ENGLAND’S forgotten KING

This year marks the 800th anniversary of the coronation of King Henry III. Held at Westminster Abbey in 1220, it was a dignified occasion, followed by a sumptuous feast including some 40 oxen and 4,000 roasted chickens. Yet it was also an odd moment because Henry had already been crowned four years earlier at Gloucester: one of numerous curious aspects to the life of a ruler who today is largely forgotten, even though he reigned for a remarkable 56 years (1216–72).

Most people simply recall Henry as the ‘weak king’ pitched against ‘dashing’ Simon de Montfort in the Barons’ War. But there was much more to his eventful life than this. He was just nine years old when his father, King John, died in October 1216,