girl who had had divine visions instructing her to assist the french forces in driving out the english from her country her name was joan of arc and although she will be discussed only briefly in henry's story her life and accomplishments in relation to this conflict would be told and remembered for centuries english morale began to decline desertions began to take place and it was rumored that henry's french uncle the dopha charles was planning a coronation for himself therefore henry's other uncle john duke of bedford wrote to the council of england relaying the situation and suggesting that henry be brought to france to be crowned as soon as possible it is believed that the council had not yet had plans to crown young henry even in england and so quickly planned his english coronation after receiving word from john on sunday november 6 1429 seven months after the letter from john duke of bedford was written the barely eight-year-old henry was crowned as king henry vi of england in westminster abbey the english earl killed at orleans was replaced by a man named william delepole earl of suffolk who would become an important character later in henry's reign he lifted the siege dispersed forces and was eventually captured himself by the french henry's uncle the dauphine charles was crowned as charles vii of france in july 1429 in the french coronation city of reams after it had been lost by the english it was apparent that paris would soon be under siege and very well may have fallen around this time if it had not been for the re-emergence of henry's great uncle henry beaufort henry in his exile had been granted permission to accept the cardinality he was expected by the pope to become a religious crusader against heresy henry beauford defied the pope and took troops he had raised on plea from the english council to assist the english forces in paris this would obviously have a negative impact on his churchly aspirations but it earned him a place back in henry's government and ultimately his council this was unsurprisingly unpopular with his rival humphrey duke of gloucester who would continue to attempt to undermine his efforts henry beauford actually traveled with the young henry to france for his planned second coronation and henry's uncle john duke of bedford's capacities as regent were greatly weakened temporarily in favor of the council at this time however as stated previously the french coronation city of rheems had been lost and therefore paris was the only option for henry's second coronation even this needed much preparation as by that time the english had mostly withdrawn back to normandy calais and parts of maine after many losses but still held control of gascony in the southwest over a year was spent in ruan preparing for henry's coronation and around this time joan of arc was captured in may 1430 she was transferred to english hands tried by the church and burned at the stake under the authority of cardinal beaufort and the english council after it was finally deemed safe henry traveled to paris and on sunday december 16 1431 at 10 years of age he was crowned as the king of france henry left paris and a couple months later departed back to england in february 1432 never to return to france again paris would eventually be taken by his french uncle charles vii an expected event as the tide had already turned against the english forces in france by that time additionally the financial situation in france was becoming increasingly concerning the council was in an unfortunate position as not enough money could be raised for defending the french territories henry's uncle john duke of bedford returned to england to try and attain proper financial support for normandy and to defend himself against rumors that the loss of french territory was due to his faults upon his return it was clear that many wished jon to stay in england and thus john took control of the reins of government not only in france but in england as well although no new formal title was notated by parliament henry's trip to france and his coronation was enormously expensive and it was becoming evident that england was amidst a financial crisis in parliament the treasurer relayed that not only was the financing of the french war impossible but that it would be difficult to cover immediate expenses for henry and his household norman request for aid and threats of french attacks persisted shortly thereafter in september 1435 john duke of bedford died at the age of 46. this was a significant loss as john had worked diligently to maintain all that he could during henry's minority he had been a competent arbitrator a loyal defender and could have been a great influence on henry should he have lived longer after john's death the fourteen-year-old henry began to become more involved in matters of state but not before another unfortunate event that would take place only a short time after his uncle died england's principal ally philip the good duke of burgundy reconciled with henry's uncle and adversary charles vii of france via the treaty of aris this meant that burgundy no longer acknowledged henry as the king of france something that was said to have brought henry to tears this was a devastating blow to henry's french claims and it had the effect of enraging many in england normandy continued to seek assistance and in may 1436 the 25 year old richard duke of york was commissioned as lieutenant in france he along with others consolidated the english position in upper normandy and established order and justice but this would be only the beginning of richard duke of york's role in henry's reign shortly thereafter henry would finally take control of government and with that disaster was on the horizon [Music] in november 1437 it is believed that the full powers of personal kingship were granted to the sixteen-year-old henry and his rule as king would begin it is at this point that one must pause to recognize the imperfect nature of the telling of history and the differing opinions and interpretations that exist with regards to many historical people and events henry has long been portrayed throughout the centuries as an extremely pious individual yet also as a simple indifferent and an ultimately weak king who was poorly advised and perilously influenced by those around him and who gave little thought to the consequences of his actions this has been challenged in recent years with some claiming that henry played a much more prominent role in the decisions that would ultimately lead to disaster and