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Birth:          1 Oct 1206 Winchester, Hampshire, England
Death:          16 Nov 1272 Westminster, Middlesex, England
Burial:         20 Nov 1272 Westminster Abbey, Middlesex, England

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_III_of_England
Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, 
was King of England, Lord of Ireland and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death.
[1] The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry assumed the throne when 
he was only nine in the middle of the First Barons' War. Cardinal Guala declared the 
war against the rebel barons to be a religious crusade and Henry's forces, led by 
William Marshal, defeated the rebels at the battles of Lincoln and Sandwich in 1217. 
Henry promised to abide by the Great Charter of 1225, which limited royal power and 
protected the rights of the major barons. His early rule was dominated first by Hubert 
de Burgh and then Peter des Roches, who re-established royal authority after the war. 
In 1230 the King attempted to reconquer the provinces of France that had once 
belonged to his father, but the invasion was a debacle. A revolt led by William 
Marshal's son, Richard, broke out in 1232, ending in a peace settlement negotiated by 
the Church.

Following the revolt, Henry ruled England personally, rather than governing through 
senior ministers. He travelled less than previous monarchs, investing heavily in a 
handful of his favourite palaces and castles. He married Eleanor of Provence, with 
whom he had five children. Henry was known for his piety, holding lavish religious 
ceremonies and giving generously to charities; the King was particularly devoted to 
the figure of Edward the Confessor, whom he adopted as his patron saint. He 
extracted huge sums of money from the Jews in England, ultimately crippling their 
ability to do business, and as attitudes towards the Jews hardened, he introduced the 
Statute of Jewry, attempting to segregate the community. In a fresh attempt to reclaim 
his family's lands in France, he invaded Poitou in 1242, leading to the disastrous 
Battle of Taillebourg. After this, Henry relied on diplomacy, cultivating an alliance with 
Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. Henry supported his brother Richard in his bid to 
become King of the Romans in 1256, but was unable to place his own son Edmund on 
the throne of Sicily, despite investing large amounts of money. He planned to go on 
crusade to the Levant, but was prevented from doing so by rebellions in Gascony.

By 1258, Henry's rule was increasingly unpopular, the result of the failure of his 
expensive foreign policies and the notoriety of his Poitevin half-brothers, the 
Lusignans, as well as the role of his local officials in collecting taxes and debts. A 
coalition of his barons, initially probably backed by Eleanor, seized power in a coup 
d'état and expelled the Poitevins from England, reforming the royal government 
through a process called the Provisions of Oxford. Henry and the baronial government 
enacted a peace with France in 1259, under which Henry gave up his rights to his 
other lands in France in return for King Louis IX of France recognising him as the 
rightful ruler of Gascony. The baronial regime collapsed but Henry was unable to 
reform a stable government and instability across England continued.

In 1263 one of the more radical barons, Simon de Montfort, seized power, resulting in 
the Second Barons' War. Henry persuaded Louis to support his cause and mobilised 
an army. The Battle of Lewes occurred in 1264, where Henry was defeated and taken 
prisoner. Henry's eldest son, Edward, escaped from captivity to defeat de Montfort at 
the Battle of Evesham the following year and freed his father. Henry initially enacted a 
harsh revenge on the remaining rebels, but was persuaded by the Church to mollify his 
policies through the Dictum of Kenilworth. Reconstruction was slow and Henry had to 
acquiesce to various measures, including further suppression of the Jews, to maintain 
baronial and popular support. Henry died in 1272, leaving Edward as his successor. 
He was buried in Westminster Abbey, which he had rebuilt in the second half of his 
reign, and was moved to his current tomb in 1290. Some miracles were declared after 
his death but he was not canonised.
Background and childhood[edit]

Henry was born in Winchester Castle on 1 October 1207.[2] He was the eldest son of 
King John and Isabella of Angoulême.[3] Little is known of Henry's early life.[4] He 
was initially looked after by a wet nurse called Ellen in the south of England, away 
from John's itinerant court, and probably had close ties to his mother.[5] Henry had 
four legitimate younger brothers and sisters – Richard, Joan, Isabella and Eleanor – 
and various older illegitimate siblings.[6] In 1212 his education was entrusted to Peter 
des Roches, the Bishop of Winchester; under his direction, Henry was given military 
training by Philip D'Aubigny and taught to ride, probably by Ralph of St Samson.[7]

