Henry VI of England
Henry VI became king of England at nine months and lost both his crowns. Born at Windsor in 1421, he was the son of Henry V, who died of dysentery in France when the child was an infant, and of Catherine of Valois; his French grandfather Charles VI died weeks later, so Henry was proclaimed king of France as well. He was crowned in Paris in 1431, the only English monarch to be crowned in both kingdoms. The minority lasted sixteen years, governed by his uncles Bedford and Gloucester. Joan of Arc's intervention from 1429 reversed the war, and English France was progressively lost, ending with Bordeaux in 1453 — leaving only Calais. Henry was pious, gentle, generous and wholly unfit to rule. He founded Eton College and King's College, Cambridge, and pardoned traitors habitually. He married Margaret of Anjou in 1445 and secretly surrendered Maine as part of the arrangement, which caused fury when it emerged. In August 1453 he suffered a complete mental collapse, unresponsive for over a year, and did not recognise his newborn son. Richard, Duke of York, who had a strong claim of his own, was made Protector; Henry recovered, York was dismissed, and the Wars of the Roses began at St Albans in 1455. He was captured, restored, deposed in 1461 by York's son Edward IV, spent years as a fugitive and then a prisoner in the Tower, was briefly restored in 1470 by Warwick, and deposed again in 1471. His son was killed at Tewkesbury, and Henry died in the Tower days later, almost certainly murdered.
- Lived: 1421 CE – 1471 CE
- Nationality: English
- Roles: king, head_of_state
