gravure XVIIIe siècle dimensions toute la feuille 16x9 cm document authentique et original du XVIIIe siècle #894 Henry VI (6
December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461
and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422.
The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English throne at the age
of nine months upon his father's death, and succeeded to the French throne on
the death of his grandfather Charles VI shortly afterwards. Henry
inherited the long-running Hundred Years War (1337–1453), where Charles
VII contested his claim to the French throne. Henry married Charles's
niece, Margaret of Anjou, partially in the hope of achieving peace in
1445, but the policy failed, leading to the murder of William de la Pole,
one of Henry's key advisors. The war recommenced, with France taking the upper
hand; by 1453, Calais was Henry's only remaining territory on the
continent. Henry experienced a
mental breakdown after the loss of Bordeaux, with Richard, Duke of York taking control
of the government as regent until his recovery the following year. Civil
war broke out in 1459, leading to a long period of dynastic conflict known as
the Wars of the Roses. Henry was taken prisoner by Richard of York
at Northampton on 10 July 1460but was rescued on February of the
following year by forces loyal to Margaret. He was deposed on 29 March 1461
following the victory at Towton by Richard's son, who took the throne
as Edward IV. Henry suffered another breakdown and, despite Margaret
continuing to lead a resistance to Edward, he was captured by Edward's forces
in 1465 and imprisoned in the Tower of London. Richard Neville,
the Earl of Warwick, restored Henry to the throne in 1470,
but Edward defeated Neville and retook power in 1471, imprisoning
Henry in the Tower once again. Henry died in the
Tower during the night of 21 May 1471, possibly killed on the orders of Edward.
He was buried at Chertsey Abbey, before being moved to Windsor Castle in
1484. 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 All Souls College, Oxford. William Shakespeare wrote
a trilogy of plays about his life, depicting him as weak-willed and easily
influenced by his wife, Margaret.
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