Henry VI: What Was The King's Great Mysterious Illness?

It was August1453. King Henry VI of England left his pregnant wife Margaret of Anjou at home and travelled from court to the West Country on a judicial visit. Stopping off at Clarendon Palace in Wiltshire the 31-year-old king was, “suddenly…taken and smitten with a frenzy and his wit and reason withdrawn”. What was the terrible and mysterious illness that struck down Henry VI who was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses?
0:00 Introduction
0:56 ‘Woe to you, o land when your king is a child’
2:44 Scandal
5:15 Downfall
8:09 Madness
🎶🎶 Music by CO.AG: / @co.agmusic
Narrated by James Wade
Edited by James Wade
Thank you for watching.
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Copyright © 2022 Top5s All rights reserved. In this video, we've compiled information from a variety of sources, including documentaries, books, and websites, all with the aim of providing an engaging viewing experience. While we strive to ensure accuracy, we acknowledge that there may be variations in the authenticity of the content. We encourage viewers to delve deeper and conduct their own research to corroborate the information presented.

[@MagdaleneDivine]

Wow not even crushed pearls cured him? That works for anything tho.

[@sirgalahad1376]

He should have tried walking backwards while reciting the Lord’s Prayer.

[@MagdaleneDivine]

@@sirgalahad1376 with his coat inside out too. Cause some fae folk you know

[@WhuDhat]

should have tried black pearls

[@blazethealaskanmalamute4633]

No no no, crushed pearls wouldn’t work! Blended money given thru I.V. is the only cure all!!

[@WhuDhat]

@@blazethealaskanmalamute4633 I thought that was only for curing AIDS

[@evonneacevedo6578]

Nothing gets a shy boy in the mood faster than a retinue of “sex coaches” in his bedchamber. 🙄

[@forickgrimaldus8301]

To be fair in the Good old days S"x was literally a matter of national security.

[@Pentagathusosaurus]

Pretty sure he was either gay or full on impotent, idk why else he'd need a dude in the room.

[@kaarlimakela3413]

Henry VI when alert and functioning, created Eton school for young men of more modest means. He was heavily involved in all aspects, including the design, an heirloom to the nation.

[@lulumoon6942]

Times have changed!

[@savagedarksider2147]

​@@lulumoon6942 Henry the 6th was A idiot.

[@manuelc5786]

Court member: “Gah I can’t believe he is king! He’s done nothing good to us yet! Assistant: “Sir he’s only 2…..” Court member: “Oh right…”

[@nepntzerZer]

You think you're funny. That's probably the worst part.

[@One.DeSanctis.]

@Adam Greene 1422 (when Henry VI became king) proceeded the House of Windsor by several lines of succession. Wasn't Henry VI still a Plantagenent (spelling?) and a descendant of the Normans? Not a drop of the later Germanic line of the Windsors in the Middle Ages.

[@One.DeSanctis.]

@Adam Greene I may give the study/paper a read online. Thanks for the reference info. I had not previously heard of the Kell gene? It is a completely new theory to me. Edit: antigen!

[@erikamoore6164]

I've heard it suggested that Henry VI suffered from catatonic schizophrenia.

[@somniumisdreaming]

yeah in this vid

[@roberthudson3386]

Henry VI was a truly tragic figure, may he rest in peace.

[@savagedarksider2147]

He was A idiot.

[@maearcher4721]

Aside from mental illness, imo it could have been a stroke which rendered him for while basically prisoner of his own body-unable to move etc. And take over a year to recoverer mobility. But during that time, his mental state would have greatly affected, especially from so called 'threatment' which at those times could even be pretty brutal.

[@drewzalo]

That’s what I thought when I heard all the symptoms

[@forickgrimaldus8301]

To be fair it took modern medicine and tech centuries to fully know so that last one is kind of unfair. (They were doing the best they can to heal the guy with whats available at the time) Though Henry likely died of a heart disease or a stroke.

[@marisapaola9010]

@@forickgrimaldus8301 murder. Henry was beaten to death while imprisoned by his cousin who usurped the kingship.

[@forickgrimaldus8301]

@@marisapaola9010 wrong Henry though

[@thomashernandez8700]

@@forickgrimaldus8301 Which Henry, then????

