Henry, the only son of
Henry
V and Catherine
of Valois, was born in 1421. Henry became king of both England and
France when he was only nine months old. However, he did not take
over the government of these two countries until 1437.
Henry was an intelligent
man who took a keen interest in education, being the founder of both
King's College, Cambridge
(1440) and Eton College (1441). He disliked
all forms of bloodshed and frequently pardoned condemned criminals.
Henry also showed little interest in military matters and was the
first English king not to enter the battlefield.
Lacking leadership, the
English gradually lost all their territories in France except for
Calais. In 1453 Henry suffered his first bout of mental illness. Richard,
Duke of York, was temporarily made protector of the realm. Henry's
family, the Lancastrians, did not like this decision. Eventually this
disagreement led to armed conflict (the Wars
of the Roses) between the Lancastrians and the Yorkists.
In 1461 the Lancastrians
were defeated at the Battle of Towton. Henry and his wife, Margaret
of Anjou, were sent into exile and Edward
IV became king.
Edward had difficulty keeping
the support of his nobles. They were particularly upset by his decision
to marry Elizabeth Woodville without
first seeking their advice. The nobles objected to Elizabeth because
she did not have royal blood and was the widow of a Lancastrian knight.
In 1470 the Earl of Warwick
forced Edward into exile and put Henry
VI back on the
throne. The following year Edward IV
returned and in April, defeated and killed the Earl of Warwick at
Barnet. He destroyed the remaining Lancastrian forces at Tewkesbury
in May, 1471. Henry
was captured and later executed.
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