The Long Reign of Henry III

 In October 1216, King John died, a miserable, wretch of a man. To succeed him as king, he left a young son, Henry III, who ruled for 56 years, making him England’s longest reigning medieval monarch. But, for the 9 year old Henry, his secure succession to the throne was by no means guaranteed. Prince Louis, son of the French king Philip II,was still eager to take the crown that had been promised to him by the enemies of John who were desperate to see the back of the hapless king; so desperate indeed as to invite a French prince to cross the channel and usurp him. But with John now dead, for many there was no reason to continue to be hostile to the crown. The new king, Henry, was an innocent 9 year old boy and no grievances were held against him. Louis, however, would persist and Henry needed a wise and sensible guardian to not only ensure his coronation took place safely but also that Henry was protected from Louis’ machinations.

Fortunately, there was such a man. He was William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke. William had served the English crown for decades, steering it through rocky waters of civil war and rebellions. By the time of Henry III’s succession, William Marshal was approaching 70 and, understandably, thinking about a quiet retirement. However, such was the standing of the man that William’s fellow nobles begged him to become young Henry’s guardian. When this request was first put to William, he allegedly responded; “I cannot. I have no longer the strength needed for such a charge. I am too old. You must give this responsibility to another.” Although the matter was briefly allowed to rest, Marshal would again be pressed to become the young king’s protector.

Henry III was crowned hastily at Gloucester by a papal legate, named Gualo. It was hardly the most glamorous of occasions but Henry nonetheless looked the part in his royal robes, despite being of such tender years. The haste of the ceremony could hardly be avoided given the tense nature of the political situation in England at that time and Henry would be crowned again in 1220. Further discussions followed the ceremony regarding who would be Henry’s regent during his minority, a period that would take some years, perhaps 7 or 8. There were two prime candidates for this responsibility; a reluctant William Marshal and Ranulf, Earl of Chester. After extensive deliberation, during which William and Ranulf tried to persuade the other to become guardian, a deadlock was reached. It took the intervention of Gualo to break the stalemate. He took William to one side and granted the earl remission of his sins should he agree to become regent. Remission, or forgiveness, of sins was a concept designed to appeal to crusaders fighting Holy War in the name of medieval popes and, for William Marshal, such a promise was highly tempting. Gualo clearly knew Marshal well and his design worked with Marshal stating; “In God’s name, if at this price I am absolved of my sins, this office suits me and I will take it, though it weighs heavily upon me”. There was widespread rejoicing as the people knew their young, new king was in the safe hands of one of the greatest knights of the age.

Prince Louis had retreated to France but this was not a permanent retreat. He’d gone to bolster his forces for a renewed assault on the English crown and he returned, much to the irritation of William Marshal. Louis divided his forces into two. With one half of his army, Louis assaulted Dover castle whilst the other half of his army laid siege to Lincoln where they were repelled by the robustly courageous female sheriff, Nicola De La Haye. Nicola was then aided by the arrival of William Marshal who defeated the French. Through the summer of 1217, Louis’ campaign gradually lost momentum and terms were reached in September of that year with Louis agreeing to return to France. Two years later, William Marshal died. His last of many great acts in the service of the English crown was to preserve the kingdom of Henry III. He was an outstanding knight in every sense and his death at the age of 72 was, unsurprisingly, greatly mourned.

In 1220, Henry III, still a child, was crowned again, this time at Westminster, on the orders of Pope Honorius III. This ceremony was overseen by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Stephen Langton, who had been at the centre of a dispute between the papacy and Henry’s father, John. The second coronation went off successfully with one chronicler writing; “It was accomplished in such a great spirit of peace and munificence that the older members of the nobility asserted that none of Henry’s predecessors had been crowned in such harmony and tranquility.”

Although things were relatively stable for Henry in the 1220s, the king was showing signs that he was not overly savvy with finances. In 1228, a papal messenger arrived in England to collect the payments Henry had promised Gregory IX in his conflict with the Emperor Frederick II. This would not be the last time Henry burdened himself financially with the papacy and in 1230 he led a rather nondescript invasion of France which achieved nothing except waste money and resources. In the early 1230s Henry was being harassed by the Welsh but he was already counting the cost of his mistakes. When he was told of the damage being inflicted by the Welsh, Henry is alleged to have responded;” I have been informed by my treasurers that all the revenues of my exchequer are scarcely enough to provide me with the simplest food and clothes. So my poverty does not allow me to make expeditions for war.”

Of course, Henry had largely brought this on himself but it was, he found, much easier to blame someone else and the fall guy for the king was his chief justiciar, Hubert De Burgh and, in his place, the Bishop of Winchester, Peter Des Roches, backed by his Poitevin supporters, became more influential. It was said that Des Roches’ power grew so that “Nothing in England happened unless Peter and his Poitevins arranged it”. Naturally, this created tension amongst Henry’s nobles and with the king himself. Des Roches’ began plotting the death of his foe Hubert De Burgh but eventually the king made peace with De Burgh in 1234.