[@joseybryant7577]

The sweating sickness would be great to cover here. Since it is still largely a mystery.

[@justinakers3196]

Probably a common fever lmao

[@sirgalahad1376]

@@justinakers3196 Seriously. You could die from a splinter back then.

[@dafriendlyghost]

@@justinakers3196 well fevers are your bodies reaction to infection, not the infection itself.

[@forickgrimaldus8301]

Probably heart issues or a whole host of things attributed as one disease (this was the medieval period before modern medicine became refined)

[@leanie5234]

The problem is that it's a mystery. Any report would be pure conjecture. No one knows what caused it.

[@EduardQualls]

Well, you _do_ call him *_"Henry the Sickth"_*

[@lulumoon6942]

👏

[@danydazed4314]

Queen takes a lover - inserts picture of Henry Cavill - No lies detected here

[@yuhyuhariana8064]

I mean who can resist him?

[@jp-um2fr]

Acute Depression. It's now classed as a physical illness.

[@kaloarepo288]

Henry VI's mental state was probably inherited from his French royal ancestors via his mother's side -his maternal grandfather Charles VI of France (I think it's VI)had frequent mental breakdowns and thought he was made of glass that could shatter at any time.The king,in turn,probably inherited his condition via his maternal ancestors the dukes of Bourbon several of whom had severe mental breakdowns.Descendants of this dynasty eventually became kings in France(HenryIV) and in Spain,southern Italy and Parma in northern Italy

[@sandralibeau4795]

Kalo Arepo I agree about the Bourbon connection. The whole family were severely inbred.

[@Torania87]

Thank you for working to give us this great content while you're sick! I hope you feel better soon!

[@kimberlyperrotis8962]

He was catatonic, there can be only one diagnosis, he had catatonic schizophrenia and had complete psychotic breaks from reality, like his ancestor the King of France. It wasn’t just one episode, either, but was repeated. Even had those not happened, he was a weak and ineffective king, he allowed hard-won French territory to be lost after over a hundred years of fighting for it, and endlessly promoting undeserving favorites, as other kings before him had, and excluded very capable nobles, like the Duke of York, from participating in, improving and strengthening his governance, as was expected and generally welcomed at that time. (It might not be right by our standards that England held those territories in France, but it was through legal treaty and was of great economic and strategic importance). Participation in government was the role, along with military generalship, of highborn nobles, like York. Much of Henry’s favoritism was apparently at the instigation and insistence of his French wife. I don’t believe it was York’s intention to claim the kingship until the very end, he just saw his country falling apart and knew it was his duty to help. He also had a better claim to the throne, the Lancastrians including Henry, were usurpers of the crown.

[@One.DeSanctis.]

@Tu Papi the comma is next to the space bar. Do not assume.

[@elizabethmcglothlin5406]

Possibly a stroke, from which he made a partial recovery?

[@samanthav563]

Medieval people: Great!! He's not having sex!!!! Oh no!!! He not having sex!!!

[@MrThedonhead]

Its amazing that we still can't really help people with mental illness and still dont know what it is

[@cassandralyris4918]

Sounds like a stroke. Poor guy. Oh gee, crushed pearls didn't help Charles the Mad? They should've tried mercury. Heard that always does the trick!

[@forickgrimaldus8301]

Understand this is a pre modern medicine era so Schizophrenia, a stroke ect are barely understood nor even have names so calling them out on it unironically is a bit unfair. (Its likely what would happen to us in the future for not healing people with Viral Gene therapy and Crisper in patients)

[@KellieDoll28]

I thought Henry VI was severely bipolar or schizophrenic. Additionally, I believe he had a seizure disorder, which would explain the catatonia, amnesia, & trance-like states. The seizures would have eventually stopped, allowing Henry to “wake up,” quite literally. What an absolute nightmare

[@matthewfalter6366]

Did they try the use of all thrae majiks? Smoke, bile, and blood?

[@yodelguy9005]

You had 10,000 subs 2 months ago and now you have over 100k! Well done

[@jasonnugent963]

You’re channel has been growing like crazy !… and its well deserved. I think I learn something (or multiple somethings) from every episode.

