131-522: The Readeption was the restoration of Henry VI of England to the throne of England in 1470. Edward, Duke of York , had taken the throne as Edward IV in 1461. Henry had fled with some Lancastrian supporters and spent much of the next few years in hiding in Northern England or in Scotland, where there was still some Lancastrian support. Henry was captured in 1465 and was held as a prisoner in
262-567: A mob attacked and pillaged Earl Rivers ' estates in Kent , with complaints about heavy levels of taxation being common. In the north, a group of malcontents gathered in arms and offered to fight with the Earl of Warwick. Whilst relations between the king and the Earl of Warwick appear to have improved slightly in 1468—for instance, both Warwick and John Neville regularly attended the Royal council, and
393-500: A naval command. In mid-June the King deemed it necessary to travel to the north in order to suppress Redesdale's rebellion; yet his actions have been described as "lacking urgency". Worse, by the time Edward reached Newark , his intelligence reported to him that the rebel force may have been five times the size of the king's own. He had also by now heard rumours of Warwick's involvement in the uprising, as he wrote to Warwick, Clarence and
524-512: A trilogy of plays about his life , depicting him as weak-willed and easily influenced by his wife, Margaret. Henry was born on 6 December 1421 at Windsor Castle , the only child and heir-apparent of King Henry V . Succeeding to the throne as King of England at the age of eight months on 1 September 1422, the day after his father's death; he remains the youngest person ever to succeed to the English throne. On 21 October 1422, in accordance with
655-537: A Venetian glass bowl as a token of gratitude, known as the " Luck of Muncaster ", ensuring the prosperity of the Pennington family as long as it remained intact. Nonetheless, while he was in hiding at Waddington Hall, in Waddington, Lancashire , the home of Sir Richard Tempest, he was betrayed by "a black monk of Addington" and on 13 July 1464, a party of Yorkist men, including Sir Richard's brother John, entered
786-727: A background that has been called "the baying for Suffolk's blood [by] a London mob", to the extent that Suffolk admitted his alarm to Henry. Ultimately, Henry was forced to send him into exile , but Suffolk's ship was intercepted in the English Channel . His murdered body was found on the beach at Dover . Henry's mental health began to deteriorate in the late 1440s. He exhibited possible signs of paranoia (the arrest of Duke Humphrey in 1447) and grandiosity (the scale of his plans of expansion for Eton Chapel in 1449 and King's College in 1446). By 1449, Henry had many critics questioning his ability to rule due to his mental health. In 1449,
917-482: A breakdown in law and order, corruption, the distribution of royal land to the king's court favourites , the troubled state of the crown's finances, and the steady loss of territories in France. In 1447, this unpopularity took the form of a Commons campaign against William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk , who was the most unpopular of all the king's entourage and widely seen as a traitor. He was impeached by Parliament to
1048-522: A chapel at Westminster Abbey to house Henry VI's relics. A number of Henry VI's miracles possessed a political dimension, such as his cure of a young girl afflicted with the King's evil , whose parents refused to bring her to the usurper, Richard III. By the time of Henry VIII 's break with Rome , canonisation proceedings were under way. Hymns to him still exist, and until the Reformation his hat
1179-424: A collection of poems written from the perspective of historical figures. Kingdoms are but cares State is devoid of stay, Riches are ready snares, And hasten to decay Pleasure is a privy prick Which vice doth still provoke; Pomps, imprompt; and fame, a flame; Power, a smoldering smoke. Who meanth to remove the rock Owst of the slimy mud Shall mire himself, and hardly [e]scape The swelling of
1310-425: A deal: Warwick and Clarence would help restore Henry VI to the throne, with French aid; Henry VI's son, Edward of Westminster , would be his heir as Prince of Wales ; but if Westminster died then Clarence would become heir to the throne. This alliance was sealed by the marriage of Warwick's youngest daughter Anne Neville to Prince Edward. Edward IV sought to shore up his position. He had released Henry Percy from
1441-514: A dungeon and the Le Chapeltour may have contained an artillery workshop in the 16th century. Several ranges of buildings were built around the inner ward, including a chapel, kitchen, service buildings, a granary and a great hall. The battlements may originally have been built with triple finials in a similar fashion to Conwy , although little remains of these in the modern era. The architecture of Harlech has close links to that found in
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#17328025574181572-590: A far more formidable leader in Henry's son, Edward. However, once the last of the most prominent Lancastrian supporters had been either killed or exiled, it became clear that Henry VI would be a burden on Edward IV's reign. The common fear was the possibility of another noble using the mentally unstable king to further their own agenda. According to the Historie of the arrivall of Edward IV , an official chronicle favourable to Edward IV, Henry died of melancholia , but it
1703-663: A few noble favourites who clashed on the matter of the French war when he assumed the reins of government in 1437. After the death of King Henry V, England had lost momentum in the Hundred Years' War , whereas the House of Valois had gained ground beginning with Joan of Arc 's military victories in the year 1429. The young King came to favour a policy of peace in France and thus favoured the faction around Cardinal Beaufort and William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk , who thought likewise;
1834-767: A force of any numbers until well to the south (of England), in Lord Hastings 's estates in the Midlands (about 3,000 men in Nottingham, where he was joined by William Parr and James Harrington , with their personal forces of sixty men-at-arms). Whereas, in the north, came "not so many as supposed would have come", reported the Arrivalist . Edward defeated Warwick in the Battle of Barnet on 14 April, in which both Warwick and his brother John Neville were killed, and
1965-579: A growing effort by French lords to resist the growing power of the French monarchy, a conflict which culminated in the Praguerie revolt of 1440. Though the English failed to take advantage of the Praguerie itself, the prospect of gaining the allegiance of one of Charles VII's more rebellious nobles was attractive from a military perspective. In about 1441, the recently ransomed Charles, Duke of Orléans , in an attempt to force Charles VII to make peace with
2096-586: A late Gothic or Perpendicular -style church with a monastic or educational foundation attached. Each year on the anniversary of Henry VI's death, the Provosts of Eton and King's lay white lilies and roses, the respective floral emblems of those colleges, on the spot in the Wakefield Tower at the Tower of London where the imprisoned Henry VI was, according to tradition, murdered as he knelt at prayer. There
