General Notes

Reign 1216-72
Burial , Westminster, Abbey, London, England
Henry III (1216-72 AD)

Born: 1 October 1207 at Winchester Castle

Died: 16 November 1272 at the Palace of Westminster

Parents: King John and Isabella (of Angouleme)

Siblings: Richard, Joan, Isabella & Eleanor

Crowned: (1st) 28 October 1216 at St. Peter's Abbey (GloucesterCathedral), Gloucester, Gloucestershire; (2nd) 17th May 1220 atWestminster Abbey, Middlesex

Married: 14 January 1236 at Canterbury Cathedral, Kent

Spouse: Eleanor daughter of Raymond Berenger, Count of Provence

Offspring: Edward, Margaret, Beatrice, Edmund, Richard, John, Katherine,William & Henry

Contemporaries: Simon de Montfort, William the Marshall, Hugh de Burgh,Peter des Roches (Bishop of Winchester).
Henry III, the first monarch to be crowned in his minority, inherited thethrone at age nine. His reign began immersed in the rebellion created byhis father, King John. London and most of the southeast were in the handsof the French Dauphin Louis and the northern regions were under thecontrol of rebellious barons - only the midlands and southwest were loyalto the boy king. The barons, however, rallied under Henry's first regent,William the Marshall, and expelled the French Dauphin in 1217. Williamthe Marshall governed until his death in 1219; Hugh de Burgh, the last ofthe justiciars to rule with the power of a king, governed until Henrycame to the throne in earnest at age twenty-five.

A variety of factors coalesced in Henry's reign to plant the first seedsof English nationalism. Throughout his minority, the barons held firm tothe ideal of written restrictions on royal authority and reissued MagnaCarta several times. The nobility wished to bind the king to same feudallaws under which they were held. The emerging class of free men alsodemanded the same protection from the king's excessive control. Barons,nobility, and free men began viewing England as a community rather than amere aggregation of independent manors, villages, and outlyingprincipalities. In addition to the restrictions outlined in Magna Carta,the barons asked to be consulted in matters of state and called togetheras a Great Council. Viewing themselves as the natural counselors of theking, they sought control over the machinery of government, particularlyin the appointment of chief government positions. The Exchequer and theChancery were separated from the rest of the government to decrease theking's chances of ruling irresponsibly.

Nationalism, such as it was at this early stage, manifested in the formof opposition to Henry's actions. He infuriated the barons by grantingfavors and appointments to foreigners rather than the English nobility.Peter des Roches, the Bishop of Winchester and Henry's prime educator,introduced a number of Frenchmen from Poitou into the government; manyItalians entered into English society through Henry's close ties to thepapacy. His reign coincided with an expansion of papal power Ð the Churchbecame, in effect, a massive European monarchy Ð and the Church became ascreative as it was excessive in extorting money from England. England wasexpected to assume a large portion of financing the myriad officialsemployed throughout Christendom as well as providing employment andparishes for Italians living abroad. Henry's acquiescence to the demandsof Rome initiated a backlash of protest from his subjects: laymen weredenied opportunity to be nominated for vacant ecclesiastical offices andclergymen lost any chance of advancement.

Matters came to a head in 1258. Henry levied extortionate taxes to payfor debts incurred through war with Wales, failed campaigns in France,and an extensive program of ecclesiastical building. Inept diplomacy andmilitary defeat led Henry to sell his hereditary claims to all theAngevin possessions in France except Gascony. When he assumed theconsiderable debts of the papacy in its fruitless war with Sicily, hisbarons demanded sweeping reforms and the king was in no position to offerresistance. Henry was forced to agree to the Provisions of Oxford, adocument placing the barons in virtual control of the realm. A council offifteen men, comprised of both the king's supporters and detractors,effected a situation whereby Henry could nothing without the council'sknowledge and consent. The magnates handled every level of governmentwith great unity initially but gradually succumbed to petty bickering;the Provisions of Oxford remained in force for only years. Henryreasserted his authority and denied the Provisions, resulting in theoutbreak of civil war in 1264. Edward, Henry's eldest son, led the king'sforces with the opposition commanded by Simon de Montfort, Henry'sbrother-in-law. At the Battle of Lewes, in Sussex, de Montfort defeatedEdward and captured both king and son - and found himself in control ofthe government.

Simon de Montfort held absolute power after subduing Henry but was achampion of reform. The nobility supported him because of his royal tiesand belief in the Provisions of Oxford. De Montfort, with two closeassociates, selected a council of nine (whose function was similar to theearlier council of fifteen) and ruled in the king's name. De Montfortrecognized the need to gain the backing of smaller landowners andprosperous townsfolk: in 1264, he summoned knights from each shire inaddition to the normal high churchmen and nobility to an earlypre-Parliament, and in 1265 invited burgesses from selected towns.Although Parliament as an institution was yet to be formalized, thelatter session was a precursor to both the elements of Parliament: theHouse of Lords and the House of Commons.

Later in 1265, de Montfort lost the support of one of the most powerfulbarons, the Earl of Gloucester, and Edward also managed to escape. Thetwo gathered an army and defeated de Montfort at the Battle of Evasham,Worcestershire. de Montfort was slain and Henry was released; Henryresumed control of the throne but, for the remainder of his reign, Edwardexercised the real power of the throne in his father's stead. The oldking, after a long reign of fifty-six years, died in 1272. Although afailure as a politician and soldier, his reign was significant fordefining the English monarchical position until the end of the fifteenthcentury: kingship limited by law.

[1748129.ged]
Custom Field:<_FA#> Ruled 1216-1272

Henry III had four other children.  He came to the throne at age 9 years.  He
is buried at Westminster Abbey.