ENGLAND'S forgotten KING

Henry III’s peaceable, pious nature was far from the ideal of a medieval king, and his reign was beset with conflict – but what was his true legacy?

- NEIL JONES

This year marks the 800th anniversary of the coronation of King Henry III. Held at Westminster Abbey in 1220, it was a dignified occasion, followed by a sumptuous feast including some 40 oxen and 4,000 roasted chickens. Yet it was also an odd moment because Henry had already been crowned four years earlier at Gloucester: one of numerous curious aspects to the life of a ruler who today is largely forgotten, even though he reigned for a remarkable 56 years (1216–72).

Most people simply recall Henry as the ‘weak king’ pitched against ‘dashing’ Simon de Montfort in the Barons’ War. But there was much more to his eventful life than this. He was just nine years old when his father, King John, died in October 1216, leaving little Henry a country in the throes of civil war with the greater part of eastern England in the hands of Louis of France and rebel English barons. The outlook appeared bleak for the golden-haired child.

However with his unpopular father now out of the way, Henry offered the prospect of a more biddable sovereign and, luckily, sufficient barons and bishops were persuaded. The “pretty little knight” Henry, in Gloucester at the time, was rushed to the cathedral. Here he solemnly took the coronation oath before being crowned using his mother’s bracelet or torque, since John had managed to lose his crown jewels while campaigning in Lincolnshire. The ceremony was rather makeshift but a repeat performance on a grander scale with new regalia could wait.