The disastrous news from France kindled deep feelings of bitterness at court in England, which came to a head in 1450, when Normandy was lost. The French rose in rebellion against English dominance, under the inspiring leadership of Joan of Arc. Such a situation was bound to provoke jostling for power at court, but the situation might have been containable had the situation in France not suddenly collapsed.
In Henry VI’s case a Council of Regency was set up under the chairmanship of the king’s uncle, Duke Humphrey of Gloucester. A king succeeding at such a young age inevitably meant a long period of regency. Only nine months later, however, Henry V died and the infant became King Henry VI. In 1421 a son was born to the couple and christened Henry. The resulting peace treaty, the Treaty of Troyes of 1420, laid down that Henry should marry a French princess, Catherine de Valois, and that their son should inherit the French, as well as the English, crown. Henry V established himself as a popular figure by ruling very effectively within England and through great victories in France, the most famous of which was the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. Henry V also faced plots to overthrow him, though he too was able to defeat them. Nevertheless, Bolingbroke, who had taken the title King Henry IV, was able to defeat his rivals and secure his dynasty on the throne: when he died his son succeeded him as King Henry V. Richard himself did not survive the coup and he left no heir, so, perhaps inevitably, the takeover sparked off a power struggle between Bolingbroke and other claimants to the throne, many of whose claims were stronger. In 1399 Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Lancaster, launched a coup that overthrew King Richard II.
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