King Henry VI

1421 – 1471 · Generation XX · King of England (r. 1422–1461, 1470–1471) · House of Plantagenet

Henry VI of Windsor (1421–1471). King of England (r. 1422–1461, 1470–1471). Married Margaret of Anjou in 1445. King at nine months old; founder of Eton and King’s College; died in the Tower as York triumphed. He remains the only English monarch ever crowned King of France, at Notre-Dame in Paris in 1431, yet his reign watched English France collapse until only Calais was left. Timid, benevolent, and averse to warfare, he suffered a mental breakdown in 1453 that opened a struggle for power among Queen Margaret, York, and Somerset, and civil war followed. Deposed by Edward IV, captured and imprisoned, briefly restored by Warwick the Kingmaker, he lost his only son at Tewkesbury shortly before his own end. To his educational legacy he added All Souls College, Oxford, and Shakespeare later made his troubled life a trilogy of plays.

One of 23 people of House of Plantagenet (1126–1485) in this archive. The longest-reigning English house, counting its Angevin beginning and the rival Lancaster and York branches that fought the Wars of the Roses.

Line of descent: King William I The Conqueror → King Henry I → Matilda the Empress → King Henry II → King John → King Henry III → King Edward I Longshanks → King Edward II → King Edward III → John of Gaunt → King Henry IV → King Henry V → King Henry VI.

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Parents

• King Henry V (1386 – 1422)
• Catherine of Valois (1401 – 1437)

Siblings

• Edmund Tudor (1430 – 1456) (half)

Partners

• Married Margaret of Anjou (1430 – 1482) in 1445 — one child together

Children

• Edward of Westminster (1453 – 1471)

Life

• 1421 — Born
• 1422 — Henry aged 8 months becomes King of England on the death of his father, Henry V, and then, two months later, King of France on the death of his grandfather, Charles VI.
• 1429 — Henry VI is crowned King of England
• 1431 — Henry VI of England is crowned King of France in Paris
• 1437 — Henry assumes personal rule of England
• 1445 — Married Margaret of Anjou
• 1445 — Henry marries Margaret of Anjou
• 1453 — Henry becomes mentally ill. Richard, Duke of York, is made Protector during Henry’s illness
• 1454 — Henry regains his senses but disaffected nobles take matters into their own hands. Supporters of the Dukes of York and Lancaster take sides.
• 1455 — Beginning of the 'Wars of the Roses'. Duke of York is dismissed. York raises an army and defeats the King’s Lancastrian forces at the Battle of St. Albans.The Lancastrian leader, the Duke of Somerset, is killed. York takes over the government of England.
• 1457 — Henry unsuccessfully tries to broker peace between the Yorkists and Lancastrians.
• 1460 — Yorkist army led by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, defeats Lancastrians at the Battle of Northampton. Henry VI is captured and his wife, Margaret, escapes to Scotland. Richard of York is again Protector.
• 1460 — Margaret raises a Lancastrian army in the north and defeats and kills Richard of York at Wakefield. Henry VI captured by the Yorkists at Northampton. Earl of Warwick takes London for the Yorkists.
• 1461 — Yorkists win Battle of Mortimers Cross. Queen Margaret marches her army South, defeats Earl of Warwick at St Albans, and frees Henry. Edward, son of Richard of York, defeats Margaret's Lancastrian forces on 29 March at the Battle of Towton - the largest and bloodiest battle ever on British soil when 28,000 lose their lives. Margaret and Henry flee to Scotland. Henry is deposed by Edward who declares himself King Edward IV
• 1464 — Warwick defeats Lancastrians at Battle of Hexham; Henry VI is captured and brought to the Tower of London.
• 1469 — Warwick falls out with Edward IV, and defeats him at Edgecote. They are later reconciled but Warwick is banished. He makes peace with Margaret, returns to England with an army, and Edward flees to Flanders. Henry VI is restored to the throne.
• 1471 — Died
• 1471 — Henry is murdered by being stabbed to death in the Tower of London.