Regency Rule During Henry VI's Minority

Timeline

1. 1422–1429London · LondonHenry V died in August 1422; his infant son Henry VI inherited the English throne and claimed the French crown by treaty. Parliament established a regency system: the Duke of Gloucester as regent of England, the Duke of Bedford as regent of France and commander of the English army, and Bishop Henry Beaufort of Winchester coordinating finances and church resources in the council.
2. 1430–1436Westminster · LondonIn the 1430s the king was still a minor, and the council and Parliament repeatedly approved funding for the war in France. After Joan of Arc appeared the French counterattack intensified; Bedford remained long in France, while Gloucester managed domestic affairs but clashed increasingly with Beaufort. The regency government faced rising military costs, tax disputes, and balancing noble factions.
3. 1437London · LondonIn 1437 Parliament declared Henry VI of age, formally ending the minority regency. Gloucester lost the title of regent and the king nominally ruled in person, but ministers such as Beaufort and Suffolk and noble factions still deeply influenced decisions. The institutional legacy of the minority era continued into the political crises of the 1450s.