Next door to the cathedral is the Palace of Westminster with its iconic clock tower. It’s home to the houses of Parliament, the archaic “Lords” consisting of peers and churchmen, and the “Commons”, where the real power of the country rests. The first such parliament was convened in 1265 by Henry, more or less at the point of a sword. He had been on the throne for nearly 50 years by that time, a half century of coddling aliens and ruinous ventures abroad. In an attempt to curb Henry’s misrule, the barons turned to an unlikely peer, Simon de Montfort. The scion of a famous if fanatical family, Simon had come to England in search of fortune and quickly won the king’s confidence. Henry was so taken with the newcomer that he secretly married his sister to him, another whimsical act that had the magnates, led by Richard, up in arms. Together Henry and Simon weathered the storm but their polar personalities – one weak and capricious, the other ambitious and resolute – made a clash of temperaments inevitable. When civil war eventually erupted, Simon won the day by capturing Henry and his son Edward at the Battle of Lewes. With the royal seal firmly in hand, de Montfort issued a call on 14 December 1264 for parliament to convene with the presence of “two good and loyal men” from every town and borough. It was the first time common folk sat alongside barons, bishops and knights to discuss the business of government. The situation was dire, and a few barons, happy to have reined Henry in, were now about to do the same to Simon.