Little is known about Henry's appearance; he was probably around 168 centimetres 
(66 in) tall, and accounts recorded after his death suggested that he had a strong 
build, with a drooping eyelid.[7][a] Henry grew up to occasionally show flashes of a 
fierce temper, but mostly, as historian David Carpenter describes, he had an "amiable, 
easy-going, and sympathetic" personality.[8] He was unaffected and honest, and 
showed his emotions readily, easily being moved to tears by religious sermons.[8]

At the start of the 13th century, the Kingdom of England formed part of an empire 
spreading across Western Europe. Henry was named after his grandfather, Henry II, 
who had built up this vast network of lands stretching from Scotland and Wales, 
through England, across the English Channel to the territories of Normandy, Brittany, 
Maine and Anjou in north-west France, onto Poitou and Gascony in the south-west.[9] 
For many years the French Crown was relatively weak, enabling first Henry II, and 
then his sons Richard and John, to dominate France.[10]

In 1204, John lost Normandy, Brittany, Maine and Anjou to Philip II of France, leaving 
English power on the continent limited to Gascony and Poitou.[11] John raised taxes 
to pay for military campaigns to regain his lands, but unrest grew among many of the 
English barons; John sought new allies by declaring England a Papal fiefdom, owing 
allegiance to the Pope.[12][b] In 1215, John and the rebel barons negotiated a 
potential peace treaty, the Magna Carta. The treaty would have limited potential 
abuses of royal power, demobilised the rebel armies and set up a power-sharing 
arrangement, but in practice neither side complied with its conditions.[14] John and 
the loyalist barons firmly repudiated the Magna Carta and the First Barons' War 
erupted, with the rebel barons aided by Philip's son, the future Louis VIII, who claimed 
the English throne for himself.[11] The war soon settled into a stalemate, with neither 
side able to claim victory. The King became ill and died on the night of 18 October, 
leaving the nine-year-old Henry as his heir.[15]
Marriage[edit]

Henry investigated a range of potential marriage partners in his youth, but they all 
proved unsuitable for reasons of European and domestic politics.[164][u] In 1236 he 
finally married Eleanor of Provence, the daughter of Raymond-Berengar, the Count of 
Provence, and Beatrice of Savoy.[166] Eleanor was well-mannered, cultured and 
articulate, but the primary reason for the marriage was political, as Henry stood to 
create a valuable set of alliances with the rulers of the south and south-east of 
France.[167] Over the coming years, Eleanor emerged as a hard-headed, firm 
politician. Historians Margaret Howell and David Carpenter describe her as being 
"more combative" and "far tougher and more determined" than her husband.[168]

The marriage contract was confirmed in 1235 and Eleanor travelled to England to 
meet Henry for the first time.[169] The pair were married at Canterbury Cathedral in 
January 1236, and Eleanor was crowned queen at Westminster shortly afterwards in a 
lavish ceremony planned by Henry.[170] There was a substantial age gap between the 
couple – Henry was 28, Eleanor only 12 – but historian Margaret Howell observes that 
the King "was generous and warm-hearted and prepared to lavish care and affection 
on his wife".[171] Henry gave Eleanor extensive gifts and paid personal attention to 
establishing and equipping her household.[172] He also brought her fully into his 
religious life, including involving her in his devotion to Edward the Confessor.[173]

