Henry V, King of England

Henry, the son of Henry IV and Mary de Bohun, was born at Monmouth, Wales, September 16 1387.
He married Catherine, daughter of Charles VI of France and Isabelle of Bavaria.

Henry V

Henry V succeeded his father, Henry IV, in 1413 and proved to be the last warrior King of the Middle Ages, vigorously renewed the French Wars begun by his great grandfather, Edward III. Henry V's navy won mastery of the English Channel and his army a great victory at Agincourt on October 25th 1415. The surrender of the northern French capital, Rouen, in January 1419 was quickly followed by the capitulation of Normandy. When Jean, Duke of Burgundy, was murdered in September, Henry V made allies of the Burgundians, forcing the French to accept him as heir to their throne.

The influence in France that Henry V gained in battle was enhanced by marriage to Catherine of Valois, the daughter of Charles VI, the 'mad' King  of France. Catherine was only 20 in the summer of 1422 when her husband suffered a fatal attack of dysentery. They were in Bois de Vincennes, and she accompanied the King's body to England for burial in Westminster Abbey.

Henry V was succeeded by his son, Henry VI.

Owen Tudor, a handsome Welsh squire, attracted Catherine's attention and they are believed to have been secretly married - though no evidence of the wedding has been found. She died at Bermondsey Abbey, in childbirth, January 3 1437 and is buried in Westminster Abbey.

Portchester Castle, Hampshire, England overlooking Portsmouth Harbour where Henry V
assembled his troops in 1415 before leaving for France.

 PREVIOUS    LIST      NEXT