King Henry III , of England ^{1 3 4 6 9 11 12 13 14 15}

   Another name for Henry was Henry III Plantagenet King Of England.

  General Notes:

Source: British Monarchy Official Website:

Henry III (reigned 1216-1272), John's son, was only nine when he became king. By 1227, when he assumed power from his regent, order had been restored based on his acceptance of Magna Carta. However, the king's failed campaigns in France, his choice of foreigners as friends and advisers, together with the cost of his scheme to make one of his younger sons king of Sicily and help the Pope against the Holy Roman Emperor, led to further disputes with the barons and united opposition in Church and State. The Provisions of Oxford (1258) and the Provisions of Westminster (1259 were attempts by the nobles to curb the king's power, control appointments and set up an aristocratic council. Henry renounced the Provisions in 1264 and war broke out. The barons under their leader, Simon de Montfort, were initially successful, but Henry and his son, Edward, finally defeated and killed de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham in 1265. Royal authority was restored by the Statute of Marlborough (1267), in which the king also promised to uphold Magna Carta and some of the Provisions of Westminster.

Source: Sharon Kay Penman "Falls the Shadow":

In April 1258, Henry's brother Richard of Cornwall sent 50 ships of grain from Germany (where Richard was chasing the elusive crown of Germany) to London to help alleviate the famine, Henry siezed the ships & tried to sell them at inflated prices. This enraged the general populace of London, Henry backed down but they remained bitter. After Henry reconciled with Prince Edward through the mediation of Richard of Cornwall (Henry thought Edward was plotting with Simon de Montfort), Henry attempted to try de Montfort on charges of perjery & "lesse-majeste". The Barons on the King's Council baulked & Louis IX was dismayed by Henry's bad faith, & sent the Archbishop of Rouen to defend de Montfort, Henry backed off. In June 1261 Henry borrows from his father John's tricks & gets the Pope to annul the Oxford Provisions, even as John did with the Magna Charta. The Barons nearly revolt over this, with even Richard de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, siding with de Montfort. Later, de Clare defects from de Montfort & comes to a "private understanding" with Henry & de Montofrt's "common enterprise" unravels. Simon withdraws to France. In July 1262, Henry follows de Montfort into France & tries to have him arraigned before the French King, Louis IX, but the attempt fails. Simon returns to England April 1263, which most felt meant a precursor to war. May 1263 the de Montfort supporters meet & vow all are enemies who do not support the Provisions save the King & his family. Henry held fast, the barons' discontent flared into violence & Simon's supporter the Earl of Derby sacked the town of Worcester & burned the Jewry. May 1263 the young Earl of Gloucester led an Army west & captured the Bishop of Hereford, the most hated of the foreign advisors to Henry III then left after the expulsion of the de Lusignans. He threw the Bishop into prison, laid siege to the royal castle at Gloucester, where de Montfort assumed command. The army then went north to Bridgenorth, where they coordinated their attack with Llywelyn ap Gruffydd; the twon & castle surrendered. de Montfort then headed south for London, where a panicked Henry took refuge in the Tower. In June 1263 Prince Edward's foreign Flemish troops burned Bristol; the populace rose up & besieged him & his army in the castle. The Bishop of Worcester placated the townsfolk by taking Edward's pladge to make peace with de Montfort & the barons (which Edward had no intention of honoring his pledge). In October 1263 Richard Duke of Cornwall (Henry's brother) son Henry defected to Montfort. Simon received a triumphal entry into London July 1263 & Henry capitulated at the Tower of London on July 13, 1263.

Reigned 1216-1272. A minor when he took the throne he did not take the reigns of Government himself until 1234. Baronian discontent simmered, boiling over in 1258 when Henry facing financial disaster attempted to raise large sums from his magnates. Reforms were agreed upon but then renouced by Henry. Simon de Montford lead a rebellion against the King (the Barons Wars) which was defeated after initial success, thereafter Hnery ceeded much of his power to his son. Henry III ran afoul of his barons (again) when he requested a large amount of money to aid him in putting down Gaston de Béarn's 2nd rebellion in Gascony, saying that de Béarn's ally St. Ferdinand III King of Castile was going to invade Gascony, but just as he said this, Simon de Montfort returned to England & told the barons that Henry was actually negotiating with the St. Ferdinand III to marry his daughter Eleanor to Henry's son Crown Prince Edward "Longshanks" (de Montfort's commetns were true). At this point, with Henry's many debacles, his lack of resolve & constancy, the reforms were going to be made with or without his participation.

Source: "Falls the Shadow" Sharon Kay Penman: William the Conqueror requested a large number of Jews to move to England after his conquest. They spoke Norman & did well under his reign. They continued to thrive under William's grandson Henry II. When Richard was coronated, he did so "in a bath of Jewish blood." John merely taxed them very heavily, "bled them white". The Jews did the worst of all under the pious Henry III as during his reign the church felt threatened by violence, war, schism & heresy. The church encouraged Jewish pogroms & spread rumors of grisly rituals & murders committed by Jews. Henry, as a faithful son of the church, did nothing to restrain it.

  Noted events in his life were:

• Personality: Kind but capricious, urbane, pious, loved pageantry, sensitive to slights. He had reddish hair and was fair complected, middle height. ^{15 18}

• Political: Captured by baronial party under Montfort, but restored by son Edward, 1265. ^{6 15}

• Transfer of Power: After the Baron War, Henry ceeded much power to his son Edward Longshanks. ¹⁵

• Title: King of England, 28 Oct 1216 to 1272. ¹⁵ Took reigns of government 1234.

• Political: Defeated resoundingly by Louis IX in the ill fated Gascony campaign, 1242. ^{15 18}

• Political: Gascony debacle followed by inept & catastrophic Welsh campaign, Aug 1245. ^{15 18}

• Political: Baronial discontent simmered in 1258 when he tried to raise large sums of money, 1258. ¹⁵

Henry married Eleanor de Provence, daughter of Ramon Berenguer, IV, Count of Provence & Forcalquier and Beatrice de Savoie, on 24 Jan 1237 in Canterbury Cathedral, Kent, England.^{1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10} (Eleanor de Provence was born in 1222 in Aix-En-Provence, France,^{2 3 4 6 7 12 15 19} died on 26 Jun 1291 in Amesbury, Wiltshire, England ^{2 3 4 6 7 15 20} and was buried in Convent Church, Amesbury, England ¹⁵.)

  Noted events in their marriage were:

• Alt. Marriage, 14 Jan 1236. ¹