The Happy Final Days! Henry bows out!
‘How sweet it is! Oh how sweet it is!
With Paris as his next target, Henry would ask:
‘Who could possibly deny me the throne of France? The old French king has lost his marbles and is now a gibbering idiot whilst his son, the wretched Dauphin is in deep disgrace. Everyone blames him for the death of the Duke of Burgundy and it is hard not to see his hand in it. As for the new Duke of Burgundy, dear Philip? Well a lovely chap, but Philip lacks the experience to rule France as a king.
Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy.
The obvious candidate for the throne of France is me!’
Henry had the support of John the Good, but he needed the approval of the French Queen Isabeau, mother of the Dauphin. But why would the Queen support Henry thereby disinheriting her son? The Dauphin, Charles, had treated Isabeau shabbily and as a result she harboured an intense hatred for him. As the French king was insane, he took no part in the matter. Queen Isabeau decided to accept Henry as the heir to her husband, Charles VI.
‘Henry in his quest for the French throne received the support of Queen Isabeau!
she was her own son, the Dauphin’s most implacable foe!’
The best days of his life.
It was agreed by the Treaty of Troyes, May 1420 that Henry was the heir to the French throne and that he would marry King Charles’ daughter, the nineteen year old Princess Catherine. In the meantime, Henry would act as regent for the incapable King Charles VI. The French nobles were required to swear an oath to accept the treaty.
Princess Catherine.
This was the zenith of his career. Henry was now the undisputed heir to the throne of France. He was quite literally on top of the world. Henry and Catherine were married on June 2nd 1420. A son, Henry was born eighteen months later. In February 142o, the royal couple travelled to England and Catherine was crowned Queen of England at Westminster Abbey by Archbishop Chichele.
Archbishop Chichele.
Henry might have exclaimed:
‘Oh, how could one man be blessed with so much!
Clearly, I have been endowed with the golden touch!’
Henry and his queen then went on a grand tour of England, visiting the most important towns. The king took great pleasure in showing off his new bride to the English people. It was a heady time and Henry had never been happier.
The best days of his life! However, nothing lasts forever.
Whilst he was in England, Henry had left his brother Thomas, Duke of Clarence in charge of affairs in France. However, Thomas was killed whilst engaging the Dauphin’s forces on March 22nd 1421. Upon hearing this most unwelcome news, Henry decided to return to France. Henry was well aware that his enemies would have been greatly heartened by defeating and killing Thomas, and he was determined to puncture their inflated morale.
The death of a king.
Henry was laying siege to the town of Meaux which lay east of Paris. The siege was a long one, beginning on October 6th and lasted until March. Henry fell ill with dysentery which was afflicting a good many of his men. Undoubtedly his discomfort was greatly intensified by the enemy’s habit of forcing a donkey to bray from the battlements and gleefully shouting that it was Henry giving a speech. The garrison were severely punished for both their stubbornness and also, for their gross impertinence.
Although he had attained a victory at Meaux, Henry’s condition worsened. By August, he was so weak that he had to be transported by litter, but appeared to be lucid in his thinking. As the end drew near, he announced that he intended to go on crusade to reconquer Jerusalem for Christianity.
On August 31st Henry died at Vincenness at the age of thirty five.