Henry III

Depiction in Effigies ad Regem Angliae (c. 1280)

Regnal name: King Henry III of England

Birth name: Henri Wynchester Plantagenest d'Angevin

Born: 01 October 1207, Winchester, Hampshire, Kingdom of England

Father: King John of England 'Lackland'

Mother: Isabella, Countess of Angoulême 

House: Plantagenet

Nationality: English

Religion: Catholicism

Claim: Child of John 'Lackland' 

Reign: 28 October 1216 - 16 November 1272 (56 years)

Coronation: 28 October 1216 and 17 May 1220

Predecessor: John 'Lackland'

Successor: Edward I 'Longshanks' 

Contender: Louis 'The Lion' 

Died: 16 November 1272 (aged 65), Westminster, Middlesex, Kingdom of England

Cause: Dysentery

Burial: Westminster Abbey

Motto: He who does not give what he has, does not receive what he wants 

Spouse(s):

• Lady Eleanor of Provence (m. 1236 - 1272) 

Children:

• With Lady Eleanor of Provence
• King Edward I of England 'Longshanks' (1239 - 1307)
• Margaret, Queen of Scotland (1240 - 1275)
• Beatrice, Duchess of Brittany (1242 - 1275)
• Prince Edmund, Earl of Lancaster (1245 - 1296)
• Princess Katherine (1253 - 1257) 

Appearance:

He was described as having a strong build, and was likely around 168cm (5'6'') tall. He also possessed a drooping eyelid.

 

Character:

Henry was largely regarded as honest, capable of sympathy, and could be quite amicable, despite the occasional bouts of bad temperament. He was also described as quite emotional, especially in terms of his dedication to Christianity, and was reported to be reduced to tears by sermons. 

 

He was close with and loyal to his wife, and shared a very close relationship with his children, ensuring that he was parted from them as little as possible. He was also known to be generous to his friends and family, and often donated extensively to the poor, especially when celebrating happy moments in his life. 

 

However, Henry was also very antisemitic, and purposefully fuelled anti-Jewish attitudes within England while also attempting to convert them to Christianity. He also forced them to wear identifying badges. Henry was very religious, and was particularly dedicated to Saint Edward the Confessor. 

 

He was not particularly politically astute, and often displayed favouritism and nepotism as king. This meant he was also easily influenced, especially by his wife and her family. 

 

Henry also enjoyed art and architecture.

 

Biography:

Henry was born in 1207 in the Kingdom of England. He was the eldest child of King John of England, and his wife, Isabella, Countess of Angoulême, though he did have a few older illegitimate siblings. He was named after his grandfather, King Henry II of England. 

 

Not much is known about his childhood, other than he mainly grew up in the care of his wet nurse, and likely was not close with either of his parents. By 1212, he began receiving a formal military training and education. 
 
Henry's father died in 1216, meaning that he was now King Henry III of England, aged just 9 years old. His father had appointed a council to help his son rule once he knew he was dying. Henry had come to the throne at a time of great unrest within England. Prince Louis of France claimed to be the rightful King of England, his father had just signed the Magna Carta which began limiting royal power, and the Barons were rebelling. 

 

In 1217, peace was finally reached between all warring factions and attempts were made to restore power to the crown, with help from the Pope who threatened rebels with excommunication. 
 
By 1227, Henry assumed full control of his government now that he was old enough, and his main aim became reclaiming the lands that had been lost to France. Though, this ultimately did not amount to much and was largely unsuccessful. He adopted Edward the Confessor, a previous King of England, as his patron saint, and began attempting to emulate his policies of peace and unity within England. 

 

After years of searching for a potential wife and Queen Consort, Henry finally settled on Lady Eleanor of Provence, the daughter of the Count of Provence, in the hopes of gaining a powerful ally against the Kingdom of France. They married in 1236 when Henry was 28 years old, and Eleanor was 12. They would go on to have five children together, and Eleanor proved herself to be a strong political force, perhaps more so than Henry. Henry would become very close to his wife and children, and was greatly effected when his daughter, Princess Katherine, died young from a degenerative disorder. However, Henry's marriage to Eleanor was not popular, as she brought many of her family members into the English court, whom Henry showed a great deal of favour towards. 
 