Despite initial concerns that the Queen might be barren, Henry and Eleanor had five 
children together.[174][v] In 1239 Eleanor gave birth to their first child, Edward, 
named after the Confessor.[7] Henry was overjoyed and held huge celebrations, giving 
lavishly to the Church and to the poor to encourage God to protect his young son.
[180] Their first daughter, Margaret, named after Eleanor's sister, followed in 1240, her 
birth also accompanied by celebrations and donations to the poor.[181] Henry's third 
child, Beatrice, was named after his mother-in-law, and born in 1242 during a 
campaign in Poitou.[182] Their fourth child, Edmund, arrived in 1245 and was named 
after the 9th-century saint: concerned about Eleanor's health, Henry donated large 
amounts of money to the Church throughout the pregnancy.[183] A third daughter, 
Katherine, was born in 1253 but soon fell ill, possibly the result of a degenerative 
disorder such as Rett syndrome, and was unable to speak.[184] She died in 1257 and 
Henry was distraught.[184][w] Henry's children spent most of their childhood at 
Windsor Castle and he appears to have been extremely attached to them, rarely 
spending extended periods of time apart from his family.[186]

After Eleanor's marriage, many of her Savoyard relatives joined her in England.[187] At 
least 170 Savoyards arrived in England after 1236, coming from Savoy, Burgundy and 
Flanders, including Eleanor's uncles: Boniface became the Archbishop of Canterbury, 
and William became Henry's chief adviser for a short period.[188] Henry arranged 
marriages for many of them into the English nobility, a practice that initially caused 
friction with the English barons, who resisted landed estates passing into the hands of 
foreigners.[189] The Savoyards were careful not to exacerbate the situation and 
became increasingly integrated into English baronial society, forming an important 
power base for Eleanor in England.[190]
Death (1272)[edit]

Edward left for the Eighth Crusade, led by Louis of France, in 1270, but Henry became 
increasingly ill; concerns about a fresh rebellion grew and the next year the King wrote 
to his son asking him to return to England, but Edward did not turn back.[321] Henry 
recovered slightly and announced his renewed intention to join the crusades himself, 
but he never regained his full health and on the evening of 16 November 1272, Henry 
died in Westminster, probably with Eleanor in attendance.[322] He was succeeded by 
Edward, who slowly made his way back to England via Gascony, finally arriving in 
August 1274.[323]

At his request, Henry was buried in Westminster Abbey in front of the church's high 
altar, in the former resting place of Edward the Confessor.[324][ab] A few years later, 
work began on a grander tomb for the King and in 1290 Edward moved his father's 
body to its current location in Westminster Abbey.[326] His gilt-brass funeral effigy 
was designed and forged within the abbey grounds by William Torell; unlike other 
effigies of the period, it is particularly naturalistic in style, but it is probably not a close 
likeness of Henry himself.[327][ac]

Eleanor probably hoped that Henry would be recognised as a saint, as his 
contemporary Louis IX of France had been; indeed, Henry's final tomb resembled the 
shrine of a saint, complete with niches possibly intended to hold relics.[329] When the 
King's body was exhumed in 1290, contemporaries noted that the body was in perfect 
condition and that Henry's long beard remained well preserved, which at the time was 
considered to be an indication of saintly purity.[330] Miracles began to be reported at 
the tomb, but Edward was sceptical about these stories. The reports ceased, and 
Henry was never canonised.[331] In 1292 Henry's heart was removed from his tomb 
and reburied at Fontevraud Abbey with the bodies of his Angevin family.[326]

Legacy[edit]

Historiography[edit]

The first histories of Henry's reign emerged in the 16th and 17th centuries, relying 
primarily on the accounts of medieval chroniclers, in particular writings of Roger of 
Wendover and Matthew Paris.[7] These early historians, including Archbishop 
Matthew Parker, were influenced by contemporary concerns about the roles of the 
Church and state, and examined the changing nature of kingship under Henry, the 
emergence of English nationalism during the period and what they perceived to be the 
malign influence of the Papacy.[332] During the English Civil War, historians also drew 
parallels between Henry's experiences and those of the deposed Charles I.[333]

By the 19th century, Victorian scholars such as William Stubbs, James Ramsay, and 
William Hunt sought to understand how the English political system had evolved under 
Henry.[7] They explored the emergence of Parliamentary institutions during his reign, 
and sympathized with the concerns of the chroniclers over the role of the Poitevins in 
England.[7] This focus carried on into early 20th-century research into Henry, such as 
Kate Norgate's 1913 volume, which continued to make heavy use of the chronicler 
accounts and focused primarily on constitutional issues, with a distinctive nationalistic 
bias.[334]

