Henry VI: The Mad King Who Caused The War Of The Roses | Wars Of The Roses | Real Royalty

Almost 600 years ago England was torn apart by a series of bloody battles for the throne in just 30 years the crown changed hands seven times tens of thousands were massacred it was one of the most turbulent and violent periods in British history known as the Wars of the Roses, the bloodshed began when a bitter power struggle broke out between England's Queen Margaret of Anjou and one of the country's most powerful nobles, Richard, Duke of York. They were both fighting for control of England's weakest King Henry. The sixth has been portrayed as a simple family feud between the royal houses of Lancaster and York to snatch the ultimate prize of the crown of England but that was not the case.

I want to show you a very different version of history, one in which the Wars of the Roses did not start out of hatred. but out of a noble desire to do the right thing in which the

real

villain is not the scheming Yorkists or the belligerent Lancastrians, but a man so weak-minded and empty that he allows a wound to open in his country that takes half a century to heal. , this is Henry. 6 the Mad King summer 1450 without Suffolk there is no one who can control Haley's problems the six armed rioters storm the gates of London they lay waste to the city in an orgy of violence what England needs now is a strong

king

to take control and put an end to the bloodshed, unfortunately for England, that man is not Henry VI, his father, Henry V, is famous for defeating the French at a zinc o, but this Henry has never seen a battlefield, he is superficial , pious and foolish, totally out of his reach. he should crush the rebels, instead he tries to placate them, he hands them over to the corrupt and hated treasurer. his son-in-law now includes the Duke of Suffolk and three of the country's leading nobles are murdered by an angry mob.

England is dissolving into anarchy in growing chaos. Henry leaves London for the safety of Kenilworth Castle in the Midlands, leaving the London mare. To deal with the rebels, the revolt comes to a bloody climax at London Bridge, the Lord Mayor and his troops push the rebels across the river and close the city gates, but the fighting continues all night in on the morning of July 9 in this narrow river. The crossing is littered with bodies and hundreds more have disappeared floating into the Thames at enormous cost. The Lord Mayor has put down the rebels for now. It's no thanks to the

king

that Henry called to ask for it, but surprisingly there is one royal who has stayed behind. behind his French wife Margaret of Anjou in the absence of the king Margaret acts quickly to calm the chaos promises to forgive any rebel willing to give up and go home royal forgiveness seems to work most of the rebels dispersed grateful to the queen for save their furs, but if anyone thinks the Queen is a shrinking violet, they'll be in for a nasty surprise when Henry returns to London.

Any rebel who hasn't had the good sense to accept the Queen's forgiveness will have rallied to get the King's attention. This is the kind of decisive behavior the country needs from its king, except it's not that Henry is ruthless, it's which is Margaret, a woman who takes command, something perfectly natural for 20-year-old Margaret, her mother ran the French duchy of Anjou while her father rotted in an enemy prison. It's her turn to step forward. Imagine what it has been like for Margaret of Anjou, daughter of an important French nobleman married 15 years ago to the king of England, it sounds great or it is until you arrive in your adopted country and discover that her new husbands are basically idiots.

She sees it as her job, even her duty to protect the country and the royal family from her husband's terrible weakness, it is a matter of pride, the problem is that Margaret is not the only person who thinks that way Richard, Duke of York, the king's cousin like Henry and Margaret. a childless heir to the throne as an experienced military man who rules Ireland for the king. he has an extremely developed sense of his own importance. He has decided that it is his job to return home, support the king, and save the country from further anarchy.

As far as you're concerned, Queen Margaret likes him, he's absolutely the right man for the job. What is not subtle about him is that on September 27, 1450, he marches towards London with 5,000 men under his banner. York bursts through these gates into the Palace of Westminster. but at the Parliament meeting he has come to fix things but he does it like a wrecking ball beloved cousin welcome his excellency demands that the king fire all his former advisors and Parliament appoints him York in charge of the country that Parliament tells him let it be lost, it's too late the Kings already gave the job to someone else just 16 days before Henry gave another of his cousins ​​the job of administering England for him Lord Somerset my lord Somerset has just returned from a disastrous French campaign where he lost the key city of Rome and then committed the ultimate sin of fleeing, give me a runner, what is this?

York is outraged. Somerset is not a solution to the chaos of England for York, he is the cause, the Excellency of him, this man is worthy of this title let alone the captaincy of the kingdom. One of the reasons for all the violence is the number of bloodthirsty unemployed soldiers returning from the failed Somerset campaigns. I would call this man a disgraceful coward. What a traitor. It's a serious accusation, but in York's mind it's entirely justified. This puts him on a collision course with Margaret. Because Somerset is the Queen's closest and most essential ally, as a woman Margaret cannot operate directly in the government, she needs a high-ranking nobleman whose position she can exploit.

