Was henry iii a good king

In 1216, at just nine years of age, young Henry became King Henry III of England. His reign saw turbulent and dramatic changes take place with baron-led rebellions and the confirmation of the Magna Carta.

Henry was born in October 1207 in Winchester Castle, the son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême. Whilst little is known of his childhood, in October 1216 his father King John passed away, right in the midst of the First Barons’ War. Young Henry was left to inherit his mantle and all the chaos that came with it.

Henry had inherited not only the Kingdom of England but also the wider network of the Angevin Empire including Scotland, Wales, Poitou and Gascony. This domain had been secured by his grandfather, Henry II, whom he was named after, and later consolidated by Richard I and John.

Sadly, the lands had shrunk somewhat under King John, who ceded control of Normandy, Brittany, Maine and Anjou to Philip II of France.

The collapsing Angevin Empire and King Joh Pertinax.