was himself far more involved in decision making than what the common understanding of henry would lead one to believe many who believe this cite the fact that after his death his name and image was propagandized by some of the future kings of england in order to add further legitimacy to their claims to the throne although this is a legitimate point many have rejected this premise and there are still many who generally accept that henry was a quite pious figure who was either easily influenced or did not have the desire or capacity to make decisions on the important issues of his reign nevertheless it is important to keep in mind that henry's personality remains enigmatic and continues to retain a certain degree of mystery that may never be revealed in referring to his piety there are specific contemporary accounts of his behavior that lead to this picture of him being more interested in his soul rather than his realm he was said to have visited and lived in monasteries in his youth more often than what was to be expected although at least once this was for financial reasons he was interested in anglo-saxon saints he detested obscenity showed humility dressed humbly and was said to have been unable to tolerate nudity famously turning away from bathers at bath and avoiding the sight of the female body he was said to have remained chaste until marriage and remained completely faithful to his wife once married to her there are many sources that paint henry in this light so to discount this idea completely some believe is improper perhaps the most famous examples of henry's piety and perhaps the greatest achievements of his reign were the building of two substantial colleges eaton college and king's college cambridge some suggest that perhaps others influenced henry to begin these projects but again some believe there is evidence to suggest that henry was the instigator or even embraced it fully if it was suggested to him he laid both foundation stones of the institutions and sought to make them both pilgrimage destinations by securing papal bulls granting special privileges to them he also continued to divert a significant amount of funds to these building projects despite being in tough financial situations as touched on previously as his reign progressed these colleges were established in 1440 and 1441 respectively and although construction continued well after his death they remained to this day and are a concrete reminder of henry's devotion up to 1437 when henry took control himself the governance of england had been conducted by the council mostly from westminster palace but after 1437 the center of government shifted to henry's household which began to travel continuously this household would stay in castles lodges abbeys and houses of the nobility and also began to grow significantly with the household retainers above the rank of squire or higher more than doubling over 15 years and therefore becoming the largest institution in the realm his household influence stretched throughout the kingdom as many of his household men lived in the shires and held offices there either in person or by deputy henry also had offices at his disposal which went to household men or their suggested persons included in these offices were the offices of sheriffs and justices of the peace which unsurprisingly began to be abused over time causing resentment and anger amongst his subjects with little royal family to provide for some of his revenues of the crown lands available began to go to the household in addition to the fees and wages of office they carried and grants and honors were bestowed upon many in the household as well it is believed that he was being counseled by members of the household something that carried dangerous precedence as many of these men were seen as favorites although henry ultimately had the final say in decisions many believe that he was greatly influenced during his majority reign by these favorites henry's behavior began to be concerning to many great officers as he began to show how inept he was at making decisions he would foolishly grant pardons and sell lordships and oftentimes showed himself incapable of settling disputes in a competent way one man who was heavily favored by henry was william de la pole earl of suffolk discussed previously who had replaced the killed earl at the siege of orleon and subsequently been captured by the french he was ransomed and began to acquire many major offices and lands along with revenues above and beyond others around henry as he fell into his favor problems began to arise as crime increased throughout the shires and many blame the favor henry showed towards his household as the driving factor behind the decreasing pursuit of justice against these crimes areas where lords were not present due to being constantly employed at the center of henry's service saw the worst of it many disputes and quarrels arose and these disputes many times were not properly mediated additionally the war with france was obviously still in a worrisome state and henry's poor decision-making or unwise heating of advice would lead to further significant loss negotiations were opened up for the first time at covlin in 1438 and 39 and was led by cardinal henry beauford who was given the full powers to negotiate on henry's behalf he was given written formal instructions on the limited concessions he could offer which included releasing charles duke of orleans who had been in english captivity since the battle of agincourt for substantial ransom however cardinal beaufort was also given secret instructions from henry which included possibly ceasing the use of the title king of france which would have been extremely unpopular in england after negotiating cardinal beaufort sent back an offer that a long-term truce would be put in place if henry ceased using the title king of france and if the duke of orleans was released without ransom the council in england led by henry's uncle humphrey duke of gloucester refused these terms and henry was pressured to deny the request however within a year henry did release the duke of orleans without ransom believing that he could assist in negotiation with his uncle charles vii something that was publicly criticized by henry's uncle humphrey duke of gloucester peace due to the duke of orleans release was not to be and it ended up that the english lost a substantial bargaining chip for little if nothing eventually many in england wish to simply consolidate what was still held in normandy in maine and nothing