Somerset's record in France doesn't exactly suggest him as a leader of men, but he is the perfect representative for Margaret, so whether York knows it or not, by attacking Somerset, he is attacking the Queen. Can I say goodbye? York is absolutely certain that he should be in charge. Margaret is absolutely certain that she should be in charge, even though they both want the best for her country. good intentions threatened to tear him apart after Parliament's rejection the storms of York leave London he begins to gather troops near Dartford, downstream from the capital he did not seem threatening before he certainly seems so now he demands that Somerset can be tried and keep the peace Henry is okay, but only if York disbands his army, well that's fine with York, he starts sending his soldiers home, he doesn't need it now that he won York goes to the Kings' tents ready to take the place of Somerset in charge of England, your great, instead find Somerset still on the Kings' side, it's a trap.

He would close this map, a traitor. Somerset retains the top spot on the Kings side, he doesn't fare as well at York. York is forced to return through the streets of London among his captors making him, effectively, a prisoner. They took him to the great medieval cathedral of Old St. When Paul is forced to kneel before the king to take a very public oath of loyalty and acknowledge that any more treasonous behavior will leave him beaten forever, it is terrible that Lee is humiliating to the noble Duke of York and, worst of all, he will probably

real

ize that it is all his fault with York back in his box and his man Somerset in position Queen Margaret has everything under control in the spring of 1453 after eight years of anxiety and ridicule Margaret finally does the duty most basic of

royalty

and becomes pregnant if she has a child her position and her power as mother of the heir to the throne will be unbreakable.

Fortune is finally smiling on Henry's troubled reign, but it is too good to last. New problems are brewing for Enrique. 200 miles away, England has been at war with France for over a hundred years and during Henry's reign there has been one disastrous campaign after another he has lost champagne Normandy Brittany now only a significant part of the vast Plantagenet Empire remains Gascogne Henry is with a hunting party when the latest news arrives from France is not good the situation of its army having been defeated in the Battle of Castile Gascony has fallen into what is the final collapse of a 300 year empire that once controlled more of France than the French, the greatest legacy of the Plantagenet dynasty has been extinguished under Henry's watch.

Henry collapses into a catatonic stupor. Nothing can shake Henry from his senseless trance, not even the birth of his son, Prince Edward, two months later. Queen Margaret tries to keep the king's condition under control, desperately hoping he will wake Margaret up and Somerset is unable to enforce any decisions without the seal of approval from a monarch aware a power vacuum is developing at the heart of the government and the Queen you need to fill it quickly. Margaret's first step takes place in October 1453 here at Westminster Abbey when she names Somerset as godfather to the new Prince, now with a king. conspicuous by its absence, this is a powerful statement if there is any doubt that Somerset is the queen's man or not, but this is more than a simple show of solidarity with his ally, this is a power play on the part of Margaret who is planning to govern England using the authority of the baby Prince for that Margaret needs the support of the nobles so she gets Somerset to convene a Great Council to recognize the baby Prince as heir to the throne and leave aside the Duke of York the previous air at the same time.

As expected, York has not been invited. Margaret's plan fails spectacularly. York's allies on the council insist that he serve my lords as we do well, and when he arrives he refuses to debate the new prince's status. Instead, he has one of his closest supporters denounce Somerset as a traitor. Again, this time there is no docile king for Somerset to hide behind York's move is astonishingly bold with a fatal blow York has castrated both Somerset and Queen Margaret Somerset is struck in the Tower of London Queen Margaret finds herself suddenly isolated from power desperate to regain control she has something completely scandalous there is evidence of it here in the British Library in a rare 500 year old document.

A five-article bill is published by the Queen and is recorded in this contemporary document. The first is that she wanted to have all the government of this land. she wants to appoint the chancellor and the treasurer and all the officials of state, she wants to decide who will be a bishop and she wants to be allocated enough support for the king, the prince and herself, that is a sensational list of demands. You have to admire all the powers of a king, she doesn't do things halfway to Margaret, this makes a lot of sense, she doesn't see anything particularly strange in a woman taking power after everything she has seen her mother do. for years, but that was in a Duchy in France, you are talking about an entire country and you have completely misjudged the reaction of the English nobles, the idea of ​​being ruled by a woman and, worse still, a French woman, is much more than what they can bear.

