Name/Title
CE 1422 - 1461 Henry VI - HalfgroatDescription
1422-1461 Henry VI. Silver Halfgroat, Calais, S-1840, NGC XF
Henry VI of England (1421–1471) was king of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, the only English monarch to be crowned both King of England and, separately, King of France (1431). The only son of Henry V and Catherine of Valois, he inherited the throne at just nine months old, making him the youngest monarch in English history.
His minority was marked by regency councils, while English armies initially maintained the gains his father had made in the Hundred Years’ War. However, under Henry’s weak leadership, England gradually lost most of its French possessions, culminating in the fall of Bordeaux in 1453, effectively ending the war in France.
Henry was deeply pious, gentle, and scholarly, but lacked political and military acumen. His periods of mental illness, beginning in 1453, left him incapable of governing and contributed to the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses—a dynastic struggle between the rival houses of Lancaster (to which Henry belonged) and York. His marriage to Margaret of Anjou further inflamed political rivalries, as she became a fierce defender of her husband’s throne.
Deposed by Edward IV in 1461, Henry briefly regained power in 1470–71 during the “Readeption,” only to be captured after the Battle of Tewkesbury. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London, where he died in May 1471, likely murdered on Edward IV’s orders. Though his reign ended in disaster, Henry VI’s personal piety later inspired a cult following, and he is remembered for founding Eton College and King’s College, Cambridge.Create Date
July 30, 2025Update Date
May 25, 2026