The following year, Henry received a letter from the Emperor Frederick II who wanted to marry the king’s sister, Isabella. Naturally, Henry was intrigued by this proposal. Isabella ,aged 20, was taken to meet the imperial ambassadors who were impressed with her regal appearance. After the terms of the marriage had been agreed upon, no expense was spared by Henry as he prepared to send his sister off to the continent and live the life of an empress. Frederick was very satisfied with his new wife, his third, and sent to Henry, in gratitude, 3 leopards or possibly lions. Henry would keep them at the royal menagerie at the Tower of London which would later include an elephant, sent to him by Louis IX of France in 1254, and a polar bear, sent to him by King Haakon IV of Norway two years earlier. The polar bear would be allowed to swim in the river Thames and, unsurprisingly, this menagerie would attract many visitors.

On 14th January 1236, Henry married Eleanor of Provence and, less than a week later, Eleanor was crowned queen. Eleanor would prove to be highly unpopular, particularly with the people of London. Eleanor’s family profited greatly from her royal marriage which earned her and them much animosity, so much so that, whilst sailing down the river Thames one day, Eleanor was bombarded with various objects including vegetables, rocks and anything the Londoners could find to show their contempt for her. Eleanor’s unpopularity was, essentially, Henry’s doing.

Henry was a very pious man with a particular admiration for the Anglo Saxon king, Edward The Confessor, Henry’s French counterpart, and rival, Louis IX was of a similar nature. In 1241, Louis brought a portion of the “True Cross” to France at huge expense as well as other relics and he built grand new churches. Henry, not to be outdone, would rebuild Westminster Abbey, the great work of Edward The Confessor, as well as building a spectacular new shrine to house Edward’s remains. Louis, of course, would also vow to go on Crusade which Henry also swore to do. Unfortunately, he was unable to live up to those lofty promises. Perhaps irked by the thought of Louis “outdoing him” in the piety stakes, Henry led another military campaign into France and ,again, he failed dismally.

Whilst Louis was proving himself to be a true Christian king, fighting the Holy war on Crusade, Henry’s reputation was diminishing all the time. By the 1250s, discontent among Henry’s nobles was simmering under the surface. Matthew Paris, hostile to Henry, wrote;

” Henry III was losing the affection of his native born subjects. Like his father John before him, Henry attracted and enriched all the foreigners that he could. Englishmen were spurned and deprived as outsiders were brought in. The queen’s uncle, Boniface of Savoy (was made) archbishop of Canterbury and his brother Peter, count of Savoy, Aymer De Valence, the king’s half brother, bishop elect of Winchester, among others, were invited in from all quarters”.

In 1255, Eleanor of Castile ,the wife of Henry’s son, Edward, who would succeed him as king in 1272, arrived in England. Such was the grandness of her approach, it was said the English feared that they were being invaded. In his manner, Henry put on great celebrations for the arrival of Eleanor and this again drew sneers that Henry was, once more prioritising those from a foreign kingdom, as Eleanor was, over those of English birth. On this occasion, this accusation seems a little harsh but the ostentation did not go down well. Henry was, to put it mildly, making a pig’s ear of the country’s finances. He had made promises to the papacy that he would go on crusade. Given what we know of Henry’s nature, these promises would have been made in good faith but, although he made preparations, he never actually went on Crusade, leaving himself heavily in debt from the loans he had borrowed. Henry also further incurred the wrath of the papacy by agreeing to the far-fetched scheme of putting his son, Edmund Crouchback, on the throne of Sicily. This caused Henry further financial difficulties as infuriated his nobles and population with increased taxes.

In 1258, Henry III faced his own version of Magna Carta when the Provisions of Oxford was drawn up. By 1263, the barons, led by Henry’s one time friend Simon De Montfort, Earl of Leicester, were prepared to keep the king’s power in check by force. For the time being, they maintained loyalty to the king, bearing his banner but seizing his castles at the same time, with the purpose of ridding the lands of those they viewed as having enriched themselves unjustly. Henry took the opportunity to escape some of the political heat by crossing the channel to France to meet with Louis. On his return, he would face De Montfort’s men at the Battle of Lewes which would end in a humiliating defeat for the king.

The barons offered to make peace but Henry, with his superior numbers, arrogantly dismissed this offer out of hand. He came to regret this as the battle turned against him. His son, Prince Edward, had developed a hatred for the Londoners after their treatment of his mother, Eleanor, and when he saw their portion of the army, he went in hot pursuit, leaving Henry isolated and soon to be defeated. Henry was now Simon’s prisoner. For a king who had a rather inflated sense of self worth, this was an embarrassing moment for Henry ,and for a year, Simon would wield power. It wouldn’t be Henry who restored royal dignity, however, but Prince Edward.

Edward had also been taken prisoner but he made a daring escape, having skilfully outwitted his guards and, at the Battle of Evesham, he routed Simon De Montfort who was hacked to bits during the battle. Henry III, chastened only a little, was restored to power. In Parliament, a few months later, Henry seized lands and property of the men who had stood against him. Eventually, after continuing tensions, Henry and his nobles largely agreed to peace. In 1270, Prince Edward announced, at Winchester castle, that he was to go on Crusade. It was at Winchester Castle that his father, Henry III, had been born in 1207 so it was a very symbolic moment for father and son. Crusading was something Henry had given much thought to throughout his life but it would be his son, not he, who would actually be a crusader. The 9th Crusade is sometimes known as Lord Edward’s Crusade, for obvious reasons, and only had limited impact. But Prince Edward, who would become king Edward I during his long journey home, showed that he was a vastly different man to his father. Henry III had picked fights he couldn’t win, made promises he couldn’t keep and ruled a country for more than half a century he couldn’t keep happy. The reign of Henry III was long and, frankly, tortuous.