Henry III of England

Henry III (1 October 1207–16 November 1272) became King of England in 1216 when he was 9 years old, after the early death of his father King John. He would end up ruling as king for 56 years (though he would only effectively rule for around 45 due to his youth in the first years). He would be married to Eleanor of Provence, who bore him 5 children, for 36 years. During his long reign, Henry's kingdom would experience relative peace and prosperity until he began having trouble with his barons (particularly Simon de Montfort) due to his high handed governing style, which compelled the Barons to impose the Provisions of Oxford limiting royal power in 1258.

Henry III
King of England; Lord of Ireland
Henry III - Illustration from Cassell's History of England
Reign	18/19 October 1216 – 16 November 1272
Coronation	28 October 1216, Gloucester 17 May 1220, Westminster Abbey
Predecessor	John
Successor	Edward I
Regent	William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1216–1219) Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent (1219–1227)
Born	(1207-10-01)1 October 1207 Winchester Castle, Hampshire
Died	16 November 1272(1272-11-16) (aged 65) Westminster, London
Burial	Westminster Abbey, London
Spouse	Eleanor of Provence
Issue	Edward I Margaret, Queen of Scots Beatrice, Duchess of Brittany Edmund "Crouchback", Earl of Leicester and Lancaster
House	House of Plantagenet
Father	John
Mother	Isabella of Angoulême

The king's breaking of this agreement with the barons a few years later would lead to a civil war called the Baron's war which pitched the royal family against the rebel barons for 3 years (1264-1267), culminating in De Montfort's death at the unusually bloody Battle of Evesham in 1265 and the royal family being able to sweep up the remnants of the opposition by 1267. However, Henry's most visible mark on history would be due to his interest in architecture and decoration: which made him redevelop certain aspects of Westminster Abbey, improve the Tower of London's defenses (while keeping exotic animals from Africa and the Arctic such as lions, an elephant and a polar bear in it). He would even preside over the reburial of his personal hero Edward the Confessor at the consecration of Westminster Abbey in 1269, which was seen as the greatest personal triumph of his reign. Soon after the consecration of his abbey, the aging Henry would began to see a sharp decline in his health, eventually dying in 1272 at the fairly advanced age of 65, with his eldest son Prince Edward ascending the throne as King Edward I of England. The new king would have his late father reburied in 1290 in Westminster Abbey, where he has laid till modern historians discovered his tomb, which revealed that Henry III was about 5’ 6” tall and had a drooping left eyelid.