more at least in the newly acquired lands in the north but by that time richard duke of york had ended his lieutenancy in normandy and it was clear that there was a degree of reluctancy to involve richard in future business on henry or his advisor's part leadership in normandy had been transferred a couple times after richard's departure before it became clear that richard would be the only realistic long-term candidate he was reappointed in 1440 with the intentions for him to serve until 1445 but he would not return to normandy until 1441 due to his demands he demanded the same freedom that henry's uncle john duke of bedford had in france before he had died and demanded significant financial assistance this was agreed to and in 1441 richard returned to normandy and received his desired financial assistance in his first years of 1441-42 however at that point henry made or was advised to make an abjectly poor decision which would lead to the flow of money to richard being diverted in 1443 after the plan with the duke of orleans failed henry and the english council decided on a revived plan of complete conquest this plan is believed to have been partially formed based on the requested assistance from gascony in the southwest of france but nevertheless was to be led by the ailing and incompetent john beauford duke of somerset who was the nephew of cardinal henry beauford john looked to expand his personal dominions in maine and anju and led a campaign through this territory only to fail to find any french force to fight potentially upset the english ally brittany and return to normandy in failure and disgrace he died in 1444 some believe by his own hand due to the despair he felt over the failed campaign this campaign was a disastrous failure and in addition the cessation of financial backing to richard duke of york in normandy led to resentment between richard and the beauforts something that will be a common denominator in future struggles henry again now looked towards peace and appointed one of his favorites william delepole earl of suffolk along with others to conduct the peace negotiation at two this time a marriage was arranged for henry to margaret of anjou in 1444 but only in return for a 21-month truce and a promise for additional negotiations additionally the duke of brittany was reflected in the truce as an ally of france not england something that would become of great importance although it should be noted that england would try to later remedy this situation henry and the dourless margaret were married in 1445 at the subsequent negotiations henry and or his advisors including william delepole agreed to seed the english lands in maine which provided a buffer zone for normandy the seating of maine was intended to be made to his father-in-law and in return for a 20-year truce between england and anju this was also hoped to bring about swifter peace between henry and his uncle charles vii of course it was naive to believe that that would be the case and again it was incredibly unpopular in england as it was believed that henry was influenced by his wife margaret around this time henry allegedly believed that his uncle and heir presumptive humphrey duke of gloucester was planning to usurp the crown and have him killed although it is believed that this may have been brought on by the advising of william delapoll shortly to be duke of suffolk humphrey was nevertheless arrested and died shortly thereafter in captivity it was believed that he died from despair or a stroke brought on by stress from the situation however many point to the fact that henry may have been influenced to take action against his uncle due to the fact that humphrey most likely would have done all that he could to prevent the surrendering of maine at this crucial time it is also important to note that cardinal henry beaufort died in 1447 as well maine would eventually be handed over actually quasi-taken by the french but at a later date in 1448 richard duke of york had returned home in 1445 to defend his reputation and in his place the younger brother of the disgraced john beauford duke of somerset replaced him his name was edmund beaufort and he was created the new duke of somerset after his elder brother's death he was appointed as lieutenant in 1446 but did not arrive in normandy until 1448. shortly thereafter in 1449 henry's uncle charles vii of france would cite the capture of fortresses in the breton marches as a breach of the truce as he considered brittany his ally he would then subsequently begin a campaign to drive the english from normandy charles had been building up his forces and meticulously prepping for such an instance to where henry failed to provide adequate funding supplies or men to his continental holdings the english were wiped from normandy with astonishing speed and the now lieutenant in france edmund beaufort duke of somerset was held partially responsible for the fall by some specifically his predecessor richard duke of york things were beginning to come undone for the 29 year old henry but as we will see things were to become much worse [Music] as stated previously henry's mismanagement and poor advising led to problems in many areas including the administration of justice in england public perception viewed henry as specifically distributing wealth and favor to those immediately around him only because they had access to him not because they were receiving just rewards for their service to the crown but although henry was clearly incompetent one could not criticize him as the only logical conclusion would be to challenge his authority to the throne and thus be open to the charge of treason by that point there was no standout alternative to henry thus the commons chose to go after henry's close supporters and placing the blame for the loss of normandy would become a major tool used to accuse those around henry and would persist through the rest of henry's time as king the commons impeached the duke of suffolk william delepole who had also been involved in the negotiations to cede maine and accused him of a long list of charges including treason and corruption henry attempted to assist de la pole by refusing to declare him innocent or guilty and banishing him for five years however on his trip into exile his ship was intercepted by sailors from the ship nicholas of the tower and he was subjected to a mock trial at sea in defiance of the royal safe conduct and authority he was executed by beheading in a small boat on the water and his body was thrown onto the