Henry III and the Barons, 1258 (litho)

Henry III and the Barons, 1258. The misrule and extravagance of Henry III alienated his subjects and caused de Montfort to form a league of the barons against him. The Pope had offered Henry's son the throne of Sicily, to be conquered at the expense of England. Henry called a parliament to raise supplies, but the barons met him in Westminster Hall "all locked up in steel." "Am I a prisoner"? asked the king. "Not so," replied one of the barons, "but your favourites and your extravagance have involved this realm in wretchedness, wherefore we demand that the government be entrusted to a committee of bishops and barons, that the same may enact good laws." Illustration for one a set of cards on Historical London, issued by Hignett's Cigarettes in 1926.