Henry VI Lancaster 
Henry VI was born on December 6th, 1421 in Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England.1 Henry VI's father was Henry V Lancaster and his mother was Katherine de Valois. His paternal grandparents were Henry IV Lancaster and Mary de Bohun; his maternal grandparents were Charles VI France King of France and Isabeau de Baviere. He had two half-brothers named Edmund Tudor and Jasper Tudor. He died at the age of 49 on May 21st, 1471 in Tower of London, England.1 General Notes
Acceded 1422-1461.
Henry VI
Born at Windsor Castle, Henry VI (reigned 1422-61 and 1470-71) succeeded to the thrones of England and France before the age of one, when his father Henry V and his grandfather Charles VI of France died within months of each other. Henry was crowned King of England in 1429 and, in 1431, King of France. His minority was dominated by his uncles Cardinal Beaufort and the Duke of Gloucester (who opposed each other). Another uncle, the Duke of Bedford, was Regent of France; his death in 1435, combined with Burgundy breaking the alliance with England, led to the collapse of English rule in northern France. The dual monarchy proved too difficult for the King and England to maintain; the successes of the Dauphin and Joan of Arc began to weaken England's grip on its French possessions and Normandy was lost in 1450. Henry's cultural patronage and genuine interest in education (he founded Eton and King's College, Cambridge) were outweighed by his patchy and partisan interest in administration. Failure in France and domestic unrest (for example, the Cade rebellion of 1450) encouraged factionalism.
In 1453 the King became ill and Richard, Duke of York, was made Protector in 1454. The King recovered in 1455, but civil war between the Yorkist and Lancastrian factions broke out (the Wars of the Roses). For the rest of his reign, Henry's queen, Margaret of Anjou, was determined to fight, rather than negotiate a compromise, for the Lancastrian cause of her husband and son. Pitted against Henry was the Duke of York, asserting his legitimate claim to the throne as he was descended by his mother from Edward III's second surviving son (Henry VI was descended from Edward's third surviving son). The Wars of the Roses were therefore a struggle to decide if the succession should keep to the male line or could pass through females. The Duke of York was killed at the Battle of Wakefield in 1460.
In 1461, his son Edward, an able commander, defeated the Lancastrians at the Battle of Towton (out of the 120,000 men who fought, 28,000 died). London opened its gates to the Yorkist forces; Henry and his queen fled to Scotland. An unsuccessful military campaigner, Henry was captured and imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1465, but was restored to the throne in 1470. His brief period of freedom ended after the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471 (in which his son Edward, Prince of Wales was killed) when Edward IV regained the throne, and Henry was put to death in the Tower of London.
-
Ancestor Pedigree Chart
-
*There are earlier generations for the ancestor(s) indicated. See their page(s) for details (click name)
- b.25 Apr 1284 in Caernarvon Castle, Caernarvonshire, Wales d.21 Sep 1327 in Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire, England
- b.13 Nov 1312 in Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England d.21 Jun 1377 in Sheen Palace, Richmond, Surrey, England
- b.1292 in France d.22 Aug 1358 in Hertford Castle, Hertfordshsire, England
- b.28 Mar 1340 in St. Bavon's Abbey, Ghent, Flanders, Netherlands d.3 FEB 1398/99 in Leicester Castle, Leicestershire, England
- b.1286 in Hainaut, Belgium d.07 Jun 1337 in Valenciennes, Nord, France
- b.24 Jun 1311 in Valenciennes, Hainault, Belgium d.14 Aug 1369 in Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, England
- b.BET. 1294 - 1295 in Longpont, Aisen, France d.7 MAR 1341/42 in Fontenelle, Yonne, France
- b.30 May 1366 in Bolingbrooke Castle, Lincolnshire, England d.20 MAR 1412/13 in Westminster Palace, London, England
- b.~ 1281 in Grosmont Castle, Monmouthshire, England d.22 Sep 1345 in Monastry of Cannons, Leicesteshire, England
- b.1300 in Grosmont Castle, England d.13 May 1361 in , Leicestershire, England
- b.~ 1282 in Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire, Wales d.<03 Dec 1322 in England
- b.25 Mar 1345 in , Lancashire, England d.12 Sep 1369 in Bolingbroke Castle, England
- b.BET. 1285 - 1288 in Buchan, Aberdeen, Scotland d.10 MAR 1338/39 in Brabant
- d.1361 in , Leicestershire, England
- b.~ 1291 d.<10 Aug 1349 in England
- b.09 Aug 1387 in Monmouth Castle, England d.31 Aug 1422 in France
- b.1276 in England d.16 MAR 1321/22 in Battle of Boroughbridge, Yorkshire
- b.1312 in of Caldecot, Northampton, England d.16 Sep 1360 in Walden Abbey, Essex, England
- b.07 Aug 1282 in Rhuddlan Castle, Rhuddlan, Flintshire, Wales d.05 May 1316 in Quendon, Essex, England
- b.25 Mar 1342 in England d.16 JAN 1371/72 in Walden Abbey, Essex, England
- b.1275 in Badlesmere, Kent, England d.1322 in Canterbury, England
- b.1313 in England d.08 Jun 1356
- b.BET. 1280 - 1286 in Thomond, Connaught, Clare, Ireland d.BET. 1333 - 1335 in Castle Badlesmere, Kent, England
- b.~ 1370 in England d.04 Jul 1394 in Petersforough Castle
- b.01 May 1285 in England d.1326 in England
- b.~ 1313 in of Arundel, Sussex, England d.24 JAN 1375/76 in Arundel, West Sussex, England
- b.1287 in Warren, Sussex, England d.23 May 1338
- b.1348 in Arundel, Sussex, England d.07 Apr 1419 in Walden Abbey, Essex, England
- b.~ 1281 in Grosmont Castle, Monmouthshire, England d.22 Sep 1345 in Monastry of Cannons, Leicesteshire, England
- b.1322 in Grismond Castle, Monmouth, England d.11 JAN 1371/72 in Arundel Castle, West Sussex, England
- b.~ 1282 in Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire, Wales d.<03 Dec 1322 in England
- b.06 Dec 1421 in Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England d.21 May 1471 in Tower of London, England
- b.1293 in France d.1350 in France
- b.1319 in France d.1364 in England
- b.1293 d.1349 in France
- b.1338 in Vincennes, France d.1380 in Vincennes, France
- b.1315 d.1349 in France
- b.1368 in France d.1422 in Paris, France
- b.1339 in France d.1378 in France
- b.1401 in Paris, France d.1438 in London, Middlesex, England
- b.1371 in Bavaria d.1435
-
Details of Henry VI's family with Margaret de Anjou
Page last modified
This page is within a frameset. View the entire genealogy report of Lancaster families, or surname index of Lancaster pedigrees or report summary Lancaster heritage from 'Strong'.
Family Systems Therapy.
Copyright © 2011 GenoPro Inc. All rights reserved.