2227-510: A major dispute over the succession to the English throne . Civil war broke out in 1455, leading to a long period of dynastic conflict known as the Wars of the Roses (1455–1487). Henry was deposed on 4 March 1461 by York's eldest son, who took the throne as King Edward IV . Despite Margaret continuing to lead a resistance to Edward, Henry was captured by Edward's forces in 1465 and imprisoned in
2358-743: A major restoration project after the end of World War I . In 1969 the castle was transferred to the Welsh Office and then to Cadw , who manage the property in the 21st century as a tourist attraction. Harlech was declared part of the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd World Heritage Site in 1986, UNESCO considering Harlech one of "the finest examples of late 13th century and early 14th century military architecture in Europe". Harlech Castle rests upon part of
2489-412: A massive gatehouse that probably once provided high-status accommodation for the castle constable and visiting dignitaries. The sea originally came much closer to Harlech than in modern times, and a water-gate and a long flight of steps leads down from the castle to the former shore, which allowed the castle to be resupplied by sea during sieges. In keeping with Edward's other castles in the north of Wales,
2620-516: A pilgrimage destination during the early decades of the 16th century, over time, with the lessened need to legitimise Tudor rule, his cult faded. William Shakespeare and possibly others completed the Henry VI trilogy around 1593, roughly 121 years after the real monarch's death. The period of history covered in the plays was between the funeral of Henry V (1422) to the Battle of Tewkesbury (1471). Though modern scholars are more interested in
2751-608: A rebellion in Kent in 1450, calling himself "John Mortimer", apparently in sympathy with York, and setting up residence at the White Hart Inn in Southwark (the white hart had been the symbol of the deposed Richard II ). Henry came to London with an army to crush the rebellion, but on finding that Cade had fled kept most of his troops behind while a small force followed the rebels and met them at Sevenoaks . The flight proved to have been tactical: Cade successfully ambushed
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#17328025574182882-505: A result; the lynching of Henry's key adviser, William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk , provoked a major rebellion in 1450. Factions and favourites encouraged the rise of further disorder in the country: regional magnates maintained increasing numbers of private armed retainers , including soldiers returned from France, with whom they fought regional conflicts (e.g. the Percy-Neville feud ), terrorised their neighbours, paralysed
3013-782: A revolt broke out in North Wales against English rule, led by Owain Glyndŵr . By 1403 only a handful of castles, including Harlech, still stood against the rebels, but the castle was under-equipped and under-staffed to withstand a siege, the garrison having just three shields, eight helmets, six lances, ten pairs of gloves, and four guns. At the end of 1404, the castle fell to Glyndŵr. Harlech became his residence, family home and military headquarters for four years; he held his second parliament in Harlech in August 1405. In 1408 English forces under
3144-461: A secret alliance with Margaret. After marrying his daughter Anne Neville to Henry and Margaret's son, Warwick returned to England, forced Edward IV into exile, and restored Henry VI to the throne on 3 October 1470; the term " readeption " is still sometimes used for this event. However, by this time, years in hiding followed by years in captivity had taken their toll on Henry. Warwick and Clarence effectively ruled in his name. Henry's return to
3275-488: A small, planned town had been founded alongside the castle. John de Bonvillars was appointed the constable of the castle in 1285; after his death in 1287 his wife, Agnes, took up the role until 1290. Construction continued under the overall direction of James of Saint George , a Savoy architect and military engineer. In 1286, at the height of the construction, the workforce comprised 546 general labourers, 115 quarriers, 30 blacksmiths, 22 carpenters and 227 stonemasons, and
3406-421: A timber entrance way to the gatehouse replaces the bridge. A water gate overlooks a protected stairway of 127 steps that runs down to the foot of the cliffs. In the 13th century, the sea came up close to the stairway, allowing resupply by sea, but today the sea has retreated significantly, making it more difficult to envisage the concept in its original setting. The gatehouse follows the design, sometimes termed
3537-430: A title at that time still normally reserved for immediate relatives of the monarch. The new duke of Somerset was sent to France to assume the command of the English forces; this prestigious position was previously held by the duke of York himself, who was dismayed at his term not being renewed and at seeing his enemy take control of it. In the later years of Henry's reign, the monarchy became increasingly unpopular, due to
3668-448: A violent death, however due to the difficult nature in identifying cause of death from bones alone, as well as the previous redisposition of his body, such evidence is inconclusive. Overall, Henry VI is largely seen as a weak, inept king, who did nothing to ease the Wars of the Roses . He is widely believed to have favoured diplomacy, rather than all-out war in the Hundred Years' War , in stark contrast to his father, Henry V , who led
3799-449: Is a similar ceremony at his resting place, St George's Chapel. Miracles were attributed to Henry, and he was informally regarded as a saint and martyr , addressed particularly in cases of adversity. The anti-Yorkist cult was encouraged by Henry VII of England as dynastic propaganda. A volume was compiled of the miracles attributed to him at St George's Chapel, Windsor, where Richard III had reinterred him, and Henry VII began building
3930-750: Is generally considered by historians to have almost certainly been a Warwick construct. In any case, it gathered a large army around it, and included many retainers and men otherwise connected to the Neville family in Yorkshire, including Sir John Conyers , the son of Lord FitzHugh , and the Nevilles' own cousin, Sir Henry Neville; indeed it contained three Neville brothers-in-law. King Edward was, however, slow in responding to these multiple threats ("and slower still to link them with Neville treason", says Ross). Warwick himself appears to have been pre-occupied with
4061-451: Is widely suspected, however, that Edward IV, who was re-crowned the morning following Henry's death, had ordered his murder. Sir Thomas More 's History of Richard III explicitly states that Richard , who was then the Duke of Gloucester , killed Henry. More might have derived his opinion from Philippe de Commines ' Mémoires . Another contemporary source, Wakefield's Chronicle , gives
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4192-582: The Battle of Tewkesbury on 4 May, where Henry's son Edward of Westminster was killed. Henry was imprisoned in the Tower of London again and, when the royal party arrived in London, he was reported dead. Official chronicles and documents state that the deposed king died on the night of 21 May 1471. In all likelihood, his opponents had kept him alive up to that point, rather than leave the Lancastrians with
