House of Lancaster - Claim To France

Claim To France

Henry V restated Edward III's earlier claim to the throne of France and resumed the Hundred Years War. He defeated the French in several battles, most notably in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 and later allied himself with Burgundy, a cadet line of the Royal House of Valois. In 1420, the Duke of Burgundy negotiated the Treaty of Troyes between Henry and Charles VI of France, under which Henry married Charles' daughter Catherine, assumed the regency of France and would succeed to the throne on Charles' death. The treaty also effectively disinherited Charles' son, the Dauphin Charles.

However, Henry V predeceased Charles VI, on whose death the French crown passed to his grandson, Henry VI, the infant son of Henry V and Catherine of France, in whose name regents reigned in England and France.

Henry's claim according to the Treaty of Troyes was only recognised in those parts of France controlled by the English and their allies, while the territory south of the river Loire recognised the Dauphin Charles as King Charles VII. Charles at first did little to extend his rule beyond this territory. The intervention of Joan of Arc, culminating in Charles' royal consecration at Reims in 1429, reinvigorated the Valois' will to assert their rule to the whole of France. The English regents in Paris reacted by having Henry VI formally crowned King of France in 1431. However, the Valois' renewed efforts, including their military reforms, together with the increasing weakness of the English monarchy, which was beset by internal strife among the nobles, resulted in the House of Lancaster losing all French possessions (except Calais) in 1453, effectively putting an end to the Lancastrian Kingdom of France. However, English monarchs retained their claim to France until 1801.