[@winglessfairy564]

“He had many Lancastrian uncles that could tell him how to behave and what to do, but no real role model to show him that the only way to be successful in medieval kingship was to basically be unpleasant and thoroughly ruthless.” 💀

[@savagedarksider2147]

He (Henry the 6th) was idiot.

[@staceyjordan872]

Your vids are awesome!!!!!!

[@giselematthews7949]

I agree with Mae Archer. Hope you are over your cold by now.

[@ieuanbriers]

Right. Before we begin. I know nothing about Henry VI, other than he was the son of Henry V and, like King George III had questionable mental health. I want to know more so please educate me.

[@LisaCaudill001]

hope you feel well soon :)

[@omgwtfbbqownage]

Henry's face says it all...

[@leetatum5306]

I love these, thanks!!

[@maryjordan2597]

Would love a video on the War of Roses!

[@peachrenard2320]

After hearing of crushed pearls being used as a treatment in those days, I'm thankful to live in a time with somewhat decent medicine. Wouldn't say it's great medication, I've had horrible reactions to so many pills, especially epilepsy medications, but at least it's actually medication. Something about crushed pearls sounds so rough.

[@robinhumphrey2692]

Thanks!! From Wyoming, USA!

[@carmenlottner297]

He'd have been fine as king nowadays....

[@KL-hr2kj]

"I myself have a cold while recording this voice over because that's how dedicated I am" S C R E A M I N G

[@jankrolak5196]

In my opinion you could talk a little bit more about the peace treaty he made. Another interesting fact You could expand on is that he thought he was made of glass. Cheers, thanks for cool videos

[@leemoore5751]

Great, but that phonetic pronunciation of Salisbury is weird ;)

[@patrickmulroney9452]

margaret was a great queen and for years saved his life!

[@heliotropezzz333]

She didn't realise the difference between English and French politics. She chose the nobles she would favour and antagonised the York family treating them as enemies. Unfortunately the noble she chose to favour was useless. These factors led to the wars of the roses.

[@MagdaleneDivine]

Did they try the blood of a virgin boy or perhaps skinning the hair of cat and making a pultice?

[@forickgrimaldus8301]

Thats sounds like witchcraft with the part of vergin blood and cat hair but concotions like that and blood letting were the medicine of their days though that doesn't mean they knew nothing about it though its very limited. Leaches and Bloodletting were back then the accepted method for healing illness because they don't have the tools to study diseases very specifically only by eye.

[@brutusthebear9050]

Sounds like there was plenty of virgin boy blood inside Henry.

[@sabrinacarpenter5431]

Could’ve been a form a epilepsy some types of seizures can cause a catatonic state. Or possibly a stroke.

[@peachrenard2320]

Just the other week I had to go without seizure medications for a short bit and got to a point where I could barely stand. You bring up a really good point actually since this is a time where pearls were supposed to somehow treat people.

[@EddAteMyBacon]

Had to see this at school

[@multiyapples]

Interesting.

[@susankerr9521]

Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, was most likely Henry's kid. That guy had plenty of screws loose in his helm.

[@GaryHalloway48]

😂😂😂 the dude didn’t defend his throne even and he got his wife stole by Richard the iii.

[@esomethingoranother3718]

I think a lot of the mental illness and kings and queens back then came from a combination of incest and so much pressure being put on them throughout their childhood

[@gavinguitar2194]

Happy days on crossing the 10,000 milestone!

[@the_birthday_skeleton]

11:45 “[…] which is an absolutely *_insane_* milestone!” you don’t say? 🤪

[@mukhumor]

So sad, a few centuries later and anything could be cured with Laudanum.

[@somniumisdreaming]

they had opium back then

[@mukhumor]

@@somniumisdreaming Yeah, it was quite rare and expensive, and not the 'cure all' the Victorians enjoyed.

[@frankjamesbonarrigo7162]

We are still in the dark ages when it comes to mental health

[@mwblackbelt]

1st scene: one of the earliest known examples of the photobomb

[@WildBillCox13]

Not a stroke? Seemed a lot like a stroke from the descriptions.

[@HollyLHeflen]

Ha! I love the personality!

