Henry never officially agreed to Cade’s demands, one of which was to recall Richard, Duke of York, from Ireland back to England.

Led by Jack Cade, they marched on London and presented Henry with a list of demands known as the “Complaint of the Poor Commons of Kent.” This and the corruption and mismanagement of power in England, not to mention heavy taxation, caused frustrated property owners and peasants from Kent to revolt in 1450. Henry’s lack of leadership led him to lose almost all his holdings in France. This incited rampant lawlessness throughout his realm and opened the door for power-hungry nobles and kingmakers to plot behind his back. He had little interest in politics and was a weak ruler. In 1445, Henry VI married Margaret of Anjou, a noble and strong-willed Frenchwoman whose ambition and political savvy overshadowed her husband’s.Īll was not well in King Henry’s court. Thanks to his father’s military conquests, Henry VI also became the disputed King of France. In 1422, Henry VI succeeded his father Henry V and became King of England-at just nine months old.

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