Regency government, 1422–1437
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The regency government of the Kingdom of England of 1422 to 1437 ruled while Henry VI was a minor. Decisions were made in the king's name by the regency council, which was made up of the most important and influential people in the government of England, and dominated by the king's uncle Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (brother of the king's father and predecessor, Henry V) and Bishop (cardinal from 1426) Henry Beaufort (Gloucester's half-uncle).
The individuals who constituted the regency council as at 9 December 1422 were (Griffiths 1981, p. 23):
- John, Duke of Bedford
- Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
- Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter
- Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester
- Henry Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury
- John Kemp, Bishop of London
- Philip Morgan, Bishop of Worcester
- John Wakering, Bishop of Norwich
- Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland
- Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland
- John Mowbray, 2nd Duke of Norfolk
- Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March
- Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick
- Henry FitzHugh, 3rd Baron FitzHugh
- Sir John Tiptoft
- Ralph Cromwell, 3rd Baron Cromwell
- Sir Walter Hungerford
- Sir Walter Beauchamp
Although the nominal leadership of the regency lay with
The council soon split along lines of opposition and support to the continuation of
However, for most of the period the regency council was able to govern effectively and fairly. The splits became most evident towards the end. In 1432,
When Henry finally came of age in 1437, he took over at just about the worst time possible, when splits about the war and rivalries between the various nobles were at their deepest. The Crown had suffered huge war debts, and there was general lack of leadership in the French territories which seemed to be slipping slowly but surely out of English hands.
See also
- Dual monarchy of England and France
- England in the Late Middle Ages
- Parliament of Bats
- Readeption of King Henry VI
- Regency era
References
- Beck, Sanderson (2010). "England under the Regency 1422–37". England of Henry IV, V, and VI 1399–1461.
- ISBN 978-0-510-26261-7.
- Griffiths, R.A. (2008). "The Minority of Henry VI, King of England and of France". In Charles Beem (ed.). The Royal Minorities of Medieval and Early Modern England. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 161–193. ISBN 978-0-230-60866-5.
- OL 7225313M.
- McKenna, J. W. (1965). "Henry VI of England and the Dual Monarchy: Aspects of Royal Political Propaganda, 1422–1432". Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes. 28: 145–162. S2CID 158251523.