Gloucester thus took the post of Lord Protector of the Realm in order to rule England while Bedford was absent.
In practice, however, he was forced to share power with Cardinal Henry Beaufort, who held the position of Lord Chancellor and led a regency council composed of England's prominent magnates.
Anne had been the wife of John, Duke of Bedford, and their marriage was instrumental in maintaining the alliance between England and Burgundy against France.
With the loss of the alliance with Burgundy, Bedford became convinced that peace was the only solution, but at a conference arranged in Arras in 1435, the English delegation refused to give up their claim to the French throne.
The Crown had suffered huge war debts, and there was general lack of leadership in the French territories which seemed to be slipping slowly but surely out of English hands.