kentish shoreline in addition to going after henry's advisors the commons also pushed for what was called resumption which essentially meant that henry was to take back many of the material benefits which had been given including grants of offices and lands that de la pole and other favorites had gained over the years this resumption was agreed to although there were many exceptions and a scramble for new leases ensued some who were away at the time including richard duke of york lost significantly from these changes a rebellion also arose for the first time in 70 years around this time in 1450 known as the jack cades rebellion believed to be named after the leader's true name although he himself used fake ones their demands were similarly in line with parliament's demands that had been submitted earlier that year and they gathered near london to petition henry forces were raised to confront the rebels but the rebels who styled themselves as petitioners refused to take the field against henry and his banner for fear of treason accusations and dispersed in the night henry ordered or was advised to order many of his forces to pursue the fleeing rebels and incredibly some of his forces were routed and killed by the rebels once contact was made he ordered more to pursue but was then faced with a mutiny within his own ranks henry although implored by the mayor of london to stay and face the rebels decided to flee to his lancastrian estates the rebels reinvigorated by their victories re-established themselves again near london eventually the rebellion as a whole was largely handled by others in london with large amounts of pardons issued however this was not before a great number of henry's close advisors and inner circle were killed henry re-entered london and received word that richard duke of york was returning from his post in ireland without royal permission richard's successor edmund beauford duke of somerset had already returned disgraced from normandy after the duchy was lost and henry decided to make him constable of england richard duke of york was beginning to be seen as an alternative king as he had inherited his uncle edmund mortimer's claim after his death as discussed previously he was the sole person who could dispute henry's lancastrian kingship richard entered england and claimed that his return had been brought on by rumors that his name had been linked to treasonous activity many still remembered what had happened to humphrey duke of gloucester when he was suspected of such activity and thus richard was keen to clear his name it should be noted that henry had no children at this time and although he had publicly declared that richard was accepted as his true subject richard possible heir to henry had by that time taken a reformist stance against henry's inner circle specifically his now rival edmund beauford duke of somerset and had put forth his own demands henry agreed to a council which york would be part of which would now have power over henry's decisions a new parliament was called essentially a continuation of the previous parliament which had faded away in the wake of jack cade's rebellion much was the same other than the fact that the commons now had richard on their side and the focus of blame had been moved from the executed william de la pole duke of suffolk to edmund beaufort duke of somerset resumption was again requested but things shifted politically at this point for henry his royal application of justice now altered the previous policy of clemency which had been shown to the cade rebels was now no longer acceptable instead aggressive suppression and revenge would be the intention henry canceled all that had been agreed to with richard in regards to the council and set out on a judicial campaign to punish those in kent involved in cade's rebellion henry and his entourage headed by edmund beaufort duke of somerset began executing many in kent something that had been deemed as the harvest of heads he reaffirmed richard's appointment in ireland and responded to parliament's request to which he removed some of but not all of those around him and again annulled the grants through resumption this was a major concession to public opinion and richard duke of york was one who was greatly affected by this yet again henry also used this to assist his half-brothers including edmund tudor who would eventually become the earl of richmond through july 1451 henry continued on his punitive judicial campaigns through surrey sussex hampshire and wiltshire with his concessions to public opinion and show of strength henry's kingly stock began to rise richard duke of york retreated to ludlow but re-emerged to make complaints against edmund beaufort duke of somerset after the french had captured the duchy of normandy they were able to focus a significantly larger amount of energy and resources towards the english-held gascony in the south west in 1451 the french were successful in capturing the important cities of bordeaux and shortly thereafter all of gascony fell to the french henry appointed edmund beauford duke of somerset now as the captain of calais as calais remained as england's last foothold on the continent but any action in relation to gascony would have to wait for now as richard duke of york intervened in an attempt to settle the dispute in the county of somerset between two others this was not acceptable to henry and those around him and so summoned richard along with those who were disputing to answer for the disturbance of the peace many were punished but richard did not respond to the summons instead in january 1452 he issued an open declaration of loyalty to henry to offset henry's supposed displeasure offering to publicly swear oath on sacraments and claiming that henry's advisors were to blame for henry's distrust of him but he grew tired of waiting and raised forces to remove edmond beaufort from henry's company with forces being raised for henry as well henry's forces met richard on dartford heath near london and it became clear that henry's forces were greatly outnumbering richards richard was forced to submit still complaining about edmund beaufort and was escorted back to the city where he was made to swear oaths to henry humiliated he was allowed to depart shortly thereafter risings again arose in kent and in the welsh marches involving supporters of richard henry and his supporters again set out on punitive judicial campaigns through september 1452 which included trying and condemning many of york's followers accused some believe