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Henry VI, reigned 1422-1471
Born in 1421, king from 1422, Henry grew up deeply religious and not in
the least warlike. He was a kind, gentle man, terrified of girls. He
once saw the body of a traitor, quartered on a stake, and ordered that
nobody was ever to be treated like that again in his name.
But Henry was far too feeble to be a king. His French grandfather had
been mentally ill, and so was Henry from 1454. The French refused to
accept him as their monarch. In England, the Duke of York claimed the
crown for himself in 1455. The worst of the Wars of the Roses followed
, during which Henry saw frequent periods of captivity. His people
looked to him for leadership, but were always disappointed. He was
finally murdered by York's son in 1471, leaving behind Eton College,
King's college, Cambridge as his only memorials.
James I, reigned 1603 - 1625
Descended from Henry VII, James VI of Scotland became James I of
England when his cousin Elizabeth died in 1603. He was born in 1566
, three months after his mother Mary, Queen of Scots, had seen her
Italian musician Riccio stabbed to death at dinner. His father, Lord
Darnley, was murdered a few months later, and after he was a year old
James never saw his mother again.
He grew up believing that kings were appointed by God and had a divine
right to rule. This brought him into conflict with the English
Parliament, which distrusted his judgment on a variety of issues. Guy
Fawkes (a Catholic) tried to blow them all up in the Gunpowder Plot of
1605. James authorized the translation of the Bible into English in
1611, and nine years later the Mayflower pilgrims left for America.
James died in 1625.
(this king picture is my favorite, kind of el greco, but for the
pictured king. it was drawn by Daniel Mytens, 1621)
xw