4323-505: The Battle of Towton , 29 March 1461, by the Duke of York's son, Edward. Henry and Margaret together evaded capture by Edward and this time they both escaped into exile in Scotland. With Scottish aid, Margaret now travelled to the continent to elicit further support for her husband's cause. Mainly under her leadership, Lancastrian resistance continued in the north of England during the first period of Edward IV's reign but met with little luck on
4454-571: The Bible and expressing his wish to be anyone other than a king. Shakespeare's Henry is weak-willed and easily influenced allowing his policies to be led by Margaret and her allies, and being unable to defend himself against York's claim to the throne. He takes an act of his own volition only just before his death when he curses Richard of Gloucester just before he is murdered. (Shakespeare, William: Henry VI, Part III Act 5, scene 6) There have been many adaptations of Richard III in film , which include
4585-529: The Duke of Gloucester and Richard, Duke of York , who argued for a continuation of the war, were ignored. As the English military situation in France deteriorated, talks emerged in England about arranging a marriage for the king to strengthen England's foreign connections and facilitate a peace between the warring parties. In 1434, the English council suggested that peace with the Scots could best be effected by
4716-460: The Earl of Suffolk persuaded Henry that the best way to pursue peace with France was through a marriage with Margaret of Anjou , the niece of King Charles VII. Henry agreed, especially when he heard reports of Margaret's stunning beauty, and sent Suffolk to negotiate with Charles, who consented to the marriage on condition that he would not have to provide the customary dowry and instead would receive
4847-569: The English throne upon his father's death at the age of eight months; he succeeded to the French throne on the death of his maternal grandfather, Charles VI , shortly afterwards. Henry was born during the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453), at the beginning of its third phase , in which his uncle, Charles VII , contested the Lancastrian claim to the French throne , which had been ratified by
4978-524: The Harlech Dome , a spur of rock almost 200 feet (61 m) high; the land falls away sharply on the north and west, and a ditch cut into the rock protects the remaining approaches to the castle. The castle has a concentric design , with one line of defences enclosed by another, forming an inner and outer ward; the outer wall was originally somewhat taller than today. Harlech is built from local grey-green sandstone , with large, regular blocks used for
5109-543: The North of England , until these were eventually crushed by Warwick's brother John . John was rewarded with the earldom of Northumberland , a title that had traditionally been held by the Nevilles' bitter territorial rivals in the north, the Percy family . Warwick, however, was increasingly discontented with his former protégé, King Edward. Not only did he disagree with the pro- Burgundian and anti-French foreign policy Edward
5240-634: The Privy Council met) to Cirencester (where the King resided). He finally assumed full royal powers when he came of age at the end of the year 1437, when he turned 16 years old. Henry's assumption of full royal powers occurred during the Great Bullion Famine and the beginning of the Great Slump in England. Henry, who was by nature shy, pious, and averse to deceit and bloodshed, immediately allowed his court to be dominated by
5371-550: The Savoy in the same period. These include semi-circular door arches, window styles, corbelled towers and positioning of putlog holes, and are usually ascribed to the influence of the Savoy architect Master James. The links between the Harlech and Savoy are not straightforward, however, as in some cases the relevant Savoy structures were built after James had left the region. The similarity in architectural details may, therefore, be
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5502-479: The Second Battle of St Albans , 17 February 1461, her forces engaged with the Earl of Warwick , under whose custody her husband was being held. She defeated Warwick and liberated the king. Henry's mental state at the time was such that he had reputedly laughed and sung as the battle raged around him. The victory however was short-lived. Within six weeks, the king and queen's forces were once more defeated at
5633-470: The Tonbridge -style, that became popular during the 13th century, with two massive "D-shaped" defensive towers flanking the entrance. The passage into the castle was guarded by three portcullises and at least two heavy doors. The gatehouse has two upper floors, broken up into various rooms. Each floor has three large windows overlooking the inner ward; the second floor has two additional grand windows on
5764-403: The Tower of London . Henry was restored to the throne by the Earl of Warwick in 1470. Edward retook power in 1471 and killed Henry's only son, Edward of Westminster , at the Battle of Tewkesbury ; Henry was imprisoned once again. Having "lost his wits, his two kingdoms and his only son", Henry died in the Tower during the night of 21 May 1471, possibly killed on the orders of King Edward. He
5895-466: The Tower of London . Following dissent with his former key supporter, Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick , Edward was forced to flee in 1470. Henry was then restored to the throne, although he was deposed again the following year. The period known as the Readeption was so named because of the formula at the start of Henry VI's issuants, viz. "the forty-ninth year of the reign of King Henry VI and
6026-486: The Treaty of Troyes of 1420, he became titular King of France upon his grandfather Charles VI 's death. His mother, the 20-year-old Catherine of Valois , was viewed with considerable suspicion by English nobles as Charles VI's daughter. She was prevented from playing a full role in her son's upbringing. On 28 September 1423, the nobles swore loyalty to Henry VI, who was not yet two years old. They summoned Parliament in
6157-642: The Treaty of Troyes (1420) . He is the only English monarch to have been crowned King of France, in a coronation in Notre-Dame de Paris in 1431. His early reign, when England was ruled by a regency government , saw the pinnacle of English power in France . However, subsequent military, diplomatic and economic problems damaged the English cause by the time Henry was declared mature enough to rule in 1437. The young king faced military setbacks in France, and political and financial crises in England, where divisions among
6288-509: The nobility in his government began to widen. In contrast to his father, Henry VI was described as timid, shy, passive, benevolent and averse to warfare and violence; after 1453, he became mentally unstable. His ineffective reign saw the near total loss of English lands in France . In 1445 – partially in the hope of achieving peace – Henry married Charles VII's niece, the ambitious and strong-willed Margaret of Anjou . The peace policy failed and war recommenced; France rapidly recovered much of
