Henry inherited the long-running Hundred Years' War (1337–1453) in which his uncle Charles VII contested his claim to the French Throne. He is the only English monarch to have been crowned King of France, in 1431. His early reign, before gaining his majority and when several people were ruling for him, saw the pinnacle of English power in France, but subsequent military, diplomatic, and economic problems had seriously endangered the English cause by the time Henry was declared fit to rule in 1437. He found his realm in a difficult position, faced with setbacks in France and divisions among the nobility at home. Unlike his father, Henry is described as timid, shy, passive, well-intentioned and averse to warfare and violence; he was also at times mentally unstable. (He may have inherited his mental instability from his maternal grandfather.) His ineffective reign saw the gradual loss of the English lands in France. Partially in the hope of achieving peace, Henry married Charles VII's niece, the ambitious and strong-willed Margaret of Anjou in 1445. The peace policy failed, leading to the murder of one of Henry's key advisers, William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, and the war recommenced, with France taking the upper hand; by 1453, Calais was Henry's only remaining territory on the continent.
As the situation in France worsened, there was a related increase in political instability in England. With Henry effectively unfit to rule, power was exercised by quarrelsome nobles, while factions and favourites encouraged the rise of disorder in the country. Queen Margaret did not remain unpartisan and took advantage of the situation to make herself an effective power behind the throne. The Queen and her clique came under accusations, especially from Henry VI's increasingly popular cousin Richard, Duke of York, of misconduct of the war in France and misrule of the country.
Starting in 1453, Henry had a series of mental breakdowns, and tensions mounted between Margaret and Richard of York over control of the incapacitated King's government and over the question of succession to the English throne. What became known as the Wars of the Roses broke out in 1455, leading to the long period of dynastic conflict. Henry was deposed on 4th March 1461 by Richard of York's son, who took the throne as Edward IV. Despite Margaret continuing to lead a resistance to Edward, Henry was captured by Edward's forces in 1465 and imprisoned in the Tower of London. However, Henry was restored to the throne in 1470 but Edward retook power in 1471, killing Henry's only son and heir, Edward of Westminster, in battle and imprisoning Henry once again.
Having "lost his wits, his two kingdoms and his only son", Henry died in the Tower during the night of 21st May, possibly killed on the orders of King Edward. When Henry's body was exhumed in 1910, it was found to be 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) tall. Light hair had been found to be covered in blood, with damage to the skull, strongly suggesting that the king had indeed died by violence.
Miracles were attributed to Henry after his death and he was informally regarded as a saint and martyr until the 16th century. He left a legacy of educational institutions, having founded Eton College, King's College, Cambridge, and, together with Henry Chichele, All Souls College, Oxford.
Margaret of Anjou
Her marriage to Henry may have been a peace effort on behalf of Charles VII but was seen at the time as meddling. Not only was Margaret French but she came from a long line of strong prominent women who exercised power in politics, war and administration. Attitudes to women exercising power were different in Western Europe to England, where attitudes would not change for many hundreds of years in spite of figures such as Catherine of Aragon and Elizabeth I.
Owing to her husband's frequent bouts of insanity, Margaret ruled the kingdom in his place. It was she who called for a Great Council in May 1455 that excluded the Yorkist faction headed by Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York. This provided the spark that ignited the Wars of the Roses which lasted for more than 30 years, decimated the old nobility of England, and caused the deaths of thousands of men, including many of the Plantagenet heirs such as her only son Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, at the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471 550 years ago.
Margaret was taken prisoner by the victorious Yorkists after the Lancastrian defeat at Tewkesbury and was ransomed by her cousin, King Louis XI of France in 1475. She went to live in France as a poor relation of the French king, and died there at the age of 52.
Margaret's father René frequently changed his Coat of Arms, which represented his numerous and fluctuating claims to titles, both actual and nominal. At the time of her marriage the version she therefore marshalled with Henry were as follows:
Parti per pale. Dexter: grand parti per pale, grand dexter: France moderne (for Henry VI as claimant to the throne of France); grand sinister: quarterly 1 and 4 - France moderne, 2 and 3 - England (for Henry VI of England). Sinister: Quarterly of six (three over three), i. Barry of eight Argent and Gules (for the Kingdom of Hungary); ii. Azure seme-de-lys Or a label of three points Gules (France ancient a label of three points Gules) (for the Angevin Kingdom of Naples); iii. Argent a cross potent Or cantoned by four crosslets Or (for the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem); iv. Azure seme-de-lys Or a bordure Gules (France ancient a bordure Gules) (for the County of Anjou); v. Azure crusily fitchy two barbels addorsed Or (for the Duchy of Bar); vi. Or a bend Gules three alerions Argent (for the Duchy of Lorraine).
Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales
Although young, Edward was involved in the battles of the Wars of the Roses, mainly because his father's mental state prevented him from leading any army and he was ironically against war anyway. With little real hope of success, the inexperienced Prince of Wales and his mother led the remnant of their forces to meet Edward IV in the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471 and were defeated. The young Prince was rumoured either to have been found grieving at the battelfield and was beheaded on the sport or to have been brought before King Edward IV who struck him with his huge gauntlet before the King's brothers ran him through with their swords. It is generally accepted though that Edward, however less dramatically, was killed in battle.
Edward left behind a wife of barely a year, Anne Neville and there is doubt whether the marriage was ever consummated. Anne went on to marry Richard, Duke of Gloucester who became King Richard III, probably putting a lie to the tale that he was one one of the royal brothers who ran their swords through Anne's first husband...
Edward's seal naturally shows his Arms as the Royal Arms with the plain white, three pointed Label. His attributed Supporters were his father's Antelope and a white Swan with a Coronet for a Collar and a Chain. This more than likely comes from the Panel of Kings at St George's Chapel, Windsor where Badges from the time were put in place of what later became Supporters.