On April 7, 1413, 613 years ago today, Henry V was crowned King of England. In 1399, his father had taken the throne from his own cousin, Richard II and passed it on to him. When Henry IV had taken the throne, Archbishop Arundel’s text had been “A man shall rule over the people.” “When a boy reigns, wilfulness reigns, and reason is exiled,” he said. “From this danger we are now liberated, for a man is ruling.” In 1399, the man. Henry, had been three months younger than the boy, his deposed cousin. The archbishop identified Richard’s “youth” in his exercise of will without the restraint of reason, in his inconstancy and untrustworthiness, his preference for flattery over the truth. His self-conscious majesty had been glittering in its manifestation of the rights of kingship, but shallow in its understanding of the responsibilities they entailed. Henry’s comprehension of the duties of sovereignty had been substantial, rather than decorative. He had been born to inherit the throne.
Things don’t change much, do they.
