Henry V of England - Early Life

Early Life

Henry was born in the tower above the gatehouse of Monmouth Castle (and for that reason was sometimes called Henry of Monmouth). He was the son of Henry of Bolingbroke, later Henry IV, and sixteen-year-old Mary de Bohun. He was also the grandson of the influential John of Gaunt and great-grandson of Edward III of England. At the time of his birth, the king was his cousin once removed Richard II, and Henry was not in the apparent line to succeed to the throne, so his date of birth was not officially documented. His grandfather, John of Gaunt, was the guardian of the king at that time. Two birth dates are suggested: 9 August or 16 September, in either 1386 or 1387.

Upon the exile of Henry's father in 1398, Richard II took the boy into his own charge and treated him kindly. The young Henry accompanied King Richard to Ireland, and while in the royal service, he visited Trim Castle in County Meath, the ancient meeting place of the Irish Parliament. In 1399, Henry's grandfather died. The same year King Richard II was overthrown, bringing the Lancastrian usurpation that brought Henry's father to the throne, and Henry was recalled from Ireland into prominence as heir apparent to the Kingdom of England. He was created Prince of Wales at his father's coronation, and Duke of Lancaster on 10 November 1399, the third person to hold the title that year. His other titles were Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester, and Duke of Aquitaine. A contemporary record notes that during that year, Henry spent time at The Queen's College, Oxford, under the care of his uncle Henry Beaufort, the Chancellor of the university. From 1400 to 1404, he carried out the duties of High Sheriff of Cornwall.

From October 1401, the administration was conducted in his name. Less than three years later, Henry was in command of part of the English forces—he led his own army into Wales against Owain Glyndŵr and joined forces with his father to fight Harry Hotspur at Shrewsbury in 1403. It was there that the sixteen-year-old prince was almost killed by an arrow that became stuck in his face. An ordinary soldier might have died from such a wound, but Henry had the benefit of the best possible care. Over a period of several days, John Bradmore, the royal physician, treated the wound with honey to act as an antiseptic, crafted a special tool to screw into the broken arrow shaft and thus extract the arrow without doing further damage, and then flushed the wound with alcohol. The operation was successful, but it left Henry with permanent scars that would serve as evidence of his experience in battle. For eighteen months, in 1410–11, Henry was in control of the country during his father's ill health, and he took full opportunity to impose his own policies, but when the king recovered, he reversed most of these and dismissed the prince from his council.