A Monarch A Month - Henry VI

Hello all!

Time for another Monarch Of The Month and another History lesson!

Here we have monarch number fifteen, Henry VI:

Henry VI from Kings and Queens by Bothy Threads

Started - 13th April 2020

Finished - 16th April 2020

Total stitching time - 3 hours 30 minutes

Henry VI also brings me to the end of the second row and means I'm 1/3rd of the way through stitching the various Kings and Queens. I've taken out the grid lines so I can get a better photo:

The second row looks too far over to the right compared to the first, but to show it's centred correctly I've put the gridding back in, along with the gridding for the next row which will almost see me through to the end of the year (bet you can't guess which box is for Henry VIII?!)

I'm also going to frog and restitch some (or probably most) of the names on both the first and second rows; I don't like the spacing on some of them, and the last three Henrys definitely need squishing up a bit.

And don't forget, I've got beads to add at the end, including to William I's shield and Henry III's leopard.

Anyway, enough of the dramatics; on to the summary of  Henry VI's reign.

Unfortunately, Henry VI's reign has been overshadowed by his failings in France and the to-ing and fro-ing of The Wars Of The Roses, so there's not much else to write. I hope you find the snippets interesting though.

HENRY VI
Preceded by Henry V (father)

Succeeded by Edward IV (cousin's son)
Lived - 1421-1471
Reigned - 1422-1461 and 1470-1471
Married - Margaret of Anjou in 1445
Fathered - one son

Nine month old Henry became King on his father's death. Two months later he also became King of France, reigning from 1422 to the end of The Hundred Years' War in 1453.

Despite showing potential early on, Henry was a weak ruler. England had been neglected during the regency years and Henry's reign achieved little to improve civil unrest.

In France Henry gradually lost all English territories, except Calais, and by 1453 had also lost the French crown.

Henry's poor mental state and inability to competently rule led to his cousin, Richard of York, being declared Protector of the Realm in 1454. Richard had a claim to the throne (The Wars Of The Roses) and support for becoming King.

Richard was killed by Henry's supporters in the 1460 Battle of Wakefield, but Henry's forces were later defeated in the 1461 Battle of Towton by Richard's son, Edward, who then proclaimed himself Edward IV.

Henry, Margaret and their son (also Edward) went into hiding. Henry was captured in 1465, Margaret and Edward fled to France.

In 1470, Margaret, with the help of the Earl of Warwick and Edward's brother George, restored Henry to the throne but his reign was short-lived.

Edward was killed by the exiled Edward IV in the 1471 Battle of Tewkesbury and soon after Henry was again captured and imprisoned.

Henry died in The Tower of London (possibly murdered while at prayer, hence the picture) in 1471, bringing to an end the House Of Lancaster. He is buried in St George's Chapel, Windsor.

But his legacy lives on, as the founder of Eton and two Oxbridge colleges.

So next month, Edward IV and the beginning of the reign of the House Of York.

Take care,
Rachel x