Henry VI

Henry VI was born on 6 December 1421 at Windsor Castle, the son of Henry V and Catherine of Valois, the daughter of Charles VI of France. He became king when he was just eight months old and is remembered for his scholastic foundations at Eton and King's College, Cambridge. Bouts of insanity and warfare between rival branches of the royal family (the Lancastrians and the Yorkists) troubled his reign. He was deposed in 1461 and then briefly restored in 1470. Henry was crowned at Westminster Abbey when he was only eight years old. The ceremony on 6 November 1429 formally vested him with the powers of kingship which had been exercised in his name since 1 September 1422. Archbishop Chichele performed the ceremony. His queen Margaret of Anjou was crowned in 1445. Henry inherited the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453), in which his uncle Charles VII contested his claim to the French throne. He is the only English monarch to have been also crowned King of France, in 1431. His early reign, when several people were ruling for him, saw the pinnacle of English power in France, but subsequent military, diplomatic, and economic problems had seriously endangered the English cause by the time Henry was declared fit to rule in 1437. He found his realm in a difficult position, faced with setbacks in France and divisions among the nobility at home. Unlike his father, Henry is described as timid, shy, passive, well-intentioned and averse to warfare and violence; he was also at times mentally unstable. His ineffective reign saw the gradual loss of the English lands in France. Partially in the hope of achieving peace, in 1445 Henry married Charles VII's niece, the ambitious and strong-willed Margaret of Anjou. The peace policy failed, leading to the murder of one of Henry's key advisers, William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, and the war recommenced, with France taking the upper hand; by 1453, Calais was Henry's only remaining territory on the continent. The domestic situation worsened as well, as factions loyal to Henry and Margaret clashed with those supporting Richard, Duke of York, who had a strong claim to the throne. The conflict escalated into a series of civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), which saw Henry captured, rescued, deposed, restored and deposed again by various factions. His only son Edward was killed at the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471 by the forces of Edward IV, who had usurped Henry's throne in 1461. Henry died on 21 May 1471 while imprisoned in the Tower of London and was buried at Chertsey Abbey and later moved to St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. It had been Henry VII's intention to bring the body to Westminster and establish a shrine but this came to nothing and the new Lady Chapel at the Abbey became the burial place of Henry VII. A modern statue has been erected in an empty niche in the eastern part of this chapel to commemorate Henry VI. Henry VI was widely revered as a saintly figure during his lifetime and after his death. He was credited with miracles and visions and there were attempts to canonize him by both his supporters and later Tudor monarchs. He remains a popular figure among some Catholics who regard him as a martyr for his faith.