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[edit] Added to category of English Monarchs
I'd never even heard of Louis' invasion of England and subsequent proclamation as King of England until relatively recently, and certainly never heard about it at school. Reader over the issue, it seems Louis has at least as much claim to be considered an "English monarch" as Lady Jane Grey who was also proclaimed monarch but never crowned. Isn't it funny how this second French invasion of England never gets mentioned? Cheers, Neale Neale Monks 18:52, 24 February 2007 (UTC)
- It was less an invasion, more a civil war - Louis was invited and sponsored by the English Barons, and depended on them for support; the war was based far more on English internal problems than external threats (note that I said 'less an invasion' - certainly in some ways it was an invasion, given that he landed with troops, but on the other hand the Barons would have argued he was securing what was already his). As to why it is less frequently mentioned, I think it was based partially on English embarrassment that the whole affair had happened, partially on post-event clarification of the rules of succession, and partially on the later evolution of 'Divine Right of Kings', which allowed monarchs to claim that monarchy came only from God: thus, the crown was not the gift of the Barons, but must pass according to the law of the land, supposedly sanctioned by God; and the King would thus be Henry III, who was legitimately crowned and anointed in 1216 (thus sanctioned by God, supposedly - coronation was always a very important element of kingship), not Louis, who was never crowned (and thus, by some standards, never King anyway - a similar example is the heiress of Alexander III of Scotland, who died before being crowned, confusing the issue of whether she had been Queen or not - although Louis was at least solidly proclaimed King). It's all a mixture of mediaeval ritual, custom and law, and post-event rewriting. It's debateable as to whether he has as much of a claim to be considered King of England as Jane Grey - he signed a treaty which in legal terms pretended the previous two years hadn't happened and which stripped him of his rights to the title; he didn't have any noteable claim to the English throne, either by blood, law, or conquest; he wasn't crowned; there was no later rehabilitation of his claim; and he didn't win. These factors together make his claim to have been King, though existent, nonetheless sparser than that of Jane Grey (and in absolute terms pretty low). Michaelsanders 19:47, 24 February 2007 (UTC)
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- All very interesting, thank you! The place I heard about Prince Louis was a Radio 4 program called "Making History". You can listen to it again at the link below (the actual item is about 10 minutes in the program). Cheers, Neale Neale Monks 21:39, 24 February 2007 (UTC)
