Henry VI (1421-1471) was king of England from 1422 to 1461 and in 1470-1471. He was known for his piety and charity, but his reign was marred by the rivalries of his uncles and ministers and by the loss of the achievements of his Lancastrian predecessors.

The only son of Henry V and Catherine of France, Henry was born on Dec. 6, 1421, at Windsor. At less than 9 months of age he succeeded to the throne on Sept. 1, 1422, and he was proclaimed king of both England and France. During his minority he ruled through a council consisting of his uncle, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, as protector; Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, as master; and another uncle, John, Duke of Bedford, as governor of his French possessions. Things went well at first, and at the Battle of Verneuil (August 1424) Bedford was able to check the Dauphin (later Charles VII), who had hoped to...