King Henry V
King Henry V was another King who felt the need to join his men and prove himself on the battlefield. He took the throne after the death of his father Henry IV in 1412. He came to the throne promising to rule over a united England and sought to bring the country together by forgiving some and punishing others depending on how big of a threat to his throne he believed them to be. His rule was marked by relative stability and peace at home which allowed him to focus his efforts on the ongoing Hundred Years War.
In 1415, Henry V headed for France with the intention of making a claim on the French throne. It was the English opinion that there was an English claim to the throne owing to the same lineage that Edward III had claimed. Henry V wanted to unite the French and English thrones and put an end to the question of French succession once and for all.
His forces took the fortress at Harfleur and headed toward Calais. On October 25, 1415, his forces were intercepted by a French army at Agincourt. Despite being malnourished, fatigued and outnumbered, Henry V’s army took a substantial victory against the French army. It was largely the position of the French army that caused their downfall, heavy rains had turned the ground to mud and much of the French forces were unable to move and were simply hacked to death where they stood.
In 1417, Henry V renewed his war efforts in France. Normandy fell and in 1419, Rouen followed. By August 1419, Paris was surrounded by English forces. In 1420 the Treaty of Troyes recognized Henry V as heir to the French throne and Henry married Catherine of Valois, the daughter of the French King. Fighting continued in France laying siege to several fortresses including Meaux in 1422. It was the siege of Meaux that brought an end to Henry V as he contracted dysentery during the siege and died on August 31st, 1422.