After 1900, the financial and official records from Henry's reign began to become 
accessible to historians, including the pipe rolls, court records, correspondence and 
records of administration of the royal forests.[335] Thomas Tout made extensive use of 
these new sources in the 1920s, and post-war historians brought a particular focus on 
the finances of Henry's government, highlighting his fiscal difficulties.[336] This wave 
of research culminated in Sir Maurice Powicke's two major biographical works on 
Henry, published in 1948 and 1953, which formed the established history of the King 
for the next three decades.[337]

Henry's reign did not receive much attention from historians for many years after the 
1950s: no substantial biographies of Henry were written after Powicke's, and the 
historian John Beeler observed in the 1970s that the coverage of Henry's reign by 
military historians remained particularly thin.[338] At the end of the 20th century, 
however, there was a renewed interest in 13th-century English history, resulting in the 
publication of various specialist works on aspects of Henry's reign, including 
government finance and the period of Henry's minority.[7] Current historiography notes 
both Henry's positive and negative qualities: historian David Carpenter judges Henry 
to have been a decent man, who failed as a ruler due to his naivety and inability to 
produce realistic plans for reform, a theme echoed by Huw Ridgeway, who also notes 
his unworldliness and inability to manage his court, but who considers him to have 
been "essentially a man of peace, kind and merciful".[339]

Popular culture[edit]

Henry's life was depicted in a series of contemporary illustrations sketched and 
water-coloured by the chronicler Matthew Paris, mostly drawn in the margins of the 
Chronica majora.[340] Paris first met Henry in 1236 and enjoyed an extended 
relationship with the King, although Paris disliked many of Henry's actions and the 
illustrations are frequently unflattering.[341] Henry was also shown in the poetry of his 
Italian contemporary Dante, who depicted Henry in the Divine Comedy as an example 
of a negligent ruler, sitting alone in Purgatory to one side of the other failed kings.
[342] It is unclear why he is shown separately from his contemporaries; possible 
explanations include that this is a code by Dante to show that England was not part of 
the Holy Roman Empire, or that it is a favourable comment on Henry himself, 
highlighting his unusual piety.[342] Unlike many other medieval kings, Henry did not 
feature significantly in the works of William Shakespeare, and in the modern period he 
has not been a prominent subject for films, theatre or television, having only a minimal 
role in modern popular culture.[343]

Children[edit]

Henry and Eleanor had five children:[v]
1.Edward I (b. 17/18 June 1239 – d. 7 July 1307)[175]
2.Margaret (b. 29 September 1240 – d. 26 February 1275)[175]
3.Beatrice (b. 25 June 1242 – d. 24 March 1275)[175]
4.Edmund (16 January 1245 – d. 5 June 1296)[175]
5.Katherine (b. 25 November 1253 – d. 3 May 1257)[175]

Henry had no illegitimate children.[344]

Parents
PLANTAGENET John "Lackland" (24 Dec 1166 - 19 Oct 1216)
DE TAILLEFER OF ANGOULEME Isabella (1188 - 31 May 1246)

Siblings
PLANTAGENET Henry III (1 Oct 1206 - 16 Nov 1272)
PLANTAGENET Richard (5 Jan 1209 - 2 Apr 1272)

Marriage To OF PROVENCE Eleonore (Leonor) (ABT 1222 - 25 Jun 1291)
    m. 14 Jan 1236 Canterbury, England

Notes

Parents
BERENGER Raimund V (IV) (ABT 1195 - 19 Aug 1245)
DE SAVOY Beatrice (ABT 1198 - Dec 1266)

Children by OF PROVENCE Eleonore (Leonor) ABT 1222 - 25 Jun 1291
PLANTAGENET Edward I "Longshanks" (17 Jun 1239 - 7 Jul 1307)
PLANTAGENET Edmund "Crouchback" (16 Jan 1244 - 5 Jun 1296)

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