Duke of Normandy - International Contention

International Contention

In 1204, King Philip II of France confiscated the Duchy of Normandy, held at that time by King John of England, and subsumed it into the crown lands. Only the Channel Islands and Cales remained under John's control. In 1259, Henry III of England recognised the legality of French possession of mainland Normandy under the Treaty of Paris.

English monarchs made subsequent attempts to reclaim their former continental possessions, particularly during the Hundred Years' War, and even claimed the throne of France itself.

With the Treaty of Troyes in 1420, Henry V of England temporarily regained all territories formerly held by the Plantagenets, including Normandy, and was made regent and heir of France. His son, Henry VI inherited both kingdoms in 1422 and afterwards English monarchs included King of France among their list of titles. They also included the Royal Arms of France in their own armorial achievements, even after they had lost their French possessions (with the exception of Calais) after 1450.

British claims to the throne of France and other French claims were not formally abandoned until 1801, when George III and Parliament, in the Act of Union, joined the Kingdom of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland and used the opportunity to drop the obsolete claim on France. By that time, the French monarchy itself had been overthrown in 1792 with the establishment of the French Republic. The French revolution also brought an end to the Duchy of Normandy as a political entity, as it was replaced by several départements.