Topical Tens: 28 October: Henry III of England

Saturday 28 October 2017

28 October: Henry III of England

On this date in 1216, Henry III of England was crowned. Here are 10 facts about him.

Also known as Henry of Winchester, Henry III was the son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême.
Henry was only nine when he became king. His father, on his deathbed, appointed a council of executors to help Henry, and placed him under the guardianship of a knight called William Marshall.
Henry had two coronations. The first was a hastily cobbled together ceremony to establish Henry as king, and took place at Gloucester Cathedral. Coronation robes had to be borrowed and cut to size. King John had managed to lose the royal crown during a war, so a Gold circlet belonging to his mother had to be used. Four years later, when things were more stable, Henry was crowned again in Westminster Abbey.
After rejecting several potential wives for political reasons, Henry married Eleanor of Provence when he was 28. She was twelve. However, he treated her well, showering her with gifts and personally making sure she had a well equipped household. She grew up to be stronger and more politically minded than her husband, and it appeared they had a genuine affection for one another. Eleanor and Henry often travelled together. They had five children, and Henry is not known to have had any mistresses or illegitimate children.
Although that could equally be because he was very religious. His faith appeared to be genuine – as well as staging lavish church services, he would give money to the poor, support orphans, go to mass twice a day, going on pilgrimages, and it's said he washed the feet of lepers. There might even have been a rivalry between Henry and the king of France who was also known for his piety, as to which of them was the most pious. He became known for curing scrofula, also known as “the king's evil” by touch. There was even a campaign started after his death to make him a saint, but he was never canonised. Edward the Confessor was his hero. He named his first son Edward after the saint.
He didn't travel as much as previous kings, preferring to spend longer periods at his various residences and developing them. The Tower of London was one of his homes, and much of what we see of it today was built by Henry. Westminster Palace was possibly his favourite house, and the fact he spent so much time there probably helped establish London as the capital of England. He commissioned a lot of work on the abbey.
He kept exotic pets. His father had already established a menagerie at the Tower of London; but Henry built a special home for the animals and expanded the collection. The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II sent Henry three leopards; King Louis IX of France sent Henry the first Elephant ever to be seen in England; and King Haakon IV of Norway sent him a Polar Bear, for which Henry had a chain and muzzle made so that it could fish in the Thames, much to the delight of the population of London.
There is little information about what Henry III looked like. He was said to be about 5' 6” tall, with a strong build and a drooping eyelid. In terms of personality, contemporary accounts suggest he was usually amiable and easy going, although he would occasionally display a fiery temper. He was said to be honest and not afraid to show his emotions – a beautiful church service could reduce him to tears. He also had a sense of humour – there are accounts of him playing practical jokes on one of his men during a sea voyage, making out the man owed a huge debt for alleged misdemeanours on the ship. There is also evidence that he was afraid of thunderstorms, but that he was even more afraid of his brother in law, Simon de Montfort, who opposed him during the second Barons War.
Part of his legacy was that the word “Parliament” was first used during his reign – to refer to large gatherings of the royal court, usually for the purpose of raising taxes. In time, representatives from the counties would attend to promote their own interests.
Henry III reigned for 56 years, and was the longest serving English monarch until George III about 500 years later. He was succeeded by his son, Edward I of England.