Henry VI of England

Could you imagine yourself becoming the leader of a country at merely the age of nine months old? King Henry VI of England did it. Henry was the only son of King Henry V and Catherine of Valois (Wikipedia). By the time Henry V died, he had not only consolidated power as the King of England, but had also effectively accomplished what generations of his ancestors had failed to achieve through decades of war: unification of the crowns of England and France (Wikipedia). For that one single victory by Henry V, he became very popular for that effort. By the sounds of it, Henry was an outseanding King and loved by the people. His son, Henry VI, seemingly had to follow in his fathers footsteps and perhaps do something even greater than his now deceased father. There was only one problem: How can you run a country when you are only a child? England was okay after the death of Henry V because Henry VI had regents that ran the country for him. Under normal circumstances of this magnitude, the wife of a deceased King ran the country, but the English did not want Catherine of Valois to run the country for the simple fact that she was French; so therefore they gave the power to this infant in hopes of greatness. Because young Henry was too young to run the country and had regents to run the country for him until he became of age, Catherine made sure that her son was well-educated. While politics and foreign policies were being negotiated by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, Bishop Henry Beaufort, and John, Duke of Bedford, young Henry VI was either learning or being told to go play (Crow). Henry was finally officially crowned King of England at Westminister Abbey on November 6, 1429 at the age of eight and King of France at Notre Dame in Paris on December 16, 1431. Henry did not assume the reins of government until he was declared of age in 1437 (Wikipedia).

For the simple fact that when Henry VI was younger and not allowed to take an active role in leading England, he did not really care about running the country. Henry was such a spiritually deep man that he lacked the worldly wisdom necessary to allow him to rule effectively (Wikipedia). Henry was more of an indecisive pushover. Since the day that he was born, he had been told what to say, what to do, what not to do, and etc. When the title and reign was bestowed upon Henry, he allowed his court to be dominated by a few noble favorites. Because Henry put his friends in positions of power, he started to listen to them more than he his regents, who had helped him his entire life.

Henry was advised by Cardinal Beaufort (formerly known as Bishop Beaufort) and the Duke of Suffolk to attempt to make peace with France by marrying the niece

of Charles VII, Margaret of Anjou (Wikipedia). Henry agreed to the proposition because he had heard rumor that Margaret was beautiful, and so therefore sent Suffolk to France to negotiate a deal with Charles VII for Margaret’s hand in holy matrimony. After Suffolk spoke with King Charles, he agreed to the negotiation only if France could have control of Maine and Anjou from the English. This negotiation was called the Treaty of Tours, but was unknown to the English because it would have enraged the country. The marriage of Henry VI and Margaret took place in 1445 (Wikipedia). Once again, Henry was right back where he had started, being told what to do and enjoying it. Margaret had a dominant personality that allowed her to reign over England, and made her a more sufficient leader