[@benelinder319]

Music of the beginning please

[@scathatch]

Sounds like he had a nervous breakdown.

[@brianedwards7142]

Just had a mad imagining of Shakespeare's Richard iii staring Dick York from Bewitched. 🤣

[@MissMentats]

He should have signed up for better help

[@oppaloopa3698]

“In chess that’s a good thing” a king who supports pillow princes 👏👏👏

[@-JA-]

👍👏

[@j0nnyism]

The battle of Hexham ; shows the Tower of London at the opposite end of the country

[@somniumisdreaming]

ikr? Doesn't Hexham havent the oldest gaol and a 6th century abbey so plenty well known pics to show.

[@TheButcherClan]

Is the implication that Henry was gay or at least asexual?

[@angelaatwood46]

Exactly 💯

[@oppaloopa3698]

That would explain some things. Not just in the bedroom area. Being gay in the English court (let alone during that time) would lead anyone to have a complete breakdown.

[@yuhyuhariana8064]

Maybe he was a straight bottom

[@brutusthebear9050]

That was my thought, until the mention of the... cheerleaders. I'm man enough to admit that I would have issues if a bunch of people were watching and judging the entire time, giving "constructive criticism".

[@tech10k14]

Okay... it's 'Ajincor' , 'Treaty of Trwah' , ' Margaret of Onjoo'

[@jdb47games]

3:19 Salisbury is pronounced Saulsbury.

[@moomyung9231]

Some of the Joseon kings also had "coaches" or at least someone shouting outside the door what the king was to do. Sounds romantic.

[@thomasbell7033]

I just finished Dan Jones' "The Wars of the Roses." He portrays Henry as a pointless wet noodle and Margaret of Anjou as a ruthless, vicious harridan cap a pie. I'm not sure history, in general, has been entirely fair to Margaret. Somebody had to wear the balls in that unfortunate family. BTW, was there more than one Bede? I hear a Bede cited as a source ar 6:50, and the only Bede I know of is the Venerable one, who wrote about Saxon history and croaked in 735 CE.

[@rnedlo9909]

Could he have been poisoned?

[@caroleminvielle9554]

Sal- is- bury?

[@carausiuscaesar5672]

Blimey!Hundred Years War?!not bloomin’long enuff!

[@frankjamesbonarrigo7162]

Did you say Bede? He died in 735

[@paulmicheldenverco1]

Henry 6: My kingdom for a haircut!

[@elleej3050]

ima start saying that now: “come ni her”!

[@Apegabe]

😆

[@Mr-Al.Zheimer]

Poor kid

[@andrewattenboroughtwothumb4697]

An uncle ancestor of my mother’s side of the family

[@paulleverton9569]

2:52 'for over 300 years, ten out of the eleven kings of England had taken a French wife...'. I think the king not to marry any French bride was Richard I, 1089-99, who married Berengaria of Navarre and Castille, both in modern Spain. Richard hardly ever saw her.

[@TheDrivebynerf]

Congratz well deserved

[@TheAllyMor]

10,000 subscribers? 6 months later,.... 188,000🤗

[@haloskaterkid]

Henry the Volcel

[@navalhistoryhub3748]

Next time I get a fever couple of nans pearls in the pestle and mortar and I will be right as rain!

[@californiadreamin8423]

What was the “mental” illness of Henry V1 ? Perhaps we should consider the mental illness of his grandfather….the French King Charles , defeated by Henry V at Agincourt. Generics perhaps ?

[@feelthejoy]

4:40 😂💀

[@kimberlypatton9634]

You know ye olde saying, "Thou can fixe stupid,but thou canst fixe ugly".

[@TheOriginalPickleRick]

Porphyria ?

[@pbac9570]

12 months in Waddington is a long time to make an heir

[@alisonbrowning9620]

like George 3rd

[@Time_Is_Left]

If they truly believed that the king was divinely ordained, they wouldn’t have had king regents. Assign various solutions to individual toys for whatever question the king was meant to solve, see what he picks lol

[@kevinpowell558]

All that Royal inbreeding certainly doesn't help

[@angelaatwood46]

You know, King Henry could have been gay. Gay people existed back then too.