as a show of strength in richard's heartland in the welsh marches around this time henry and his advisors received an embassy from bordeaux offering to return to the side of the english as the french had a difficult task on their hands in maintaining gascony an area that had been loyal to england for centuries henry sent an expeditionary force under the command of john talbot earl of shrewsbury who was able to recapture bordeaux henry who had been refused taxation previously was now granted it in 1453 due to his change of fortunes at home and in gascony in addition a child was conceived who would be born in october of that year things seemed reasonably well in order for henry after defeating rebellion conceding to public opinion and gaining in france but soon this sense of order would be thrown into chaos and devastating consequences would arise for those unfortunate enough to be involved in 1453 a disturbance arose in relation to two peers of the realm richard neville earl of salisbury was an extremely wealthy peer and had been a supporter of henry's at dartford during richard duke of york's first show of force his eldest son also named richard neville earl of work found conflict with henry's favorite edmond beaufort duke of somerset essentially the younger neville earl of warwick held lands in south wales which were then subsequently granted to edmund beauford by henry warwick held strongholds there against beaufort and it is believed that henry set out in order to handle this dispute however during his trek west something caused him to turn back and he traveled to the royal hunting lodge at clarendon the exact date of what happened next is still disputed but sometime in august 1453 henry lost his senses and descended into a bout of madness this would have been around the same time that he would have learned that the leader of the english expeditionary force in gascony john talbot had been killed and the english force itself defeated in the final battle of the hundred years war the battle of castian ending any potential english presence in the area many believe this was the initial cause of henry's madness his grandfather king charles vi of france experienced madness himself as discussed previously and it is believed that henry inherited this strain of mental illness from him henry fell into a catatonic non-responsive state and was unable to handle affairs for the next 18 months with no one to mediate disputes between the nobility armed conflict arose between the nevilles discussed previously and the percies of northumberland in the north richard duke of york reemerged and was set on exacting revenge on his rival edmund beauford who was committed to the tower of london and stripped from his calais captaincy henry's son was born and when the queen presented him to henry to try and rouse him from his poor mental state he barely glanced at the child before returning to his stupor richard duke of york continued to gain power and eventually was appointed as protector and defender of the kingdom of england and chief counsellor of the king as humphrey duke of gloucester had been in henry's youth he assisted the nevilles in their dispute with the percys thus eventually gaining a powerful quasi-ally henry's mental illness brought forth richard from possible further obscurity and rejuvenated his power in england however by january 1455 henry had substantially recovered and steps were quickly taken to remove richard from his protectorate edmund beauford duke of somerset was freed from the tower given back his calais captaincy and henry repudiated all the treasonous charges that had been laid against him but richard duke of york would not fade away as he did after dartford he and his newfound allies the nevilles who we must remember opposed edmond beaufort as well due to their disagreement over the welsh territories discussed previously were set on enforcing their wills in april 1455 a great council was summoned to settle the dispute between richard duke of york and edmond beaufort duke of somerset but richard and his allies remembering what had happened to humphrey duke of gloucester in 1447 decided to move against henry and planned to intercept them at saint albans henry and his entourage was notified of richard's presence just before they reach saint albans it is believed that edmund beaufort advised to stand and fortify themselves where they were but henry rejected this idea and followed other advice to advance to the city the ensuing short battle that would take place on may 22nd 1455 would be known as the first battle of saint albans richard duke of york now accompanied by his 13 year old son edward of ruwan earl of march along with his neville allies successfully assaulted henry's forces killing edmund beaufort duke of somerset along with the earl of northumberland and securing henry to be moved to the safety of the abbey this battle would mark the beginning of one of the bloodiest civil conflicts known to english history and it almost continuous string of bloody battles were to follow this conflict is known today as the wars of the roses named for the white rose heraldic badge of richard's house of york and the red rose heraldic badge of henry's house of lancaster henry possibly jolted by this experience descended into another bout of madness although it is believed that his general recovery may have been limited in the first place with the control of henry as a puppet and their rivals killed richard and the nevilles held control of the government escorting henry back to london the following day richard duke of york was elected protector a second time by the lords to which he accepted in november 1455 due to henry's mental incapacity at the time however the governance of the realm was committed to the council who began to sign acts as they did during henry's minority richard pushed through pardons for himself and his allies for their actions at saint albans and continued to try and reform government however richard would be removed from his protectorate after he was unsuccessful in pushing through a reform that would see an additional resumption which would again revoke henry's grants richard and his allies were not removed completely however and they continued to serve on the council but in august 1456 queen margaret entered the fray as a major player she either took henry or persuaded him to depart to kenilworth where defenses were strengthened she was not inclined to see richard and his allies hold the degree of influence that they did government was severely