Some see … The elder son and heir of King John (ruled 1199–1216), Henry was nine years old when his father died. Uniquely for a king of England, our story begins in Paris, where on 5th September 1187, Queen Isabella gave birth to her first child, Prince Louis (future Louis VIII of France). He married Countess Isabella of Gloucester on 29 August 1189, in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. His name was Louis and he was the eldest son of the King of France. Louis was the only surviving son of King Philip II of France by his first wife, Isabelle of Hainaut, from whom he inherited the County of Artois. John “Lackland” King of England, son of Henry II, “Plantagenet ” King of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen of England, was born on 24 Dec 1166 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom, died on 19 Oct 1216 in Newark Castle, Nottinghamshire, England at age 49, and was buried on 20 Oct 1216 in Cathedral, Worcester, Worcestershire, England. Copyright © 1999-2021 Archontology.org. Were he ever to inherit the crown, Prince Louis could well make a case to be crowned as King Louis II…. Prince Louis intended to land in the south of England in May 1216, and John assembled a naval force to intercept him. Over the summer all went well, and John beat a hasty retreat northward via the Wash, where he lost the Crown Jewels in the process. All rights reserved. Carpenter (University of California Press, Berkeley 1990). Simon de Montfort 56 as leader of the Barons. Princess Charlotte: 10 of the little Princess’s cutest moments to mark her 3rd birthday, Meghan won’t have a maid of honour & Prince Louis will not be at the Royal Wedding, #OTD in 1986, Wallis Simpson died in France. Louis is overlooked in most lists of English monarchs. While his story with regards to England ends there, Louis was of course able to return to France safely, and in 1223 he succeeded his father as Louis VIII. However, after being acclaimed King Louis of England in St Paul’s Cathedral, in his eyes at least, and those of his supporters, Louis was the rightful monarch of England – the rest of which he instantly set out to conquer. However, facing the censure of the Pope, as well as John’s still-formidable army, the barons looked for their own champion, which is where King Louis of England reenters our story. While it has assumed enormous significance in subsequent centuries, Magna Carta was at the time essentially a peace treaty, designed to put the King firmly under the control of barons to prevent any future abuse of power. At first, Louis experienced great success and carried almost all of southern England before him, with a flood of defections to him from John’s remaining supporters. He and Blanche already had two sons (Philip and Louis) and the plan may have been for one to inherit England and the other France in the fullness of time. function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} Thus, the Treaty of Lambeth (Kingston) put an end to Louis's pretended right to the kingship. The man in question is King Louis VIII of France, who was briefly declared the King of England by some angry barons way back in 1216. This connection made him a strong alternative claimant to the throne, as well as a determined partner. John fled before him, many towns and castles in south-east England greeted Louis with open arms, and he was proclaimed king in London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral. In an article to mark 800 years since Louis VIII was proclaimed king of England – on 2 June 1216 – Catherine Hanley, author of new biography Louis – The French Prince Who Invaded England, explores the short period during which ‘King Louis’ held the British crown. The King of Scotland, and the Prince of Wales recognised him as the true king of England and sent troops south in support – even John’s own half brother deserted him! However, Louis was never officially crowned. The First Barons' War (1215–1217) was a civil war in the Kingdom of England in which a group of rebellious major landowners (commonly referred to as barons) led by Robert Fitzwalter waged war against King John of England. 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It took a while, but his son, prince Louis (later Louis VIII of France), invaded England and lived there for a year 1216–17 with his queen Blanche (niece of John by sister Eleanor). After the defeat at Lincoln, Louis regrouped and again besieged Dover castle, while William Marshall aimed his army at London. Robert I "the Good" (1216 – February 8, 1250) was Count of Artois. Died. Throughout the war, Louis had been unable to gather significant reinforcements from France, due to his lack of a good port in Kent. Louis was at this time 29, and had already gained significant military experience in the previous French war; his prowess in battle earned him the nickname of ‘the lion’, representing an attractive alternative to John. And although the likelihood of Louis ever becoming King is very slim, there was once almost a King Louis of England – arguably one of England’s least well-known Monarchs. Once described by Terry Jones in his Medieval Lives TV series as ‘the king of England nobody has ever heard of’, Louis ruled from May 1216 until September 1217. Everyone eagerly speculated upon the new Prince’s name and potential regal antecedents for the parents’ choice. For a year, the two sides continued to fight, siege followed counter-siege, battle followed battle, and despite his own personal bravery and capturing even more castles in central England, King Louis was never able to defeat William Marshall or gather the men and money necessary to end the war. He had reigned over a significant part of the country as ‘King Louis I’ for just over 14 months. He also claimed the title King of England from 1216 to 1217. 16 November 1272 / Westminster Abbey. [1]. It’s the second day of June in the year 1216, and excitement is building in the hot and dusty streets of … He also claimed the title King of England from 1216 to 1217. All rights reserved. The dynasty Prince Louis was born into was that of the Capetians, who had ruled France for 200 years. Louis invaded and was proclaimed King in London in May 1216, although he was not crowned. Although Westminster Abbey was in Louis's power, he was never crowned because the archbishop of Canterbury, Stephen Langton, who should have officiated, was abroad at the papal court, and there was not a single bishop available to perform anointing. They came up with a series of articles, limiting royal power and establishing boundaries between the king and his people. Queen consort … 1216 First Barons War. Louis VIII the Lion (French: Louis VIII le Lion) (5 September 1187 – 8 November 1226) was King of France from 1223 to 1226. Louis landed in England in the Isle of Thanet on 21 May 1216 and claimed the English throne by the hereditary right of his wife, Blanche of Castile, who was King John's niece, and his own right by the choice of the barons. De Montfort was not prepared to give up his reforms in spite of opposition from the Pope and asked the King of France Louis 9th to arbitrate. John’s death actually hurt Louis, and the English barons preferred a b. He reached London on 2 Jun 1216, and at once received the homage of the barons and of the mayor. It was indeed in relation to the events of 1216 that Matthew Paris famously described Dover Castle as “Clavis Angliae”, the key of England.13. On 5 Sep 1217 a formal conference was held on an island of the Thames near Kingston. King Louis is not often acknowledged in official regnal lists: the confusion of the period, his lack of a coronation and the fact he was in many ways a foreign invader – however eagerly many Englishmen may have desired his victory at first – has relegated him to a mere footnote in history. While Louis may not have reigned for long, and the latest royal Louis will most likely never reign at all, this remains a fascinating ‘what if’ episode of our islands history, which should not be forgotten.