biography
| name: |
Henry III (of England)
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1207–72)
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| biography:
| King of England (1216–72), the elder son and successor, at the age of nine, of John. He declared an end to his minority in 1227, and in 1232 stripped the justiciar, Hubert de Burgh, of power. His arbitrary assertion of royal rights conflicted with the principles of Magna Carta, and antagonized many nobles. Although he failed to recover Poitou (N Aquitaine) in 1242, he accepted for his son Edmund the Kingdom of Sicily (1254), then occupied by the Hohenstaufens. This forced him to seek the support of the barons who, under the leadership of the king's brother-in-law, Simon de Montfort, imposed far-reaching reforms by the Provisions of Oxford (1258), which gave them a definite say in government. When Henry sought to restore royal power, the barons rebelled and captured the king at Lewes (1264), but were defeated at Evesham (1265). The Dictum of Kenilworth (1266), though favourable to Henry, urged him to observe Magna Carta. Organized resistance ended in 1267, and the rest of the reign was stable. He was succeeded by his elder son, Edward I. |
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