Editing Henry III of England (section)

== Background and childhood ==
{{Main|Angevin Empire|First Barons' War}}

Henry was born in [[Winchester Castle]] on 1 October 1207.<ref>{{Harvnb|Davis|2013|pp=45–46}}</ref> He was the eldest son of [[John, King of England|King John]] and [[Isabella of Angoulême]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Davis|2013|p=45}}</ref> Little is known of Henry's early life.<ref>{{Harvnb|Davis|2013|p=46}}; {{Harvnb|Cole|2002|p=230}}</ref> He was initially looked after by a [[wet nurse]] called Ellen in the south of England, away from John's itinerant court, and probably had close ties to his mother.<ref>{{Harvnb|Davis|2013|p=46}}; {{Harvnb|Ridgeway|2004}}</ref> Henry had four legitimate younger brothers and sisters – [[Richard of Cornwall|Richard]], [[Joan of England, Queen of Scotland|Joan]], [[Isabella of England|Isabella]], and [[Eleanor of England, Countess of Leicester|Eleanor]] – and various older illegitimate siblings.<ref>{{Harvnb|Davis|2013|p=47}}</ref> In 1212 his education was entrusted to [[Peter des Roches]], the [[bishop of Winchester]]; under his direction, Henry was given military training by [[Philip d'Aubigny]] and taught to ride, probably by Ralph of St Samson.<ref name=ODNB>{{Harvnb|Ridgeway|2004}}</ref>

Little is known about Henry's appearance; he was probably around {{convert|1.68|m}} tall, and accounts recorded after his death suggested that he had a strong build, with a [[drooping eyelid]].<ref name=ODNB/>{{Efn|The description of Henry's eyelid, written after his death, comes from the chronicler [[Nicholas Trevet]]. Measurements of Henry's coffin in the 19th century indicate a height of {{convert|1.68|m}}.<ref name=ODNB/>}} Henry grew up to occasionally show flashes of a fierce temper, but mostly, as historian [[David Carpenter (historian)|David Carpenter]] describes, he had an "amiable, easy-going, and sympathetic" personality.<ref name=CarpenterVincentODBN/> He was unaffected and honest, and showed his emotions readily, easily being moved to tears by religious sermons.<ref name=CarpenterVincentODBN>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|1996|p=97}}; {{Harvnb|Vincent|2006|p=7}}; {{Harvnb|Ridgeway|2004}}</ref>

At the start of the 13th century, the [[Kingdom of England]] formed part of the [[Angevin Empire]] spreading across [[Western Europe]]. Henry was named after his grandfather [[Henry II of England|Henry II]], who had built up this vast network of lands stretching from [[Scotland]] and [[Wales]], through [[England]], across the [[English Channel]] to the territories of [[Duchy of Normandy|Normandy]], [[Duchy of Brittany|Brittany]], [[Maine (province)|Maine]], and [[County of Anjou|Anjou]] in north-west France, and on to [[Poitou]] and [[Gascony]] in the south-west.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|2004|pp=191–192}}; {{Harvnb|Ridgeway|2004}}</ref> For many years the French Crown was relatively weak, enabling first Henry II, and then his sons [[Richard I]] and John, to dominate France.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hallam|Everard|2001|pp=145–147}}</ref>

In 1204, John lost Normandy, Brittany, Maine, and Anjou to [[Philip II of France]], leaving English power on the continent limited to Gascony and Poitou.<ref name="Carpenter 2004 264–267">{{Harvnb|Carpenter|2004|pp=264–267}}</ref> John raised taxes to pay for military campaigns to regain his lands, but unrest grew among many of the English barons; John sought new allies by declaring England a [[papal]] [[fiefdom]], owing allegiance to the Pope.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|2004|pp=271–274, 286}}</ref>{{Efn|It was not particularly unusual for rulers in the early 13th century to give homage to the Pope in this way: Richard I had done similarly, as had the rulers of [[Kingdom of Aragon|Aragon]], [[Denmark]], [[Kingdom of Poland (1025–1385)|Poland]], [[Kingdom of Portugal|Portugal]], [[Kingdom of Sicily|Sicily]], and [[Sweden]].<ref>{{Harvnb|McGlynn|2013|p=73}}</ref>}} In 1215, John and the rebel barons negotiated [[Magna Carta]] as potential peace treaty. The treaty would have limited potential abuses of royal power, demobilised the rebel armies and set up a power-sharing arrangement, but in practice, neither side complied with its conditions.<ref>{{Harvnb|Carpenter|2004|pp=283–293, 297}}</ref> John and the loyalist barons firmly rejected Magna Carta and the [[First Barons' War]] erupted, with the rebel barons aided by Philip's son [[Louis VIII of France|Louis]] (later Louis VIII), who claimed the English throne for himself.<ref name="Carpenter 2004 264–267"/> The war soon settled into a stalemate, with neither side able to claim victory. The king became ill and died on the night of 18 October, leaving the nine-year-old Henry as his heir.<ref>{{Harvnb|Warren|1991|pp=254–255}}</ref>