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Henry's favouritism and arrogance prompted his barons to force him to agree to a series of major reforms, the
Provisions of Oxford.
The elder son of King John, Henry was nine when his father died. A series of regencies ruled in his place until 1234, when
Henry took over. Problems began as early as 1237, when his barons objected to the influence of Henry's Savoyard relatives.
The marriage arranged in 1238 between his sister and Simon de Montfort only made matters worse: in 1242 Henry's half brothers
involved him in an expensively disastrous military venture in France. This prompted Parliament to demand new blood on the
council to act as 'conservators of liberties' and oversee royal finances. But the king was able to exploit the differences
between his opponents and little happened.
Finally, in 1258 a bungled deal with the Papacy threatened Henry with excommunication. This, together with defeats in Wales
and local crises, brought about the main crisis of his reign. The Provisions of Oxford (1258) created a 15-member Privy Council,
selected by the barons, to advise the King and oversee the entire administration. Parliament was to be held three times a
year and the households of the king and queen were also to be reformed.
The settlement began to break down in 1260 as divisions erupted between the Earl of Gloucester and the ambitious Simon
de Montfort. Civil war was inevitable. In May 1264 Simon de Montfort won a resounding victory at Lewes and set up a new government.
In May 1265 Prince Edward escaped captivity and rallied the royalist forces, defeating and killing de Montfort at Evesham
before taking control of government from his weakened father.
The rest of the reign was occupied by resolving the problems created by the rebellion. Henry deprived de Montfort's supporters
of their lands, but the 'Disinherited' fought back until terms were agreed in 1266 for former rebels to buy back their lands.
By 1270 the country was sufficiently settled for Edward to be able to set off on crusade, from which he did not return until
two years after his father's death, in 1272. | 