diminished over the next four years and henry now spent approximately one third of his time in abbeys and priories something that it is believed henry preferred there are conflicting accounts of henry's mental state at this time some accounts reflect henry as the shell of a king merely a pawn in the political game and other accounts portray him as a king involved at least in part henry may have withdrawn to kenilworth but it is believed that he did not stay there completely during this entire time frame in august 1456 richard seemingly still held a degree of respect with henry at least publicly but queen margaret's detestation of richard was ever growing and she saw fit to champion the rights of her infant son prince edward of westminster this soon would boil over into conflict as we will soon see it is believed that after may 1459 after henry withdrew yet again queen margaret principally controlled henry's movements and actions richard duke of york and his allies were not able to criticize henry for fear of being accused of treason but they also in the same respects were unable to criticize the queen for the same fears and thus again directed their aim towards the earls surrounding henry word began to circulate that richard wished to take the throne and military preparations began in henry's camp a great council was summoned to which richard and his allies did not appear they were then indicted for treason at the queen's behest richard and his neville allies the elder richard neville earl of salisbury and the younger richard neville earl of work faced with opposition attempted to meet up and join forces however the elder richard neville earl of salisbury was intercepted by henry's queen margaret's forces although margaret's forces were larger they were defeated at the battle of bloor heath in staffordshire in september 1459 henry and his army set out to confront richard and his neville allies and found them in october near ludford henry had been instructed to sit on a horse and armor with his banner displayed and this ruined morale and richard's camp to a degree and caused some of richard and his allies men to defect during the night richard's army disbanded and richard escaped to ireland while the nevilles and richard's son edward of rua earl of march escaped to calais this is known today as the route of ludford however the younger richard neville earl of work held great naval power in the english and saint george's channels and thus the men were able to continue to communicate freely soon plans were formulated to form a force yet again to gain control of henry of course as was the case in previous instances their aim was to remove henry from the evil counselors and traitors that surrounded him queen margaret proceeded with parliamentary attainer against richard his son and the nevilles among others which would strip them and their heirs of their offices and lands this was not particularly something that everyone agreed with as customs stated that even in treason situations the heirs and families would retain their lands by june 1460 the first moves were made when richard's son edward earl of march and the nevilles crossed the channel landed in england began to gain support from kentish recruits and marched towards london they took london with the exception of the tower and leaving the elder richard neville earl of salisbury in charge of london set out to locate henry they found him and his army on july 10th near northampton negotiations were attempted and failed with the battle known as the battle of northampton taking place in the torrential rain later in the afternoon the yorkists were successful killing many leading nobility in the process and capturing henry who was found in a tent henry was moved to london with the tower surrendering around the same time richard duke of york was still in ireland and landed 10 weeks after his son and the nevilles did in the south of england upon his return he began to display the whole arms of england instead of just his yorkist arms to which he previously displayed in essence richard was claiming the throne of england but this was not what the nevilles had agreed to the nevilles disagreed with richard over the unexpected act but it didn't matter as richard was set on claiming the throne richard submitted his legal claim as richard plantagenet rightful king via his perceived superior claim to the throne through his great great grandfather lionel of antwerp duke of clarence elder brother of henry's great-grandfather john of gaunt richard pushed for an immediate answer and the lords attempted to delay this by passing responsibility finally after continued insistence from richard a compromise was reached known as the act of accord this act stated that henry would continue as king until his death or voluntary abdication but would disinherit his son edward of westminster in favor of richard and his heirs richard and his heirs were to swear oaths to henry in return henry isolated and feeble agreed to this proposal he signed away all his power and dignity but the battles so infamously remembered as part of the wars of the roses were far from over richard duke of york was to be given as air the same obedience that henry was shown and he was immediately styled as protector for henry's lifetime by authority of parliament queen margaret the young prince edward of westminster around 7 years old in 1460 and certain other earls were not involved in this process and remained as serious opposition to richard and his allies queen margaret and prince edward traveled to scotland attempting to arrange for military aid against richard however in december 1460 richard duke of york one of his sons and the elder richard neville earl of salisbury were surprised and defeated at the battle of wakefield in northern england richard and his second son edmund were killed and the elder neville earl of salisbury was captured shipped to pontefract castle and was killed shortly thereafter richard's head was displayed over york city gate wearing a paper crown and although richard had been one of the leading men in opposition to henry and was also now henry's heir this did not end the war in the slightest in fact his cause was taken up by his son edward of rua earl of march who now had a perceived legal justification for his attempts to usurp the crown as henry was blamed for breaking the compact which had been agreed to between henry richard and his allies edward of ruan earl of march now became the duke of york and took the lead in pursuing the yorkist