Margaret's ideas are expelled from the bedroom with the king. it still doesn't make sense, there's only one option left to rule the country March 27 14:54 York finally gets what he wants, he's been named protector of the kingdom and he packs a pretty decent punch to boot by creating an inclusive government, eliminates some long-standing bloody feuds between nobles in the north and bring desperately needed stability to the country. Now all this showed York, that he is not a man lacking in vanity, that he was right all along: he really is the best man for the job caught by the state. from her callous husband Margaret is powerless with the help of her close allies like the Earl of Warwick York is the man of the hour you must be feeling quite smug my lord what news then on Christmas Day at 2:54 pm everything explodes York Henry's face wakes up Queen Margaret Sal ice Somerset is back in first place behind the throne and the queen is back on top exactly where she wants to be.

York is furious as far as he is concerned. Somerset is a coward and a traitor and he has no business ruling England, but York does. If you've fallen out with the Queen and put Somerset in the tower, you can expect the compliment to be returned, so you have a choice, you can retire quietly to one of your castles in the north and sulk and pray for that Somerset in the Queen is not coming for him or may attack them first for a stubborn man like York. That has no choice. What York does next is dangerously close to betrayal.

He gathers an army and marches south toward London, just as the Queen learns that she is sending Somerset north. to prevent him from gathering troops as he advances on May 22, 1455, the two sides meet here at St. Albans York has about 3,000 men with him. He has a simple goal: eliminate the queen's man, Somerset, and gain control of the king. Somerset is hidden. in the city he managed to gather an army that was only 2000 strong but he has the king with him, it is certainly not because Henry can contribute anything to the battle, but whoever possesses the king can claim that he isfighting for the good of the kingdom, they exchange messages. with York clearly trying to get out of trouble, trust between the two sides is practically non-existent.

The only thing that will stop York is that if the King gives up Somerset, it will never happen. The negotiations are going nowhere. Silly options are few. The closest to York. The ally Warwick who takes the first step in the first battle of what will be known as the Wars of the Roses. York and Warwick's men make light work of the barricades, slipping through the narrow streets and taking out the king's men. The defenders are taken completely by surprise. The men capture the king and secure him in the Abbey. York now has only one goal. Somerset, under the medieval rules of war, a high-born noble like Somerset expects to be taken prisoner.

Somerset sir, where do we take that that doesn't work for York? Somerset is not the only one. excellent nobleman to die at the hands of York Lorde's Clifford and Northumberland are also massacred York is victorious Somerset is dead he has Henry in his possession secured here in St. Albans Abbey but he has crossed a very large red line he has attacked the king's army he has killed three of the country's leading nobles and along the way began a bloody feud with his relatives that would last 30 years. It's a bloody change considering York's original plan was to bring peace and stability.

He has done the exact opposite, regardless of what York believes, there is no going back. level of carnage that honors the king after the battle York and his allies Warwick and Salisbury come here to meet the king, they kneel before him and profess their loyalty, all they ask in return is that he make them his advisors and, of course, him. he agrees, but it's not like he has much of a choice. Henry VI has now become a puppet passed from hand to hand and whoever has the King rules England. York is re-elected Lord Protector, but his position is legally tenuous to begin with.

Clearly, Henry is not incapable of this. time and when York starts giving away the best jobs to the allies, it is obvious that this is a click of the arrow, not a unified government, this will be their downfall, yes, the first test comes after only four months, gentlemen, I ask you to all your good help in restoring the fortunes of the royal coffers years of fruitless war in France have left the King bankrupt as Lord Protector York has the unwanted job of trying to raise more money for the sake of our most noble King. I beseech all his loyal servants to affirm this.

Because he must ask the lords in Parliament to pass an order forcing them to give up part of their lands to the king, it would be an unpopular move at best and the massacre of St Albans means York is increasingly isolated. . okay, hey, hey, hey, hey, his order is thrown out of Parliament, this is incredibly frustrating for York, he is the protector, he should run things, but without the support of Parliament, he is effectively powerless and is forced into a humiliating relegation. York resigns from the Protectorate and heads north. everything he did here in Sandor burns all the blood that was spilled was all for nothing technically Henry is now back in full control of the country which, given his history, is a bit surprising here in Bodley and in the Oxford library there is a book that makes it very clear what is really going on this is the brute chronicle one of the first printed books in british history published just a few years after

henry

vi it ​​is almost an eyewitness account of the time this is a passage that describes events in 1456 just six months after York left London and gives us a very clear idea of ​​what people in England thought about their King, so it says here that the government of the kingdom was largely in the hands of the Queen and her advice and then a little further down it should be noted that every Lord in England at this time does not disobey the Queen because she peacefully governed everything that was done with the king and that leaves us in no doubt that it is Margaret who she wears the pants in the marriage but, more importantly, she runs the country and she actually does a pretty good job, which shouldn't be surprising because both York and Margaret share the same goal of stabilizing England, but their mutual hatred has gone too far.

