About Henry V
Henry V, often known as Henry of Monmouth, was king of England from 16 September 1386 to 31 August 1422. His estimated net worth was $5 billion. The throne was not directly inherited by Henry at birth. At his youth, he went by Henry Monmouth, named for the castle in Monmouth, England, where he was born. He was a wealthy, well-educated aristocrat who gained notoriety in numerous early battles for his skill as a strategist and fighter.
The heir to the throne is King Henry V.
Henry of Monmouth succeeded to the throne after King Richard II was deposed in 1399 by his father Henry Bollingbroke.
In 1413, Henry of Monmouth succeeded as Henry V. Since William the Conqueror’s conquest of England in 1066, Henry the Third believed it to be his legal right and duty to reclaim portions of France that had been regarded as English territory. Two years after becoming king, Henry made war on France and launched the Agincourt Campaign.
Fighting France
Henry marched his army through the winter after capturing the important port city of Harfleurs and taking a significant number of casualties before being compelled to face the French army at Agincourt in northern France on October 25, also known as St. Crispin’s Day.
Conflict at Agincourt
Henry was widely believed to lose the conflict. However, a combination of the appalling battlefield circumstances, English strategy, and mistakes made by the French army resulted in an English triumph. The outcomes were significant; the English people hailed their King as a hero and stood together behind him, while the French started fighting among themselves.
Henry V married Catherine, the daughter of the French king, in 1420 after gaining additional victories in Normandy and becoming heir to the French crown. 2 years later, Henry passed away. Just nine years were spent during his time as King.
Shakespeare and Henry V
The pivotal event in Shakespeare’s biographical play Henry V was the battle of Agincourt. With the St. Crispin’s Day speech and the catchphrase “Once more into the breach, dear friends, once more, or close the wall up with our English dead,” Henry rallies his weary English soldiers and leads them to a decisive victory.