[@martinphilip8998]

Richard the Lionheart was.

[@forickgrimaldus8301]

eh debatable almost every monarch is rumored to be gay like every historian was acting like TMZ but yes Gay people exist (as human nature is forever) but very difficult to determine, privacy wasn't a thing back then you can bathe, sleep and as seen here watched in bed with your buddies and everyone would bury that closet if it were really the case in the ocean so their actions is more important to me than their sexuality.

[@martinphilip8998]

When I took A level Tudor history that never came up. Unlikely.

[@angelaatwood46]

@@martinphilip8998 of course it didn't come up.

[@martinphilip8998]

@@angelaatwood46 Yes. Henry VI was a Plantagenet. My bad.

[@gazza2933]

Probably being a Lacastrian. 🙄

[@nishadsawant4402]

0.0 to 0.18 looks like the guy wearing red turban or hat whatever it is taking selfie with king Henry VI😂

[@Lolpy.]

Given how his earlier years of his reign went, I’d say estrogen overdose.

[@jonathanstoutenburg8634]

This is just not quite right, making a baby king.

[@nazlsenay7312]

.

[@katestout5099]

The title was "What was the King's Great Mysterious Illness?" And yet, you didn't answer that question. Given you chose to title it that way, I was expecting some level of detail, and a weighing of the possible illnesses.

[@DallingerM]

If DOY raised him he would’ve turned out alright ...

[@lesleylesley5821]

Bi-polar?

[@onceamusician5408]

if we consider that the so called "mental; illnesses" are NOT illnesses but merely habituated despair whereby a wounded sensitive shuts off in a desperate attempt at self protection, then he was not ill at all. what he inherited was likely extreme sensitivity. this is not a medical issue

[@jasonhaymanonthedrawingboard]

Autism is most likely issue. Due to close family ties. It quite common for autism to suffer anxiety and memory issues. Even be seen a schizophrenic. There a link between autism, Parkinson’s and schizophrenia.

[@tylerramos7633]

Autism isn’t a disease

[@jasonhaymanonthedrawingboard]

@@tylerramos7633 I know that but they didn’t. Autism is however hereditary a result of compounding issues of close family ties. Distillation issue where you have close family ties getting ever more pronounced. I’ve often inferred to it as someone trying to breed a god. but getting the whole process horribly wrong. You see the same thing happened in thorough breed animals with increased neurological difference. Burnout is a debilitating side effect of autism. If Henry had that? It would explain a few thing. Most of the population is line bred one way or another. it means you could be a carrier and you wouldn’t know endless you do your homework. Like swimming in a tea cup. The diminished gene pool is part of the issue. The royals are notorious inbred with many 1st cousins marriages on top of cousin marriages. in the case of the Habsburg family, uncles and even nieces. It likely that it effect most of Europe. As everyone has at least one royal ancestors. The chance of it being on both sides. Is very high for some people it should have been a sign trouble was looming. Every instance of autism and power has resulted in catastrophic consequences. You get the tale of Greek gods. The fall of Rome. Ancient Egypt. Practically anywhere they tried to hold on to power. It goes to hell in a hand basket. It great when the mind on key points. not so great when it’s not, and the blindside set in. Henry vi does display some of the features associated with autism. It was a mystery because they failed to have a frame of reference. The chances that they would have known may have been incredibly slim to non. In many ways the lack of understanding is worse than the condition itself. He might of been save the agony if he was born today? But the chance of him getting lucky would still be rather slim. Late diagnosis is still fairly common. Good as I am, I’m not the best to explain this. There plenty of studies that go it the link between the condition. I’ve personally be effective by all three. having a 2 close family member effected by Parkinson’s and schizophrenia and myself being autistic has had many challenges. Dyspraxia is where my journey started. Addd/adhd. Then a late diagnosis of autism. I looked in to my mothers side and have gone a far back as you can go with families 410 in my case. But as Odin get mentioned with the house of Wessex and Mercia. Who knows who I’m actually related to? Welsh prince? God kings? The same would be true for Henry.

[@happysloth3208]

This is common in my dad’s family because my great grandma was schizophrenic. I have ADHD, anxiety and Major depression. But I have a cousin who’s on the spectrum, but most folks in my family just have anxiety or ADHD.

