Would you recognise Henry V? This poll suggests you may not...
This year marks the 600th anniversary of the battle of Agincourt – yet our new survey shows that the king who secured English victory is less famous than we might think. By
Hedefeated the French at Agincourt in 1415, staving off civil war in England and securing the oceans for English trade. Yet only 26 per cent of respondents in our recent survey were able to correctly identify Henry V in a famous portrait.
We asked members of Insiders, a panel of magazine readers set up by Immediate Media – the company that publishes BBC History Magazine – to attach the right name to portraits of historical figures who have hit the headlines in the past year. Of the 10 faces (some of which are featured below), Henry V’s came second to last.
So why did Henry score so badly? Juliet Barker, a specialist on the medieval period, suggests that the reason may be as fundamental as the king’s face. “As French ambassadors noted, Henry looked more like a clergyman than a warrior king,” she says. “His portrait doesn’t fit our image of what the victor of Agincourt should look like – he’s not wearing armour or carrying a weapon, let alone flaunting the crown and royal regalia as most other monarchs would do.”
Barker hopes that this year’s anniversary brings Henry back into the public eye. “I hope that the Agincourt commemorations bring his remarkable achievements into greater focus,” she says. “Henry’s victory confirmed his status throughout Europe as a king to be reckoned with. On a more permanent basis, I’d like to
“Henry V’s portrait doesn’t fit our image of what the victor of Agincourt should look like”