(born Dec. 6, 1421, Windsor, Berkshire, Eng.—died May 21/22, 1471, London) King of England (1422–61, 1470–71). Son of Henry V, he became king as an infant, and grew up a pious and studious recluse, who suffered episodes of mental instability. England's political affairs were dominated by the rivalries of a series of overpowerful ministers of the houses of Lancaster and York, and Henry's incapacity for government became one of the causes of the Wars of the Roses.
In 1461 a Yorkist was proclaimed Edward IV. Henry fled, but he returned in 1464 in an unsuccessful Lancastrian rising and was eventually captured and imprisoned. After a quarrel in the York faction, he was restored to the throne in 1470. Edward fled but soon returned to defeat and kill the earl of Warwick and regain the throne. The death in battle of Prince Edward, Henry's heir, sealed Henry's fate, and he was murdered in the Tower of London soon afterward.
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