Alnwick Castle, home of the Percy family, Dukes of Northumberland to this day. The Percys helped Henry IV to his crown, but felt the new king was not sufficiently grateful.
IN 1399, Richard II seized the Duchy of Lancaster from its rightful heir, his cousin Henry. Richard’s unpopularity meant that the small army Henry raised to secure the return of his lands was enough to win him the crown of England, as Henry IV. Henry’s hold on the crown was confirmed after rebellions by the Percys of Northumberland and Owen Glendower in Wales were suppressed in 1408.
Following Henry’s untimely death in 1413, his son Henry V reasserted his great-grandfather Edward III’s claim to the French crown, memorably defeating the Dauphin, heir to the French throne, at Agincourt in 1415.
By the ensuing peace treaty, Henry and his heirs would have been Kings of France, but he died in 1422 just weeks before he could inherit. His son, Henry VI, was only nine months old, and by 1453, the Dauphin, now Charles VII, had reclaimed his crown together with Normandy and Aquitaine, and could savour victory for France in the Hundred Years’ War.
Précis
Richard II seized the Duchy of Lancaster from his cousin Henry, and in 1399 paid for it with his crown. Henry IV’s son Henry V won a famous victory at Agincourt in pursuit of his great-grandfather Edward III’s dream of ruling France, but died before he could inherit the promised throne, and his son was forced to renounce England’s claims. (59 / 60 words)
