Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 19, 2017
Henry III (1207–1272) was King of England from 1216 until his death. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry assumed the throne when he was only nine in the middle of the First Barons' War. He was known for his piety, holding lavish religious ceremonies, giving generously to charities, and adopting Edward the Confessor as his patron saint. In 1230 he attempted to reconquer the provinces of France that had once belonged to his father, but the invasion was a debacle, and a revolt broke out in 1232. He invaded Poitou in 1242, leading to the disastrous Battle of Taillebourg. In 1258 a coalition of his barons seized power in a coup. Henry and the baronial government enacted a peace treaty with King Louis IX of France in 1259, under which Henry gave up his other lands in France in return for recognition as the rightful ruler of Gascony. In 1263 one of the more radical barons, Simon de Montfort, seized power, resulting in the Second Barons' War. At the Battle of Lewes in 1264, Henry was taken prisoner. His eldest son, Edward, defeated de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham the following year and freed his father. (Full article...)