6 December: Henry VI

English king Henry VI was born on 6 December 1421 at Windsor Castle. 10 things you might not know about him:

1. He was the only son of Henry V and Catherine of Valois, daughter of the French king Charles VI.

2. He was only nine months old when his father died and he became king. He was the youngest person ever to succeed to the English throne. Until Henry was old enough to rule for himself, a regency council was in charge, dominated by Henry V’s two brothers: John, Duke of Bedford (who oversaw the ongoing war in France) and Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (who acted as Lord Protector and oversaw affairs at home). They were capable leaders and English power in France was at its peak during this time.

3. He was the only English king to be also crowned King of France. This happened because Henry V and Charles VI made a treaty in 1420 which stated that Henry would marry Charles’ daughter Catherine and both he and his sons would inherit the French throne following Charles’ death. Charles only survived Henry by a couple of months and the infant Henry was therefore king of France as well. He was crowned King Henry VI of England at Westminster Abbey on 6 November 1429; two years later on 16 December 1431 he was also crowned King Henry II of France at Notre Dame in Paris. His right to the French throne, however, was disputed.

4. He married Margaret of Anjou, the niece of King Charles VII in 1445. He was advised to do so by Cardinal Beaufort and the Earl of Suffolk who believed the match would help promote peace with France. Henry had heard that Margaret was very beautiful and therefore readily agreed.

5. Henry VI was a rather weak king who wasn’t that interested in government and had poor taste in advisors. He wasn’t up to controlling the power struggles in his own court, let alone ruling two countries at once. England’s power in France began to wane and Normandy was lost in 1450.

6. In 1453 the English lost at Castillon, which resulted in Henry VI suffering a mental breakdown which lasted about a year. He was incapable of leading and Richard Duke of York was recalled to London and made Lord Protector – effectively regent, until Henry recovered in 1454.

7. It was at this time that the Wars of the Roses occurred. At the opening battle at St Albans on 22 May 1455, York and his supporters gained a decisive victory. The Dukes of Somerset and Clifford – two of Henry’s most prominent allies – were killed in the fighting and a wounded Henry was captured. He was captured a second time at the Battle of Northampton on 10 July 1460.

8. Henry’s only son, Edward, was involved in the fighting, too, and was killed at the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471. Henry died less than a month later in the Tower of London. Some say he died of grief at the loss of his son, but others say he was murdered. Studies of his skull suggest the latter was probably the case.

9. Henry VI founded a number of educational institutions which still exist today: Eton College, King's College, Cambridge, and (together with Henry Chichele) All Souls College, Oxford.

10. After he died, a number of miracles were attributed to him and therefore a cult emerged which believed him to be a saint. This persisted until the 16^th century. Hymns to him still exist, and until the Reformation his hat was kept by his tomb at Windsor, where pilgrims would put it on to enlist Henry's aid against migraines.

Character birthday

Captain Electron, real name Lawrence Ecktron. He wears power armour which enables him to generate forcefields. Former member of the armed forces who had reached the rank of captain before leaving for reasons unknown – although it is likely he was offered a large salary by Obsidian to help design and build the powered suit.