[@jasonhaymanonthedrawingboard]

@@happysloth3208 as I’ve been learning its a common theme among the royals and nobility. It’s a issue that been handed down over the generations. So many royal of shoots it hardly surprising. Basically we are all kings and queens in our own way. If people were not made aware of there true heritage? it become more like these sort of issues will arise. One big happy family going on. It happened in the last 1500 years at least. In fact it if you could prove the links. It almost a dead certainty that a least one ancestor was connected. I went hunting for Bentleys and found kings. Lots of kings. Even a Roman emperors. In certain cases multiple times over. Make me believes it a compound issue. Just a question of how to fix it? or best manage the conditions? It not our fault per say. Just a consequence of of centuries of blind breeding.

[@the_birthday_skeleton]

@@jasonhaymanonthedrawingboard Jason, my guy, what’re you on mate ? 🌀

[@DEPARTMENTOFREDUNDANCYDEPT]

The more you learn about the "Dark Age" the crazier it becomes. What is the source of most of the ignorance, superstition, and insanity? RELIGION, OF COURSE, just like it is to this day!

[@alexandervaltsev6937]

Auto da fe!

[@the_birthday_skeleton]

folie a deux(/trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit).

[@nassimboussaadia6720]

The most deadly people Hitler, Stalin, Mao and others are atheist.

[@DEPARTMENTOFREDUNDANCYDEPT]

@@nassimboussaadia6720 What's your point? They did not commit their crimes in the name of atheism, while nearly ALL atrocities committed by the religious are committed in the name of their imaginary father figure in the sky. Hitler was Catholic, by the way, and often claimed to be acting in the name of god. Many SS war criminals were Catholic, and NONE were ever excommunicated by the church, not even Hitler, in spite of their well documented crimes. Every Nazi soldier wore a belt buckle embossed with the words "GOTT MIT UNS," which means "GOD IS WITH US." Every SS soldier swore an oath of allegiance to Hitler "Under God." The VERY FIRST diplomatic accord signed by the Nazi state under Hitler was with the Vatican. Stalin studied to become a priest in the Russian Orthodox Church as a youth.

[@DEPARTMENTOFREDUNDANCYDEPT]

@@nassimboussaadia6720 What's your point? They did not commit their crimes in the name of atheism, while nearly ALL atrocities committed by the religious are committed in the name of their imaginary father figure in the sky. Hitler was Catholic, by the way, and often claimed to be acting in the name of god. Many SS war criminals were Catholic, and NONE were ever excommunicated by the church, not even Hitler, in spite of their well documented crimes. Every Nazi soldier wore a belt buckle embossed with the words "GOTT MIT UNS," which means "GOD IS WITH US." Every SS soldier swore an oath of allegiance to Hitler "Under God." The VERY FIRST diplomatic accord signed by the Nazi state under Hitler was with the Vatican. Stalin studied to become a priest in the Russian Orthodox Church as a youth.

[@Mandy87Marie]

I feel sorry for anyone who was asexual during that time

[@kimberleysmith818]

What’s that got to do with anything?

[@kingKock88]

Just had Covid myself, maybe.

[@mattstyles2498]

What u mean maybe? Tests are not hard to find

[@ItsGroundhogDay]

@@mattstyles2498 But also produce extremely unreliable results, and most of the people who are getting tested don't need to be. I haven't tested, and don't intend to.

[@sugarpuff2978]

​@@ItsGroundhogDay Nice of you to care about others. Selfish is as selfish does.

[@ItsGroundhogDay]

@@sugarpuff2978 It's been 2 years. Every single mitigation measure has not only failed but backfired. You can't hide from a virus, and we're proving how wrong our strategies were more every day.

[@angelaatwood46]

@@sugarpuff2978 hey look, groundhog had the nerve to reply. No answer is his best answer about covid.

[@erikstolzenberger1517]

Incest.There, problem solved^^

[@paulmicheldenverco1]

Always listen to a priest for sex and marriage advice. He's the one who knows. :\

[@markeywestskies6503]

He identified as a transgender female Moor.