6419-621: The opposition to Richard II's reign . For the period 1430–1432, Henry was also tutored by the physician John Somerset . Somerset's duties were to "tutor the young king as well as preserv[e] his health". Somerset remained within the royal household until early 1451 after the English House of Commons petitioned for his removal because of his "dangerous and subversive influence over Henry VI". Henry's mother Catherine remarried to Owen Tudor and had two sons by him, Edmund and Jasper . Henry later gave his half-brothers earldoms. Edmund Tudor
6550-434: The 1468 siege, and had become completely dilapidated, with the exception of the gatehouse, which was used for the local assizes . In 1644 Prince Rupert appointed a local Royalist, Colonel William Owen, as the castle's constable, and Owen was entrusted with repairing the fortifications. A long siege ensued from June 1646 until 15 March 1647, when the garrison of 44 men surrendered to Major-General Thomas Mytton . The castle
6681-402: The 15th century, Harlech was involved in the series of civil wars now known as the Wars of the Roses that broke out between the rival factions of the House of Lancaster and House of York . In 1460, following the Battle of Northampton , Queen Margaret of Anjou fled to the castle and between 1461 and 1468 it was held by her Lancastrian supporters, under the command of Dafydd ap Ieuan, against
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#17328025574186812-536: The 1964 West German TV version König Richard III ; David Warner in The Wars of the Roses , a 1965–66 filmed version of the Royal Shakespeare Company performing the three parts of Henry VI (condensed and edited into two plays, Henry VI and Edward IV ) and Richard III ; Peter Benson in the 1983 BBC versions of Henry VI part 1, 2, and 3 as well as Richard III ; Paul Brennen in
6943-493: The 1989 film version of the full cycle of consecutive history plays performed, for several years, by the English Shakespeare Company ; Edward Jewesbury in the 1995 film version of Richard III with Ian McKellen as Richard; James Dalesandro as Henry in the 2007 modern-day film version of Richard III ; and Tom Sturridge as Henry to Benedict Cumberbatch 's Richard III in the 2016 second season of
7074-529: The Archbishop asking them for help and saying that they were not doing the things "as the rumour here runneth". But instead they set sail for Calais , where on 11 July George Neville, Archbishop of York, married George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, to Isabelle Neville, in defiance of the King's expressed wishes. Soon afterwards, they wrote to the rebels in the north of England. The rebel army grew larger and reached as far south as Oxfordshire. This alarmed
7205-524: The BBC series The Hollow Crown , an adaptation of Henry VI (condensed into two parts) and Richard III . Henry VI's marriage to Margaret of Anjou is the subject of the historical novel A Stormy Life (1867) by Lady Georgiana Fullerton . The novel The Triple Crown (1912) by Rose Schuster focuses on Henry's insanity. The novel London Bridge Is Falling (1934) by Philip Lindsay depicts Henry's response to Jack Cade's Rebellion . Henry VI also features in
7336-468: The Duke of Somerset, leading the campaign in France, reopened hostilities in Normandy (although he had previously been one of the main advocates for peace), but by the autumn he had been pushed back to Caen . By 1450, the French had retaken the whole province, so hard won by Henry V. Returning troops, who had often not been paid, added to the lawlessness in the southern counties of England. Jack Cade led
7467-434: The Duke of York presenting a list of grievances and demands to the court circle, including the arrest of Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset. The king initially agreed, but Margaret intervened to prevent the arrest of Beaufort. By 1453, Somerset's influence had been restored, and York was again isolated. The court party was also strengthened by the announcement that the queen was pregnant. However, in August 1453, Henry received
7598-626: The Earls of Warwick and Salisbury , took matters into their own hands. They backed the claims of the rival House of York , first to the control of government, and then to the throne itself (from 1460), pointing to York's better descent from Edward III. It was agreed that York would become Henry's successor, despite York being older. In 1457, Henry created the Council of Wales and the Marches for his son Prince Edward , and in 1458, he attempted to unite
7729-509: The English party. The proposal was seriously entertained between 1441 and 1443, but a massive French campaign in 1442 against Gascony disrupted the work of the ambassadors and frightened the Count of Armagnac into reluctance. The deal fell through due to problems in commissioning portraits of the Count's daughters and the Count's imprisonment by Charles VII's men in 1443. Cardinal Beaufort and
7860-506: The English, suggested a marriage between Henry VI and Isabella of Armagnac, daughter of John IV, Count of Armagnac , a powerful noble in southwestern France who was at odds with the Valois crown. An alliance with Armagnac would have helped to protect English Gascony from increasing French threats in the region, especially in the face of defections to the enemy by local English vassals, and might have helped to wean some other French nobles to
7991-583: The King by mid-September. Surprisingly, Edward forgave both Warwick and Clarence. After another failed rebellion, thwarted by Edward at the Battle of Losecoat Field in March 1470, Warwick and Clarence fled to France. There in July they met with Margaret of Anjou , the wife of Henry VI and de facto leader of the Lancastrians. Warwick had played a huge role in deposing Henry from the throne in 1461. However, after tense negotiations Warwick, Clarence, and Margaret came to
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#17328025574188122-435: The King's name and established a regency council to govern until the King should come of age. One of Henry V's surviving brothers, John, Duke of Bedford , was appointed senior regent of the realm and was in charge of the ongoing war in France . During Bedford's absence, the government of England was headed by Henry V's other surviving brother, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester , who was appointed Lord Protector and Defender of
8253-561: The King, and the rebels defeated the Royal army at the Battle of Edgcote , six miles north-east of Banbury, on 24 July. Unaware of this disaster, Edward was captured by Warwick on 29 July and imprisoned in Warwick Castle . Earl Rivers and his son John Woodville were beheaded shortly afterwards. Warwick summoned a Parliament, which he probably hoped would depose Edward in Clarence's favour. But widespread rioting forced him to release
8384-478: The King, but was even by now negotiating with Margaret of Anjou. As a result, Edward summoned the Earl to appear before the Royal council ; Warwick refused to do so. A second royal demand for Warwick to attend upon Edward early in 1468 also met with a similar response. England at that time was less peaceful than the King would have wished, and there appears to have been a popular undercurrent of discontent; for example,
