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Henry was now King and luckily, as he was
the third king to have that name, he was known as Henry III.
Henry had been staying at Corfe Castle in Dorset with his mother when King John died. John had appointed a council of 13 people to help Henry
rule until he was old enough. With the French still in the country it was decided to crown Henry immediately and that happened on 28 October 1516. Unfortunately
the royal crown had been lost, possibly with the other crown jewels and so Henry was crowned with a simple gold headdress belonging to his mother.
It was in this year, 1220, that he was crowned in Westminster. He would eventually become the fourth
longest reigning monarch in English history behind our present Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Victoria and George III.
This was helped by the fact that he was only 9 when he was first crowned. Various people ruled in his name until 1227 when Henry was 20. I'm guessing
our painting of him shows him some time after his twentieth birthday.
Forward to 1237AD
