[MR] Wikipedia: Birth of Louis VIII, The King of England Who Wasn't

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

On this date in 1187 Louis VIII, King of France was born. Interestingly, he
ruled as King of England in 1216-1217, but does not appear on any regnal
lists of English Royalty.

During the reign of Bad King John of Magna Carta fame, some of his
principal barons were so fed up with John's hijinks that they invited
Louis, then crown prince of France, to come to England and assume the
kingship. Louis jumped at the chance and brought a French army over to back
up his claim to the throne (descended from William the Conqueror via a
female line). Louis controlled much of England, made war on John, collected
taxes, made land grants, and did all sorts of other kingly stuff for a bit
over a year. Then John rather ungraciously croaked, leaving his throne to
his young son Henry III. The barons swung over to Henry's side, and Louis
was suddenly persona non grata. After his naval forces under the command of
Eustace the Monk were wiped out at the Battle of Sandwich in August 2017,
Louis found his position untenable. Signing the Treaty of Lambeth, Louis
renounced his claim to the Throne of England, and left after pocketing
10,000 marks.

Louis became King of France upon the death of his father Philip Augustus in
1223. He resumed the papal crusade against the Cathars in 1225, but died of
dysentery on 8 November 1226 while on campaign.

You can read more about Louis at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_VIII_of_France .

Lady Sarah and I are currently reading Catherine Hanley's recent bio LOUIS,
THE FRENCH PRINCE WHO INVADED ENGLAND (ISBN 9780300217452). This work is an
excellent and very readable retelling of Louis's life, and sheds a lot of
light on this often misunderstood period of English history. I highly
recommend her book.

Yours Aye,

Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