Later in life, Henry held a close friendship with King Alexander III of Scotland, who had married his daughter, Princess Margaret, and even helped rescue them from Scottish rebels in 1255. 

 

Around this time, Henry also began attempts to embark on a crusade, but these plans were stopped when an uprising occurred in his lands in Gascony, supported by the Kingdom of Castile. He would even fall out with his wife for a year over the issue, but peace was finally reached with Castile when Henry betrothed his son and heir, Prince Edward, to the Castilian princess, Eleanor. Henry would also make peace with the King of France, his previous contender, and the two became close friends. They even became brother-in-laws when Louis married Queen Eleanor's sister, Margaret. He would also heavily influence the elections of the German King, helping his brother to win and become King of the Romans. 
 
In 1258, the English barons began to revolt again, and Henry even briefly quarrelled with his eldest son, Edward, believing that he was plotting a coup against him. However, they soon reconciled, and Edward would help his father in dealing with these rebellions. 

 

Unfortunately, England would fall into instability, and the barons would continue to rebel, followed by Welsh incursions. Looting broke out around the country, and antisemitism increased, with Jews frequently being targetted. Henry would even be captured and imprisoned by Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, who had played a large role in massacring Jews living in central England. The king quickly surrendered, and his son, Prince Edward, would also be captured. Simon de Montfort would then declare himself to be the new king of England, and begin his own parliamentary council to rule the country. This would mark the beginning of the parliament government that would come to rule England to this very day. 

 

However, Prince Edward managed to escape and began rallying troops to support his father's return to power. During this time, Henry had also escaped thanks to be granted freedom of movement, and sought the help of the Kingdom of France. Though hesitant at first, King Louis IX of France eventually spoke against the rebels, agreeing with the notion of the divine rights of kings. Henry's wife's allies also came in handy, especially as her sister was the Queen of France, and likely helped influence King Louis' decision to speak out against the rebel barons. While Henry returned to England where he had become nothing more than a figurehead, his wife, Eleanor, remained in France to help plan the French invasion of England.

 

Meanwhile, Prince Edward captured many of Montfort's supporters, and took Montfort by surprise in the Battle of Evesham. Once Montfort's son had been killed during the battle, he appears to have known that he was going to lose and be killed. He would then allow himself to be stabbed to death by a member of Prince Edward's death squad.

 

After the defeat of the barons, Henry was quick to take revenge against his enemies, which only further plunged England into chaos. Eventually, he was able to be talked down by the church, and gave the rebels large fines instead. Henry then began to devote himself to more peaceful solutions, as well as attempting to decrease the chaos that had occurred in his kingdom. He calmed down his antisemitic policies that Montfort had taken to the extreme, and granted some of their rights back, despite this not being an overly popular decision. 

 

His eldest son, Prince Edward, left to join the eighth crusade, a decision that originally made Henry nervous, since, without his son's protection, he was concerned that rebellion would break out again. However, Edward begged his father to be allowed to go, something which Henry had always wanted to take part in as well, and Henry finally agreed. He was finally able to reach amicable agreements with parliament.  

 

Over the next few years, Henry began to grow increasingly old and ill, and always remained paranoid about further rebellions against him. He even begged his son to return to England during one of his periods of illnesses in fear, but Edward ignored him. Henry had a brief period of better health, and announced his own plans to finally join the crusade, only to once again quickly fall ill. 

 

Henry finally died in 1272, likely as a result of dysentery.

 

Rule:

Henry III's reign was largely chaotic in nature. Two baron wars occurred, and power would often bounce back and forth between the barons and the crown. Tweaks would frequently need to be made to the Magna Carta which would further reform and limit royal powers within the kingdom. Though, Henry was of the belief of the divine right of kings, and would frequently attempt to restore the powers that the crown had lost. 

 

Henry also faced a challenge to his throne from Prince Louis from France, however, he was eventually able to reach a peaceful solution, and Louis would renounce his claim. 

