Henry VI, King of England

b. 1421; d. 1471

Only son of Henry V and Catherine of Valois. He was eight months old when he succeeded to the English throne, and shortly afterwards, by the death of his grandfather, Charles VI of France, he became titular king of France. His lands were administered for him by his uncles Bedford and Gloucester.

The first attempts of the French Dauphin (Charles VII) to obtain possession of his father's throne failed, but after the appearance of Joan of Arc, the English began gradually to lose their French possessions. The death of Bedford, the one really competent English military leader, in 1435 was the final blow to the English cause, and by 1453 Calais alone remained in English hands. Henry married Margaret of Anjou in 1445. She immediately allied herself with the Beaufort faction at court.

After the downfall and death of Gloucester, Margaret became the real formulator of court policy; her husband, pious and weak minded, with periods of actual insanity, was entirely under her influence, and events moved rapidly to a climax. The loss of the French possessions, the return of the soldiers from France, and the resulting unemployment, all helped to make the Lancastrian dynasty unpopular. Margaret's domineering character made her many enemies, and she soon incurred the hatred of the Yorkists, who now became her chief opponents. In 1453 Margaret gave birth to a son, Edward, thus dashing Richard, Duke of York's, hopes of eventually succeeding Henry as king, but from 1453 to 1455 Henry was completely insane, and York, a nearer lineal descendant of Edward III than Henry, became the protector. Henry recovered; York was deprived of his office, and a clash between the rival interests became almost inevitable.

The year 1455 saw the battle of St Albans, and from that date until 1471 battles between Yorkists and Lancastrians were frequent. Wakefield (1460) delivered York into the hands of Margaret, on whose orders he was beheaded, but Towton (1461) placed the son of Richard of York securely on the throne as Edward IV. Henry fled to Scotland, but was captured and put in the Tower (1465).

The power behind Edward's throne was Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, 'the king-maker', but in 1467 a breach with the King caused Warwick to organise opposition to him. His first attempts were unsuccessful but in 1470 he joined forces with Margaret of Anjou, invaded England, and caused Edward IV to flee to Holland. Henry VI was king again with Warwick as the real power behind the throne. But Edward came back in 1471, Warwick was killed at the battle of Barnet, and the Lancastrian cause finally crushed at Tewkesbury when Edward, Prince of Wales was killed. Henry was again imprisoned in the Tower and was almost certainly murdered on the night that Edward IV returned to London. For a time Henry was popularly revered as a martyr. He founded Eton and King's College, Cambridge.

© JM Dent/Historybookshop.com

Related articles

Edward III
Henry V
Richard III
Wars of the Roses