8515-572: The Lancastrians in the Battle of Tewkesbury . Edward of Westminster was killed there, the Beaufort family almost extinguished entirely, and Queen Margaret captured. Edward IV entered London on 21 May. Henry VI died that night, or soon afterwards, perhaps on Edward's orders. Henry VI of England Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V , he succeeded to
8646-624: The Marquisate as compensation. On 13 September, Warwick and Clarence docked in Dartmouth, Devon , and the Earl of Pembroke in Plymouth . Warwick entered London in triumph and freed Henry VI from the Tower on 6 October.2 The Readeption of Henry VI took place on 3 October 1470. However, by this point Henry was mentally too feeble to rule unaided; for example, he had to be led by the hand when he paraded through London. Following his return to
8777-627: The Realm. His duties were limited to keeping the peace and summoning Parliament. Henry V's uncle Henry Beaufort , Bishop of Winchester (after 1426 also Cardinal ), had an important place on the Council. After the Duke of Bedford died in 1435, the Duke of Gloucester claimed the Regency himself but was contested by the other members of the Council. From 1428, Henry's tutor was Richard de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick , whose father had been instrumental in
8908-599: The Roses , Harlech was held by the Lancastrians for seven years, before Yorkist troops forced its surrender in 1468, a siege memorialised in the song " Men of Harlech ". Following the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642, the castle was held by forces loyal to Charles I , holding out until 1647 when it became the last fortification to surrender to the Parliamentary armies. In the 21st century
9039-399: The Tower on 27 October 1469. On 27 March 1470, Edward IV restored Percy to the earldom of Northumberland, which had been granted to John Neville. Neville was compensated by elevation to Marquess of Montagu , as he had not taken part in his brother's uprisings. Between the restoration of Henry Percy and the return of Warwick, the King was "walking a tightrope" as to whether Montague would accept
9170-519: The Welsh princes had vied for control of North Wales since the 1070s and the conflict was renewed during the 13th century, leading to Edward I intervening in North Wales for the second time during his reign in 1282. Edward invaded with a huge army, pushing north from Carmarthen and westwards from Montgomery and Chester . English forces advanced down the Conwy valley and through Dolwyddelan and Castell y Bere , onto Harlech, which Sir Otton de Grandson took with 560 infantry in May. Edward ordered
9301-460: The Yorkist Edward IV . Thanks to its natural defences and the supply route by sea, Harlech held out and as other fortresses fell, eventually became the last major stronghold still under Lancastrian control. The castle became a base for their operations across the region: there were planned operations in 1464, Sir Richard Tunstall mounted attacks from Harlech in 1466 and Jasper Tudor landed there with French reinforcements in 1468, before then raiding
9432-555: The architecture of Harlech has close links to that found in the County of Savoy during the same period, an influence probably derived from the Savoy origins of the main architect, James of Saint George . In local mythology, the site of Harlech Castle in North Wales is associated with the legend of Branwen , a Welsh princess, but there is no evidence for a native Welsh fortification having been built there. The kings of England and
9563-421: The bad news that his army had been routed in the decisive Battle of Castillon . Shortly thereafter, Henry experienced a mental breakdown. He became completely unresponsive to everything that was going on around him for more than a year. At the age of 31, he "fell by a sudden and accidental fright into such a weak state of health that for a whole year and a half he had neither sense nor reason capable of carrying on
9694-537: The biggest battle ever fought on English soil: it resulted in Edward taking the throne for himself as King Edward IV, and King Henry and Queen Margaret escaping into Scottish exile. Edward reigned for the next ten years, supported by his close allies the Neville family —pre-eminent amongst them, Richard, Earl of Warwick . It was not particularly peaceful; until 1464, there were continuous sieges, clashes and encounters in
9825-501: The border to try his fortune with those nobles in the north of England and Wales who were still loyal. Following defeat in the Battle of Hexham , 15 May 1464, Henry, as a fugitive in his own land, continued to be afforded safety in various Lancastrian houses across the north of England. Sir John Pennington provided refuge to Henry VI of England in Muncaster Castle following the battle. Legend has it that Henry VI left behind
9956-515: The bulk of Henry VI's cultural appearances in modern times. In screen adaptations of these plays Henry has been portrayed by: James Berry in the 1911 silent short Richard III ; Miles Mander portrayed Henry VI in Tower of London , a 1939 historical film loosely dramatising the rise to power of Richard III; Terry Scully in the 1960 BBC series An Age of Kings which contained all the history plays from Richard II to Richard III ; Carl Wery in
10087-513: The command of the future Henry V placed Harlech and its commander, Edmund Mortimer , under siege, conducting a bombardment with cannon, probably destroying the south and east parts of the outer walls. When this failed to take the castle, Henry left John Talbot in charge of the siege and moved on to deal with Aberystwyth Castle . Supplies finally ran short, Mortimer and many of his men died of exhaustion, and Harlech fell in February 1409. In
10218-445: The common people were "easily incited to rebellion by magnates they admired", and Ross has suggested that the Earl of Warwick was both willing to exploit and capable of exploiting these feelings. In late April 1469 a large body of dissidents gathered under the leadership of one Robin of Redesdale in Yorkshire; however, Warwick's brother, John Neville , appears to have dispersed them with little trouble. Almost immediately, however, there
10349-465: The construction of a castle at Harlech, one of seven built across North Wales in the wake of the 1282 campaign. Money to pay for the initial phase arrived in mid-May and carpenters and 35 stonemasons were dispatched in June and July to commence work. By the winter of 1283, the first 15 feet (4.6 m) of the inner walls had been constructed, allowing the castle to be defended in the event of an attack, and
10480-559: The context that the Henry VI trilogy paved for the more popular play Richard III , it was very popular during Elizabethan times. Rather than being representative of the historical events or the actual life and temperament of Henry VI himself, the Shakespearean plays are more representative of the pivotal political situation in England at that time: international war in the form of the Hundred Years' War, and civil strife in
10611-475: The courts, and dominated the government. Starting in 1453, Henry had a series of mental breakdowns , making him unable to rule. Power was duly exercised by quarrelsome nobles , headed by the leaders of cadet branches of the royal family ; Richard, 3rd Duke of York and Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset developed a fierce political rivalry and jostled for power in Henry's government. Queen Margaret did not remain politically neutral and took advantage of
