King Henry VI was the son of Henry V and Catherine of Valois. A gentle, kind, pious and generous king, Henry VI was very different to past warrior kings. His reign was long, but fraught by insanity and civil war. Despite the valiant efforts of his wife, Queen Margaret of Anjou, to keep him on the throne, Henry VI submitted to Richard, Duke of York as Protector of the Realm. This ultimately led to the famous Wars of the Roses, between the houses of Lancaster and York. Henry VI lost his crown to the Duke’s son, Edward IV, but it returned briefly, before being removed once more. He lost his son before losing his own life.