Henry VI

Henry VI (16 September 1386 – 12 March 1441), also referred to as Henry the Mad or the Mad King, was briefly the King of England and France following his father's death in 1437. Although by right he was Prince of Wales, his increasing insanity in the mid-fifteenth century, as well as that of his son, made his vassals reluctant to view him ultimately as king. For the majority of his reign, the realm was governed by his younger but more capable brother, Edward, Duke of Gloucester.

Early life and marriage
Henry was born to Henry V and Catherine of Valois seven years following the conquest of France in 1415. The son that his father had always longed for, Henry was the heir to two major kingdoms in western Europe, and was thus educated from birth to rule. Despite their best efforts, he was forever in fear of small objects in life. These ranged from gargoyles, of which as king he had all taken down and crushed, to the difficulties of daily life. Unlike his braver and more candid brother, Henry was frequently referred to as the "Rabbit of Plantagenet" by contemporaries. His physical appearance was to no benefit in finding a spouse.

Nevertheless, Henry V managed to secure him a match with Margaret of Anjou, a niece of the former French king, whom he married in 1438. Their marriage was dubious, frequently riddled with rumours from courtiers and peasants alike that Margaret was unfaithful, meddled with witchcraft, and that their eventual son Edmund was a bastard, born from the breeding of Margaret with a common goat (or with duke of Gloucester, depending on the hearsay).

King of England
When Henry acceded to the throne at the young age of 16, the country was essentially governed by his even younger brother, Gloucester. By that time, Henry's madness had taken full swing; he refused to leave his bed or perform duties with his wife. He refused even to oversee parliament. During this time, many began to doubt the future of the Lancastrian regime, expecting civil war.

No war came to fruition, as in 1441, at the age of 19, Henry was found murdered in his bed by a common servant, who was promptly hanged with fourteen others by the Duke of Gloucester.