interests edward engaged lancastrian forces at the battle of mortimer's cross in february 1461 to which he captured and executed henry's stepfather owen tudor meanwhile the queen's forces which included her newly found scottish allies marched south intent on retaking henry in london the younger richard neville earl of work was in charge of london at this time and he decided on a proactive approach to block the queen's forces from reaching the city he brought henry with him to saint albans where henry had been taken by the yorkists years prior and a defensive position was set up however the result of the second battle of saint albans would be in favor of the queen and the lancastrian cause this time around warwick's forces were outflanked by one of his previous allies who had defected at ludford before he and richard fled to england warwick was forced to retreat to meet up with edward duke of york and henry was left behind to be collected by his wife and her allies unfortunately henry's presence in the queen's forces only did damage as his inability to give direction or approval inhibited future advances london was open but the queen was not able to take advantage of this she and henry withdrew to the lancastrine estates yet again technically the retaking of henry was a great success for margaret and her allies but the situation was significantly different now in 1461 than it had been in the past due to the fact that henry could now be seen as an oath breaker due to the actions at wakefield and saint albans as touched on previously edward of york now had legal justification for absolving the oaths he swore to henry edward entered london in february 1461 where efforts to support edward's claim to the throne were reinforced by the london people he processed to westminster and was proclaimed king edward iv of england however he would have to defeat the lancastrians completely to truly be crowned an army was raised and the lancastrians were pursued and confronted south of york the subsequent battle that would take place on march 29th 1461 near the town of towton in yorkshire would become known as the battle of towton and this battle would go down as one of the bloodiest battles ever fought on english soil with an estimated 50 000 men taking part in the battle in a snowstorm the yorkist faction was victorious over their lancastrian adversaries with lancastrian losses being estimated as high as 9 thousand henry his queen margaret and young prince edward of westminster fled to scotland these events would spell the beginning of the end for henry but the road to henry's demise would be as factual and brutal as the events that had taken place in the not so distant past [Music] henry in his exile was initially housed at linlithgow palace queen margaret believing that scottish assistance would not be enough to assist them sent requests to henry's sick uncle charles vii of france for aid however charles would end up dying and his son and successor louis xi promised assistance but little was given margaret then herself traveled to brittany in 1462 again looking for assistance to which she was able to successfully raise a french force in return for mortgaging calais she picked up henry and some scottish reinforcements before landing at bambara capturing some garrisons but the campaign soon stalled they attempted to sail back to scotland but were shipwrecked in a storm and barely escaped soon after queen margaret and prince edward of westminster along with other nobles and close allies sailed for the continent in 1463 where she and edward were provided a residence by her father renee of anjou they lived in poverty and soon edward of york now king edward iv made a truce with france burgundy and scotland and it was agreed that louis xi would no longer support his cousins lancastering attempts to halt peace negotiations between edward of york and scotland led to the battles of hedgely moore and hexam which all but eliminated lancastrian resistance in the north as all of henry's leading supporters were either slain captured or executed henry was left at by will castle and disappeared after the battle of hexam was lost in may 1464. it is believed that he was sheltered by lancastrian supporters in houses after this that is until july 1465 when he was discovered and captured in the forest of clitherwood he was brought to london paraded through the streets and brought to the tower he was not executed however as doing so would make the young and much more capable prince edward of westminster the rallying point for the lancastrian cause although there are accounts that henry was mistreated while in captivity it is believed that he lived relatively comfortable for the next five years with henry accepting his fate with no confrontation but soon an astonishing sequence of events was to take place edward of york's rule began to come under criticism as he had promised much but delivered little additionally after 1464 edward reasserted his claims to the lands lost in france he promised that he would lead an army across the channel and was actually granted attacks in 1467. king louis x of france was able to undermine edward's efforts by preventing edward's plans to form a coalition with some on the continent however a major problem arose for edward when his ally the younger richard neville earl of warwick became disgruntled with him and his rule he allied himself with edward's younger brother george duke of clarence in july 1469 they launched a similar attack from kelley as the one that had been launched against henry years prior landing in kent and moving on edward declaring that they were intent on removing royal favorites they were actually successful in capturing edward and removing favorites but they were unable to exert authority as edward was no feeble-minded king like henry uprisings arose in the north but warwick and his forces were not able to raise forces without the support and legitimacy of the king edward was released to deal with the uprising but in his freedom he now looked to re-establish his strength as king warwick and edward's brother george duke of clarence fled to the continent where they were received by louis x of france in order to receive assistance from louis they were forced to agree to reconcile with queen margaret henry's son prince edward of westminster and ultimately henry himself which would give life back to the lancastrian cause the younger neville earl of warwick landed in september 1470 with edward of york being in yorkshire and marching toward london edward