Controlling England is no longer enough for the Queen to want York out of the way permanently and she is more than happy to do the job herself, acting on behalf of her husband and her son, raising an army to defeat York. . Margaret's troops march north, but reach York here at this castle in Ludlow on October 12 at 2:59 p.m. This time Margaret outnumbers. York travels two by one with her army and, like everyone else, brings the king to gain legitimacy. York sends messages to the king claiming to be his faithful subject, but in reality it is a little late for everyone, as the orders are sent in the king's name. demanding that York lay down his arms and surrender, that's obviously not going to end well for York, as expected, he refuses from up here on the battlements.

The men of York can clearly see the royal banner waving in that field over there which tells them that the king himself is with them to face the king directly and risking betrayal is a step too far for some of them in the middle of the night a part of York's troops desert on the night of October 12, realizing that he is now hopelessly outgunned. York decides that discretion is the better part of valor. He runs for it. It is not enough for Margaret to have her enemies flee. She wants to. destroy them completely so on November 14, 59 he persuades Parliament to pass acts of impeachment against York and his allies these acts strip them of lands and titles and their families are expelled from the nobility forever, making it a legal death , but he is still one step away from total victory because, while York himself is still alive, he remains a very dangerous man.

Margaret should have killed him. The king is brought back to London in the custody of York's allies are at war with Queen Margaret now in hiding, it is safe for York to return to England and everyone knows it is only a matter of time before Margaret returns to take the control of her husband and the Kingdom. The policies attempted by York that he has tried to force nor have worked to stop the Queen needs to do something radical York marches to London not under his own arms of the House of York but under the arms of England only one man can do that King York has made his decision about who will take the crown On October 10, 1460, York bursts into the painted chamber of Westminster with this sword extended and demands that the crown be taken from Henry and handed over to him.

Even his closest allies are horrified, but the truth is that York has a genuine claim to Henry VI. He is alone on the throne because his grandfather took it from the rightful king. Henry's grandfather wisely usurped the throne and if that had not happened, York's claim to the throne would be as strong as Henry's because they are both descended from Edward III. the right and status of the crowns of the kingdoms of England and France belong to Richard Duke of York Parliament is thrown into chaos if they side with Henry York has troops stationed outside armed to the teeth if they side of York risk a Civil War by deposing an anointed king, it takes Parliament two weeks to make a decision.

York does not get the crown, but he does get the best: he will become Lord Protector for the third time, with Henry as a captive, he basically runs the country and when Henry dies York or his sons will take the throne it is not a bad deal for York but for everyone else is a complicated compromise and practically all it guarantees is that the bloodshed will not stop for Margaret this is intolerable her son Prince Edward is effectively disinherited since the return of York Margaret has been hiding in Scotland but now writes to them to his allies in England asking for support.

She must know that York's first child comes from her and, after all, to her, Edwards is the only remaining opposition to York's claim and she is York's sworn enemy. He has all the cards he is heir to the throne again he has the king under his control and he is Lord Protector all he needs now is Margaret without wasting time York heads north to bring the Queen these are the remains of Sandal Castle La Fort York near Wakefield, how he arrives here on December 21, 1460, fresh from his success in London, his confidence and importance brimming, but he sets off after Margaret so quickly that he has only six thousand soldiers with him.

York is reached again when he looks out from the walls of Sandal Castle, it is clear that he has greatly underestimated the strength of support for Margaret; In fact, when he closes the castle gates, a huge army is gathering against him. York, outnumbered two to one, is outmanned and undersupplied. York spends a meager Christmas is practically under siege at Sandal, but all he has to do is wait for reinforcements on December 30. York lets his self-confidence wash over him one last time. One of his gathering groups is attacked. Now what he must do is wait for reinforcements.

Get there before retaliating, but standing idly by has never been one of his strong points. York walks through many Lane doors in search of attackers with a little less pride and a little more caution. York could have taken the throne, it takes less than an hour for Margaret's men to capture him. They taunt York with a bloody paper crown and then take revenge on the Queen. His head is stuck on a post and displayed above the mikkel gates here in York with the paper crown still in place. Margaret's final victory over York. He should put an end to the violence, but he can't.

The rivalry between York and Margaret has torn deep divisions across England. The fires of hate will continue to burn for decades. So who is the real villain here? Is she Margaret of Anjou, a woman desperate to stop her husband's rule? collapsing and to save the place that belongs to her son or is Richard Duke of York a man who begins with honorable intentions to truly save England. I think neither of them were trying to protect England from the real culprits, the weak-minded Henry VI. It is his weakness that forced the people around him to try to prop up the kingdom for him, making enemies of each other and kicking off decades of bloodshed that we now call the Wars of the Roses next time York's son His father's great ally, Warwick, is at his side, but the kingmaker goes rogue and plunges the country into even more bloodshed.