 

Antisemitism was one of the major issues of his reign. Initially, his council who had helped govern while he was a child, enacted more relaxed and tolerate policies towards Jews within the kingdom, mainly due to the financial gains that would come from such acts. Henry, meanwhile, would have them arrested and forced to pay large fines. He fuelled resentment towards them, attempted to convert them to Christianity, before eventually banning the construction of synagogues, and forcing Jews to wear identifying badges. 

 

Authority would often collapse during his reign, especially due to the many revolts caused by the barons, who remained largely unhappy with Henry's governing. 

 

Henry was also unpopular with the lower classes due to his lax attitude towards sheriffs, who would enforce heavy fines and be more focused on generating money for the king. 

 

Henry also gave a large amount of power and influence to his wife's Savoyard relatives, further making him unpopular with the barons of England. 

 

During his reign, he also lavishly renovated royal palaces, and continued the tradition of keeping exotic animals in the Tower of London. He also donated large sums of money to the church and to the poor, and was supportive of crusade efforts. 

 

Overall, his rule appeared to be very weak and ineffective, resulting in great instability within England.
  

Trivia: 

• During the Battle of Evesham, Henry had nearly accidentally been killed by his own son's forces upon his arrival, but luckily, they recognised him at the last second.
• Henry personally carried the body of King Edward the Confessor to its new resting place within Westminster Abbey. 

 

Quotes:

 

N/A 

 

 

Timeline of Reign:

| 1216: William Marshal made regent - William Marshal and council of 13 act as regents. 

| 1217: Battle of Lincoln - Henry's regent, William Marshall, defeats baron rebels.  

| 1217: First Barons' War ends - Henry offers barons their land back.

| 1217: Battle of Sandwich - French forces defeated by the English. 

| 1217: Treaty of Lambeth - Prince Louis of France renounces his claim to the throne of England.

| 1218: Treaty of Worcester - England loses more power in Wales.

| 1225: Reaffirming of the Magna Carta - Henry signs the amended Magna Carta.

| 1230: Invasion of France - England invades France to reclaim previously lost land, but fails. 

| 1237: Peace of York - England and Scotland agree to a peaceful relationship.

| 1242: Saintonge War - Henry aids nobles in rebellions against France.

| 1242: Battle of Taillebourg - England loses attempts to re-gain back land in France.

| 1248: Seventh Crusade - Henry wishes to join crusade, but is never able to.  

| 1252: Gascony Uprising - Gascony rebels against rule of Henry's lieutenant, Simon de Montfort.

| 1254: Treaty of Alliance - Peace treaty between England and Castile. 

| 1256: Roman elections - Henry successfully backs his brother to become King of the Romans. 

| 1258: Provisions of Oxford - Barons granted more power.

| 1259: Treaty of Paris - England gives up claims to all land in France except Gascony. 

| 1259: Provisions of Westminster - Powers of major barons limited. 

| 1264: Second Barons' War begins - Barons begin rebelling against royal authority again.

| 1264: Prince Edward's rebellion - Prince Edward joins rebellions against his father.

| 1264: King and Prince Edward imprisoned - Henry and his son imprisoned by Simon de Montfort.

| 1264: Simon de Montfort seizes power - Simon de Montfort takes control of England. 

| 1265: Battle of Evesham - Simon de Montfort defeated by Prince Edward.

| 1267: Treaty of Montgomery - Llywelyn ap Gruffudd recognised as Prince of Wales.

| 1270: Eighth Crusade - Eighth crusade begins with Prince Edward joining it.  

 

 

Sources & Further Reading:

Cartwright, M. (2019) Henry III of England. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/Henry_III_of_England/ 

Brain, J. (n.d.). King Henry III. Historic UK. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/King-Henry-III/ 

Henry III | King of England [1207–1272]. (2019). In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-III-king-of-England-1207-1272

HenryIII.jpg Wikimedia Commons (2017). Wikimedia.org. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HenryIII.jpg 

Osborne, J. (2025). Was Henry III the worst king in medieval history? Our expert uncovers one of England’s most disastrous reigns. HistoryExtra. https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/was-henry-iii-worst-monarch-england/

pixeltocode.uk, P. (n.d.). Henry III. Westminster Abbey. https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/royals/henry-iii