was actually allied with warwick's brother and trusted him in vain warwick's brother turned on edward of york forcing him to flee to burgundy to avoid being captured in october of that year henry was removed from his captivity in the tower and reestablished as king henry did little if nothing in the five months following and nothing had really been done by him or his supporters to initiate this restoration instead it was the factional disagreements between his enemies which caused his restoration and would unsurprisingly be a weak base to retain his kingship long term the queen and prince edward of westminster remained in france and warwick raised an army to assist louis xi of france against burgundy louis declaration of war against burgundy convinced the duke of burgundy to finance edward of york's attempts to reconquer the throne of england in march 1471 edward of york sailed back to england he was aided by his supporters including his other younger brother richard duke of gloucester his treasonous brother george duke of clarence had made an agreement with edward and raised his forces to support his brother instead of warwick edward of york marched into london unopposed secured henry and continued on to defeat work and his allies at the battle of barnet in 1471. the younger richard neville earl of orc was killed at the battle of barnet henry was then put back in the tower never to be freed again queen margaret and her son prince edward of westminster landed in england around this time at weymouth where they learned of warwick's loss at barnet should margaret and the young prince edward have landed earlier and joined with warwick's forces the outcome of these battles could have been decidedly different but their return to england had been too late and edward of york marched his men towards the queen and prince and met them near the town of tewksbury on may 4th 1471 the battle of tewksbury took place to which the lancastrian forces were defeated with the young 17 year old prince edward of westminster allegedly attempting to flee only to be apprehended and executed while crying for assistance from his former ally and brother-in-law george duke of clarence queen margaret was captured and sent to london with the death of his son in lancastrian air henry's fate was now sealed with the death of prince edward of westminster there remained no need to keep henry alive and soon it was determined that henry must be killed the circumstances surrounding henry's death remain muddied but it is believed that king henry vi of england was killed in the tower on may 21 1471 on edward of york's order yorkist accounts claim that he died of displeasure but of course this is considered yorkist propaganda edward of york's younger brother richard duke of gloucester the future king richard iii of england was said to have been in the tower that night and some accounts state that he was the perpetrator of the crime although this too has been greatly doubted whatever the case henry surely met a violent death and the manner of henry's death will most likely remain unknown henry was taken to be buried at the obscure churchy abbey in surrey as it was hoped that henry's memory would fade away but henry in death became almost a more formidable opponent than in life within two years a cult to henry's memory had been formed with many miracles eventually being reported at his tomb in chertsey including cures for madness blindness deafness among many other things edward of york himself attempted to stop the pilgrimages to henry's tomb from taking place and the image of an innocent and pious king flourished with the further usurpations that were to follow edward of york's reign in the reign of richard iii henry was moved to windsor to lie opposite his successor edward of york in st george's chapel henry's half-brother edmund tudor before he died had married margaret beauford the daughter of the disgraced john beauford duke of somerset who led the unsuccessful campaign in anju and maine and allegedly died at his own hand their son and henry's nephew named henry tudor would defeat henry's alleged murderer richard iii of england in 1485 and become henry vii of england he would lobby for his uncle henry's canonization with three successive popes and would further henry's reputation as a pious innocent yet weak and feeble king in order to discredit the yorkist claim and promote his own henry's canonization very well may have become a reality in time however with henry viii's break with the catholic church henry was not to be declared a saint henry's tomb can still be seen near the high altar in saint george's chapel at windsor to this day the reign of henry vi is surely one of the most compelling reigns remembered in english history the events that took place set the foundation for significant changes in the succession of the english monarchy and shifted the course of history in a major way yet henry's time as king remains also one of the most nuanced periods in english history to what degree henry was truly involved in the decision-making that led to disastrous consequences all those centuries ago and to what degree he was truly affected by his mental illness can never be truly known regardless there is a level of responsibility that deserves to be laid at henry's feet whether you see him as a feeble-minded pious fool or as a propagandized martyr the burdensome weight of kingship was unfortunately his and his alone to endure and this is something that he most certainly can be seen to have failed at dealing with perhaps henry was a good man even a great man but he was not a good king there are very few good things that came from henry's reign his founding of eaton and king's college cambridge being among those things but these few positive accomplishments are greatly overshadowed by the vicious hostility that arose with the wars of the roses and the latter part of his kingship which would continue to be fought decades after henry's demise perhaps we can agree that it seems that henry was not cut out for the role of king in the slightest and although his perceived piety and kindness certainly deserves a degree of respect assuming that it was true his reign and execution is proof that kindness in itself had little effect if other required kingly traits were absent in a king

Channel: Brief History

Views: 105,759

Keywords: Henry VI, Henry VI Of England, Henry Of Windsor, Brief History, Wars Of The Roses

Id: 9P_pLj-oBCg

Length: 67min 28sec (4048 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 08 2021