| 1. |  VI Henry VI Lancaster King Of England was born on 6 Dec 1421 in Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England (son of Henry V Lancaster King Of England and Katherine De Valois); died on 21 May 1471 in Tower Of London, England. Other Events and Attributes:
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.
Henry married Margaret De Anjou on 23 Apr 1445 in Hants, England. Margaret was born between 23 Mar 1428 and 1429 in Lorraine, France; died on 25 Aug 1482 in Anjou, Normandy, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
Children:
- Edward Lancaster Prince Of Wales was born on 13 Oct 1453 in Westminster, London, England; died on 4 May 1471 in Battle Of Tewkesbury; was buried in Tewkesbury Abbey.
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1421 - 1471 (49 years)
Henry V Lancaster King Of England was born on 9 Aug 1387 in Monmouth Castle, England (son of Henry IV Lancaster King Of England and Mary De Bohun); died on 31 Aug 1422 in France. 
Henry IV Lancaster King Of England was born on 30 May 1366 in Bolingbrooke Castle, Lincolnshire, England (son of John Of Gaunt Plantagenet Duke Of Lancaster and Blanche Plantagenet, Of Lancaster); died between 20 Mar 1412 and 1413 in Westminster Palace, London, England; was buried in Canterbury Cathedral. 