10742-436: The date of Henry's death as 23 May 1471, on which date Richard, then only eighteen, is known to have been away from London. Modern tradition places his death in Wakefield Tower, part of the Tower of London , but that is not supported by evidence, and is unlikely, since the tower was used for record storage at the time. Henry's actual place of death is unknown, though he was imprisoned within the Tower of London. King Henry VI
10873-533: The field. At the same time as Henry's cause was beginning to look increasingly desperate in military terms, an English embassy to Scotland, through the Earl of Warwick on behalf of Edward, served to further weaken his interests at the Scottish Court in political terms. After the queen mother's death in November 1463, Scotland now actively sued for peace with England and the exiled king passed back across
11004-480: The first year of the readeption of his Royal power". King Henry VI had been king of England nearly all his life: his father Henry V had died in 1422 on campaign in France when Henry VI was only a few months old. Henry VI was never a strong king like his father; he was unable to keep a firm hand on either government or the nobility , and by the mid-1450s civil war had broken out. The main protagonists were supporters of Henry and his Queen — Lancastrians —and those of
11135-433: The flood. Queen Margaret, exiled in Scotland and later in France , was determined to win back the throne on behalf of her husband and her son, Edward of Westminster. By herself, there was little she could do. However, eventually, Edward IV fell out with two of his main supporters: Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, and his own younger brother George, Duke of Clarence . At the urging of King Louis XI of France they formed
11266-546: The force in the Battle of Solefields (near Sevenoaks) and returned to occupy London. In the end, the rebellion achieved nothing, and London was retaken after a few days of disorder; but this was principally because of the efforts of its own residents rather than those of the army. At any rate, the rebellion showed that feelings of discontent were running high. In 1451, the Duchy of Aquitaine , held by England since Henry II 's time,
11397-464: The form of the War of the Roses. Shakespeare's portrayal of Henry is notable in that it does not mention the King's madness. This is considered to have been a politically advisable move to not risk offending Elizabeth I whose family was descended from Henry's Lancastrian family. Instead, Henry is portrayed as a pious and peaceful man ill-suited to the crown. He spends most of his time in contemplation of
11528-404: The former also took part in the ceremonial departure of the king's sister, Margaret , who was to marry the duke of Burgundy that summer. Ross suggests that this was at least in part due to a failure of "political judgement" on the king's part. Popular politics was not irrelevant in the 15th century: historian K. B. McFarlane noted that "with little to lose and grievances that were real enough"
11659-430: The government and neither physician nor medicine could cure that infirmity..." and he was, "...smitten with a frenzy and his wit and reason withdrawn." Henry even failed to respond to the birth of his son Edward six months into the illness. The Duke of York, meanwhile, had gained a very important ally, Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick , one of the most influential magnates and possibly richer than York himself. York
11790-529: The high status accommodation may instead have been in the inner ward, and the gatehouse used for other purposes. The inner ward is guarded by four large circular towers. Over time these acquired various names: in 1343, clockwise from the north-east, they were called Le Prisontour, Turris Ultra Gardinium, Le Wedercoktour and Le Chapeltour, but by 1564 they had been renamed the Debtors', Mortimer, Bronwen and Armourer's Towers respectively. Le Prisontour incorporated
11921-546: The house for his arrest. Henry fled into nearby woods but was soon captured at Brungerley Hippings (stepping stones) over the River Ribble . He was subsequently held captive in the Tower of London. The following poem has long been attributed to Henry, allegedly having been written during his imprisonment. However, a largely identical verse appears in William Baldwin 's 1559 work The Mirror for Magistrates ,
12052-453: The king as a man without "any crook or uncouth." Henry's one lasting achievement was his fostering of education: he founded Eton College ; King's College, Cambridge ; and All Souls College, Oxford . He continued a career of architectural patronage started by his father: King's College Chapel and Eton College Chapel and most of his other architectural commissions (such as his completion of his father's foundation of Syon Abbey ) consisted of
12183-424: The most powerful duke in the realm and also being both an agnate and the heir general of Edward III (thus having, according to some, a better claim to the throne than Henry VI himself), probably had the best chances to succeed to the throne after Gloucester. However, he was excluded from the court circle and sent to govern Ireland , while his opponents, the earls of Suffolk and Somerset, were promoted to dukes ,
12314-422: The north; one, led by Sir John Westerdale, may even have numbered a substantial "several thousand men", and others "to the number of 6,000–7,000 milled menacingly". The royal propagandist of the Historie of the arrivall of Edward IV suggests the royal army was, "though small, well-armed and determined" and that Edward claimed he had returned solely for his duchy of York. However, the King could not start raising
12445-417: The prince, fleeing through Wales to Scotland where she found refuge in the court of the queen regent, Mary of Guelders , recent widow of James II . Here she set about eliciting support for her husband from that kingdom. Re-entering England at the end of the year, the English queen in force engaged with the Duke of York at the Battle of Wakefield , 30 December 1460, where York fell. A few weeks later, at
12576-454: The project was costing nearly £240 a month. The castle was essentially complete by the end of 1289, having cost an estimated £8,190, around 10 percent of the £80,000 that Edward spent on castle-building in Wales between 1277 and 1304. Harlech was established with a garrison of 36 men: a constable, 30 men, including 10 crossbowmen, a chaplain, a smith, carpenter and stonemason, and Master James
12707-495: The province of Maine from the English. These conditions were agreed upon in the Treaty of Tours in 1444, but the cession of Maine was kept secret from Parliament, as it was known that this would be hugely unpopular with the English populace. The marriage took place at Titchfield Abbey on 23 April 1445, one month after Margaret's 15th birthday. She had arrived with an established household, composed primarily not of Angevins, but of members of Henry's royal servants; this increase in
