History of the English monarchy

[15] After Swein died in 1014, the English invited Æthelred to return from exile if he agreed to address complaints against his earlier rule, including high taxes, extortion, and the enslavement of free men.

[56] Historian Tracy Borman summarised the impact of Henry I's reforms as "transform[ing] medieval government from an itinerant and often poorly organised household into a highly sophisticated administrative kingship based on permanent, static departments.

[59] In 1126, Henry I made a controversial decision to name his daughter Empress Matilda (his only surviving legitimate child) his heir and forced the nobility to swear oaths of allegiance to her.

[68] Since William the Conqueror's separation of secular and ecclesiastical jurisdiction, church courts claimed exclusive authority to try clergy, including monks and clerics in minor orders.

[77] In his absence, England was governed by William de Longchamp, in whom was consolidated both secular and ecclesiastical power as justiciar, chancellor, Bishop of Ely, and papal legate.

[79] While returning from Crusade, Richard was imprisoned by Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI for over a year and was not released until England paid an enormous ransom.

[81] After a four-year absence, Richard returned to England in March 1194, but he soon left again to wage war against Philip II, who had overrun the Vexin and parts of Normandy.

Arthur's sister, Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany, was placed under house arrest;[86] she died in 1241, with her claim to the throne only posthumously recognized.

[89] To fund his campaigns, John imposed a "thirteenth" (8 per cent) tax on revenues and movable goods that would become the model for taxation through the Tudor period.

In 1255, the king informed Parliament that as part of the Sicilian campaign he owed the pope the huge sum of £100,000[note 5] and that if he defaulted England would be placed under an interdict.

By the terms of the 1295 Treaty of Paris, the English Crown gave up all claims to Normandy and Anjou in return for keeping the Duchy of Aquitaine as a vassal of the French king.

Previous monarchs were only legally recognised as king after coronation, but Edward's reign officially began on 20 November, the same day his father was buried at Westminster Abbey.

His first act was ordering the Hundred Rolls survey, a detailed investigation into what rights and land the Crown had lost since Henry III's reign.

In 1292, John Balliol was chosen Scotland's new king, but Edward's brutal treatment of his northern vassal led to the First War of Scottish Independence.

[129] When Parliament met in April 1308, Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, and a delegation of nobles presented the Declaration of 1308, which for the first time explicitly distinguished between the king as a person and the Crown as an institution to which the people owed allegiance.

The king alienated moderate barons by dispensing royal patronage without parliamentary approval as required by the Ordinances and allowing the Despensers to act with impunity.

They made a disadvantageous treaty with France and failed to press Edward's claim to the French throne when his uncle, Charles IV, died without a male heir.

In the Good Parliament of 1376, the House of Commons refused to finance the war with France until corrupt ministers and Alice Perrers, the royal mistress, were removed.

To strengthen the boy's position, he was recognised in Parliament as heir apparent and given the titles of prince of Wales, duke of Cornwall, and earl of Chester.

Despite the king's youth, no regency was set up to govern during his minority since his uncle John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster (the most likely candidate for regent) was unpopular.

In reality, the government was dominated by the king's uncles, especially Gaunt, and courtiers, such as Simon Burley, Guichard d'Angle, and Aubrey de Vere.

But the revolt also left a deep impression on Richard, "convincing him that disobedience, no matter how justified, constituted a threat to order and stability within his realm and must not be tolerated.

The war appealed to English national pride,[191] and Parliament readily granted a double subsidy to finance the campaign, which began in August 1415.

Charles's son, the Dauphin, was disinherited by the treaty; however, he continued to assert his right to the French throne and remained in control of over half of France south of the Loire river.

[204] Later, the King replaced them with William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk,[205] whose abuses of power and heavy spending inspired intense opposition.

[222] After the deaths of Henry VI and his only son, most Lancastrian supporters were willing to reconcile with Edward IV, who graciously welcomed them at court and gave them important offices.

As Prince of Wales, he had lived at Ludlow Castle since the age of three under the care of his maternal uncle Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers, and John Alcock, Bishop of Worcester.

[240] Henry VIII's son and successor, the young Edward VI, continued with further religious reforms, but his early death in 1553 precipitated a succession crisis.

He was wary of allowing his Catholic elder half-sister Mary I to succeed, and therefore drew up a will designating Lady Jane Grey as his heiress.

Since she had no children, she was succeeded by King James VI of Scotland, who was the great-grandson of Henry VIII's older sister and hence Elizabeth's first cousin twice removed.