On 30th May 1445, a 15-year-old French girl was crowned Queen of England. Her French name (Margueritte) literally meant ‘daisy’, a flower she took as her personal emblem. By her parents and siblings she was… Read More »Young Margaret of Anjou
The Rise to Power of William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk The Wars of the Roses, and the political turmoil that led up to them, involved many notorious political actors. Perhaps one of the… Read More »Jackanapes!
Henry VI inherited his father’s throne before he was even one year old. For the first 15 years of his reign, government lay in the hands of a council. It was dominated by his three… Read More »The Minority of Henry VI
Early in 1426, a tense, angry Parliament met at Leicester. One of the king’s uncles accused another of his uncles of treason. The atmosphere was tense, violence threatened to erupt at any time. England was… Read More »Parliament of Bats
In the early autumn of 1386, Henry Bolingbroke had cause for celebration. His beloved wife Mary had just given birth to his first son at Monmouth Castle in Wales. For this reason, the boy would… Read More »The Making of Henry V
In 1491, a well-dressed young man appeared at the port of Cork in Ireland claiming to be Richard of Shrewsbury, son of Edward IV and rightful king of England. Over the next few years, he… Read More »Imposter or Pretender?
It was 22nd July 1403. Henry IV had just won the battle of Shrewsbury. He had been in power for less than four years and already endured considerable dissent and rebellion. Nevertheless, in defeating Hotspur… Read More »Henry IV Part 2 – The Founding of a Dynasty
Henry IV became king in the autumn of 1399 after the violent overthrow of Richard II. At the time he assumed the throne with huge popular support. However, much of this support was born… Read More »Henry IV Part 1 – The Elected King
In the late 1398, Henry Bolingbroke fell out of favour with King Richard II and was exiled. Within a year he returned and seized the throne to become King Henry IV. The story of… Read More »The Adventures of Young Henry of Bolingbroke
Between 3 February and 4 June 1388, the so-called Merciless Parliament effectively stripped Richard II of power. The Parliament asserted that the 21-year-old monarch was too immature and too easily influenced by corrupt hangers-on to… Read More »The Tyranny of Richard II