12838-550: The recalcitrant Richard, Duke of York , or Yorkists . These civil wars—known today as Wars of the Roses —broke out in 1455 when Henry's army was defeated by a Yorkist one at the First Battle of St Albans , and there were further bloody encounters between the two sides until, eventually, in March 1461, the Yorkist army led by Edward, Duke of York , beat the royal army at Towton . This decisive engagement has been described as
12969-416: The relatively modest cost of £8,190. Over the next few centuries, the castle played an important part in several wars, withstanding the siege of Madog ap Llywelyn between 1294 and 1295, but falling to Prince Owain Glyndŵr in 1404. It then became Glyndŵr's residence and military headquarters for the remainder of the uprising until being recaptured by English forces in 1409. During the 15th century Wars of
13100-415: The rope and the man's windpipe, thus keeping him alive, after which he was revived in the cart as it was taking him away for burial. He was also capable of inflicting harm, such as when he struck John Robyns blind after Robyns cursed "Saint Henry". Robyns was healed only after he went on a pilgrimage to the shrine of King Henry. A particular devotional act that was closely associated with the cult of Henry VI
13231-515: The ruined castle is managed by Cadw , the Welsh Government's historic environment service, as a tourist attraction. UNESCO considers Harlech, with three others at Beaumaris , Conwy and Caernarfon , to be one of "the finest examples of late 13th century and early 14th century military architecture in Europe", and it is classed as a World Heritage Site . The fortification is built of local stone and concentric in design, featuring
13362-578: The short story "The Duchess and the Doll" (1950) by Edith Pargeter . Harlech Castle Harlech Castle ( Welsh : Castell Harlech ; Welsh pronunciation: [kastɛɬ ˈharlɛχ] ) in Harlech , Gwynedd , Wales , is a Grade I listed medieval fortification built onto a rocky knoll close to the Irish Sea . It was built by Edward I during his invasion of Wales between 1282 and 1289 at
13493-419: The sides of the gatehouse; the gatehouse was fitted with fireplaces and would originally have had prominent chimneys. The use of these rooms has been the subject of academic debate: historian Arnold Taylor argued that the first floor of the gatehouse was used by the constable as living accommodation, with the second floor used by senior visitors; Jeremy Ashbee has since challenged this interpretation, suggesting
13624-505: The situation to make herself an effective power behind the throne . Amid military disasters in France, and a collapse of law and order in England, the Queen and her clique came under accusations – particularly from Henry VI's increasingly popular cousin, the Duke of York – of misconduct of the war in France and misrule of England. Tensions mounted between Margaret and York over control of the incapacitated King's government, which developed into
13755-491: The size of the royal household, and a concomitant increase on the birth of their son, Edward of Westminster , in 1453, led to proportionately greater expense but also to greater patronage opportunities at Court. Henry had wavered in yielding Maine to Charles, knowing that the move was unpopular and would be opposed by the Dukes of Gloucester and York, and also because Maine was vital to the defence of Normandy . However, Margaret
13886-497: The territory held by the English, including the English monarch's ancestral lands in Aquitaine and the conquered Normandy . By 1453, Calais was the only English-governed territory on the continent. Henry's domestic popularity declined in the 1440s, partly due to the revelation that a large, strategically important territory (the county of Maine ) had been secretly returned to the French. Political unrest in England grew rapidly as
14017-511: The throne lasted less than six months. Warwick soon overreached himself by declaring war on Burgundy , whose ruler Charles the Bold responded by giving Edward IV the assistance he needed to win back his throne by force. Edward returned to England in early 1471 and was reconciled with Clarence. Warwick was killed at the Battle of Barnet on 14 April and the Yorkists won a final decisive victory at
14148-439: The throne, all official documents began to refer to his regnal year as "the 49th year of the reign of Henry VI and the first of his readeption to royal power". Although the Lancastrian regime was reinstated, it has been described as "Lancastrian... in a Neville costume". Henry's return to the throne did not last long. After gaining Burgundian support, Edward IV landed at Ravenspurn on 14 March 1471. Local militias were raised in
14279-412: The towers and irregular material, possibly taken from the ditch, used for the walls. A softer yellow sandstone is used for the decorative work in the castle, possibly quarried from around Egryn Abbey near Barmouth . The main entrance to the castle would have involved crossing a stone bridge between the two easterly ditch bridge towers and the main gatehouse; little remains of the bridge towers today and
14410-536: The town of Denbigh . Tudor's arrival caused Edward IV to order William Herbert to mobilise an army, possibly up to 10,000 strong, to finally seize the castle. After a month's siege, the small garrison surrendered on 14 August. This siege is credited with inspiring the song Men of Harlech . The English Civil War broke out in 1642 between the Royalist supporters of Charles I and the supporters of Parliament . Harlech apparently had not been repaired following
14541-454: The victory at Agincourt . This allowed Henry to be heavily influenced by many nobles, such as William de la Pole , who oversaw significant English losses in France, such as the Siege of Orléans . On the other hand, many historians see Henry as a pious, generous king, who was victim of an unstable crown, caused by the deposition of Richard II . John Blacman, personal chaplain of Henry, described
14672-460: The warring factions by staging the Loveday in London. Despite such attempts at reconciliation, tensions between the houses of Lancaster and York eventually broke out in open war. Their forces engaged at the Battle of Northampton , 10 July 1460, where the king was captured and taken into captivity under the Yorkists. Queen Margaret, who also had been on the field, managed to escape with her son,
14803-608: The wedding of Henry to one of the daughters of King James I of Scotland ; the proposal came to nothing. During the Congress of Arras in 1435, the English put forth the idea of a union between Henry and a daughter of King Charles VII of France , but the Armagnacs refused even to contemplate the suggestion unless Henry renounced his claim to the French throne. Another proposal in 1438 to a daughter of King Albert II of Germany likewise failed. Better prospects for England arose amid
14934-614: Was also lost. In October 1452, an English advance in Aquitaine retook Bordeaux and was having some success, but by 1453 Bordeaux was lost again, leaving Calais as England's only remaining territory on the continent. In 1452, the Duke of York was persuaded to return from Ireland , claim his rightful place on the council, and put an end to bad government. His cause was a popular one and he soon raised an army at Shrewsbury . The court party, meanwhile, raised their own similar-sized force in London. A stand-off took place south of London, with
