1250 Henry’s policy in Gascony was an absolute mess. The province was nominally Richard’s, but now, at the queen’s insistence, […]
The rights of common people
1248 Meanwhile the real warfare was in the east. The Mongols had swept through Poland and Hungary before turning south […]
The Lusignans come to England
1247 Isabella and Hugh were later embroiled in another plot against Louis, involving poison and cooks who talk a lot […]
Pay or quit the kingdom
1243 There was nothing like a wedding to bring out the best in Henry and he used the occasion of […]
The king should be locked up
1242 Henry’s expedition to recover Poitou was a spectacular failure. Caught off guard by Louis’ aggressiveness at the Charente River […]
Another boy king
1241 Like Henry, Louis IX (1214 – 1270) had been a boy king, crowned at the age of 12 after […]
Enter the Lusignans
1242 This time the conflict was instigated by Henry’s mother, Isabella d’Angoulême. She was just a teenager when King John […]
The unholy struggle
1240 Crusading was all the rage among the nobility of the 13th century. Simon returned to England alone in the […]
The king’s wrath
1239 True to character, Henry’s break with Simon was abrupt and unseemly. He waited for the occasion of the queen’s […]
Birth of the cousins
1238 Impressed by this practical approach, the pope gave his blessing. The marriage was further helped by the arrival of […]
Another royal wedding
1238 It was into this atmosphere of ill-will and hostility that Simon strode on another cold January day two years […]
Henry finally takes a wife
1236 The royal wedding took place on January 4, 1236. It was a lavish affair, all of it overseen by […]
The second Eleanor
1237 Eleanor of Provence was the second of the four daughters of poverty-stricken Count Ramon Berenger. Known as Eleanor La […]
The first rebellion
1234 By this time Richard, the earl of Cornwall, had also married into the Marshal clan. William’s sister Isabella was […]
The first Eleanor
1231 The youngest of John’s children, Eleanor (1215 – 1275) had all the beauty of her mother Isabella of Angoulême. […]
Courtly intrigue
1231 The Leicester holdings, it turned out, generated little income to cover the debts Simon had incurred to recover them. […]
Always the Jews
1231 The expedition was a total failure. Young Henry looked splendid in his armor until dysentery took hold of him […]
Arriving in England
1230 When the middle brother died during another siege, the oldest brother Amaury had only Simon to contend with for […]
The crimes of the father
1218 Simon’s namesake father had gained fame throughout Europe for his ruthless suppression of the Cathars during the Albigensian Crusade. […]
The third son
1208 Simon de Montfort was described as “tall in body and handsome in face.” He was also said to have […]
The simple king
1207 Stout and florid in later life, no doubt from a love of good wine, the one physical feature of […]
Simon and Henry
Next door to the cathedral is the Palace of Westminster with its iconic clock tower. It’s home to the houses […]
The true visionary
The Westminster Abbey we know today was the vision of King Henry III. A fickle man of unsteady purpose, Henry […]