Though Montfort was defeated and killed, his experiment planted the seeds of representative government. The monarchy survived this existential crisis, but the idea of parliament had taken root. It was a miracle that amidst civil war and rebellion, England emerged with its monarchy intact and a new political idea that would become central to its future.
The Hundred Years’ War and the Resilience of the Crown (1337–1453)
The long and brutal Hundred Years’ War against France could have shattered England. Indeed, the war drained the treasury, led to repeated military failures, and triggered unrest at home, including the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381. Yet even as England lost most of its territories in France, it retained a remarkably stable royal institution.
The most miraculous period came during the reign of Henry V (1413–1422), whose astounding victory at Agincourt in 1415 briefly made England the dominant power in northern France. Though this dominance was short-lived, and England eventually lost the war, the English monarchy showed extraordinary resilience. Even in defeat, the crown survived internal divisions, mental illness (Henry VI), and dynastic feuding.
The Wars of the Roses and the Tudor Restoration (1455–1485)
The Wars of the Roses were perhaps the most dangerous time for the English monarchy. Two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet—the Lancasters and the Yorks—fought for the throne, leading to a generation of bloodshed. Kings were deposed, murdered, or killed in battle; noble houses were extinguished; chaos reigned.
And yet, miraculously, from this anarchy emerged Henry Tudor, a Lancastrian with a tenuous claim to the throne. After defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, Henry became Henry VII and founded the Tudor dynasty. His marriage to Elizabeth of York symbolically united the warring factions.
Henry VII restored order, strengthened the monarchy, and laid the groundwork for the Renaissance and Reformation in England. That the English monarchy could recover and flourish after such carnage is nothing short of miraculous. shutdown123