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of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English throne at the age of nine months upon his father´s death, and succeeded to the French throne on the death of his maternal grandfather, Charles VI, shortly afterwards. Henry inherited the long-running Hundred Years´ War (1337–1453), in which his uncle Charles VII contested his claim to the French throne. He is the only English monarch to also have been crowned King of France (as Henry II, in 1431). His early reign, when several people were ruling for him, saw the pinnacle of English power in France, but subsequent military, diplomatic, and economic problems had seriously endangered the English cause by the time Henry was declared fit to rule in 1437. He found his realm in a difficult position, faced with setbacks in France and divisions among the nobility at home. Unlike his father, Henry is described as timid, shy, passive, well-intentioned, and averse to warfare and violence; he was also at times mentally unstable. His ineffective reign saw the gradual loss of the English lands in France. Partially in the hope of achieving peace, in 1445 Henry married Charles VII´s niece, the ambitious and strong-willed Margaret of Anjou. The peace policy failed, leading to the murder of one of Henry´s key advisers, William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, and the war recommenced, with France taking the upper hand; by 1453, Calais was Henry´s only remaining territory on the continent." - (en.wikipedia.org 03.10.2020)