15065-677: Was another, separate but larger gathering in the East Riding of Yorkshire , this time led by one Robin of Holderness . This rebellion may have been in support of the Percy family's traditional claim to the earldom of Northumberland; this group, too, was scattered by John Neville, and its leader beheaded in York . In the meantime, the remnants of Robin of Redesdale's original force had regrouped and re-emerged in Lancashire ; this rising, at least,
15196-400: Was buried at Chertsey Abbey before being moved to Windsor Castle in 1484. Miracles were attributed to Henry after his death and he was informally regarded as a saint and martyr until the 16th century. He left a legacy of educational institutions, having founded Eton College , King's College, Cambridge and (together with Henry Chichele ) All Souls College, Oxford . Shakespeare wrote
15327-426: Was determined that he should see it through. As the treaty became public knowledge in 1446, public anger focused on the Earl of Suffolk, but Henry and Margaret were determined to protect him. In 1447, the king and queen summoned the Duke of Gloucester to appear before parliament on the charge of treason. Queen Margaret had no tolerance for any sign of disloyalty toward her husband and kingdom, thus any suspicion of this
15458-433: Was equally dissatisfied with his lot under his brother's regime, particularly as Edward had recently forbidden a marriage between George and Warwick's eldest daughter, Isabel Neville . The king had also recently dismissed Warwick and John's brother George from the chancellorship —in (says historian Charles Ross ) a "pointed" manner. According to Jean de Wavrin , the earliest indication that Warwick had turned to treason
15589-496: Was immediately brought to her attention. This move was instigated by Gloucester's enemies, the earl of Suffolk, whom Margaret held in great esteem, and the ageing Cardinal Beaufort and his nephew, Edmund Beaufort, Earl of Somerset . Gloucester was put in custody in Bury St Edmunds , where he died, probably of a heart attack (although contemporary rumours spoke of poisoning) before he could be tried. The Duke of York, being
15720-414: Was in July 1467: Wavrin relates that Warwick was even at that time promising to make the young Duke of Clarence king in place of his brother. Certainly, though, by 1468 relations between Warwick and the King had deteriorated to such an extent that the earl was actively plotting against Edward. A captured Lancastrian messenger at the siege of Harlech Castle alleged that Warwick was not only conspiring against
15851-447: Was kept by his tomb at Windsor , where pilgrims would put it on to enlist Henry's aid against migraines. Numerous miracles were credited to the dead king, including his raising the plague victim Alice Newnett from the dead and appearing to her as she was being stitched in her shroud. He also intervened in the attempted hanging of a man who had been unjustly condemned to death, accused of stealing some sheep. Henry placed his hand between
15982-488: Was named regent as Protector of The Realm in 1454. The queen was excluded completely, and Edmund Beaufort was detained in the Tower of London, while many of York's supporters spread rumours that Edward was not the king's son, but Beaufort's. Other than that, York's months as regent were spent tackling the problem of government overspending. Around Christmas Day 1454, King Henry regained his senses. Disaffected nobles who had grown in power during Henry's reign, most importantly
16113-556: Was not totally demolished. Stone from the castle was reused to build houses in the local town. In the late-18th and 19th centuries, the picturesque ruins of Harlech began to attract visits from prominent artists, including John Cotman , Henry Gastineau , Paul Sandby , J. M. W. Turner and John Varley . In 1914 it was transferred from the Merioneth Crown Estate to the control of the Office of Works , who commenced
16244-517: Was originally buried in Chertsey Abbey in Surrey , but in 1484 Richard III had his body moved to St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle . When the body was exhumed in 1910, it was found to be 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm) tall with a damaged, abnormally thin skull and the fore-leg bone of a pig substituting his missing right arm. It was initially thought the damage to the skull indicated
16375-424: Was pursuing, but the king had made an unpopular marriage to Elizabeth Woodville , whom Warwick appears to have considered of parvenu stock. Edward's younger brother George of Clarence was also, for his own reasons, turning against Edward, and by the late 1460s, he and Warwick were in political alliance against the King. In late 1467, Warwick withdrew from the court to the north and his Yorkshire estates. George
16506-539: Was quashed. In the aftermath of the revolt, additional defences were built around the route down to the sea. Further work was undertaken between 1323 and 1324, following the Despenser War ; Edward II was threatened in the region by the Mortimer Marcher Lord family, and ordered his sheriff, Sir Gruffudd Llwyd, to extend the defences leading up to the gatehouse with additional towers. In 1400
16637-409: Was rewarded by being made the constable of Harlech from 1290 to 1293. In 1294, Madog ap Llywelyn began an uprising against English rule that spread quickly through Wales. Several English-held towns were razed and Harlech, along with Criccieth Castle and Aberystwyth Castle , were besieged that winter. Fresh supplies were sent from Ireland by sea, arriving via Harlech's water gate, and the uprising
16768-407: Was shortly after his crowning ceremony at Merton Priory on All Saints' Day , 1 November 1437, shortly before his 16th birthday, that he obtained some measure of independent authority. This was confirmed on 13 November 1437, but his growing willingness to involve himself in administration had already become apparent in 1434, when the place named on writs temporarily changed from Westminster (where
16899-406: Was the bending of a silver coin as an offering to the "saint" so that he might perform a miracle. One story had a woman, Katherine Bailey, who was blind in one eye. As she was kneeling at mass, a stranger told her to bend a coin to King Henry. She promised to do so, and as the priest was raising the communion host, her partial blindness was cured. Although Henry VI's shrine was enormously popular as
17030-483: Was the father of King Henry VII of England . In reaction to the coronation of Charles VII of France in Reims Cathedral on 17 July 1429, Henry was soon crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey on 6 November 1429, aged 7, followed by his own coronation as King of France at Notre-Dame de Paris on 16 December 1431, aged 10. He was the only English king to be crowned king in both England and France. It
17161-497: Was the last mainland royal fortress to surrender in the war, and the date marked the end of the first phase of the war. The castle was no longer required for the security of North Wales and, to prevent any further use by the Royalists, Parliament ordered its slighting , or destruction. The orders were only partially carried out, however, and the gatehouse staircases were destroyed and the castle rendered generally unusable, but it
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