Conflict: The First Barons' War, 1215-1217

The English are proud of the fact that the Isle of Britain hasn't been invaded since 1066, though such powerful enemies as Napoleon and Hitler almost tried it.  However, they forget one little detail.  England was invaded, more properly infiltrated for several months, by a French occupation force.  This wasn't one of the more shining episodes in Plantagenet history, but it must be told nonetheless.

The Magna Carta finally received the Great Seal on June 15, 1215.  The barons, or England's largest landowners whether they were technically barons or not, renewed their fealty to King John.  John, for his part had no intention of keeping any of the provisions of the Charter and he soon made this apparent.  Part of the Charter was Clause 61, which allowed a force or 25 or more barons to oppose the King, by force of arms if necessary, if he violated their feudal rights.  This was known as right of distraint, similar to overriding a Presidential veto today.  By 1215, there were enough barons angry at John that they were willing to use their weapons to enforce the terms of Magna Carta.

But the barons needed allies and turned to a Plantagenet family enemy, Phillip II and his heir Louis.  Louis was married to Blanche of Castile, daughter of Eleanor of Castile, daughter of Henry II and Eleanor.  So it was basically turning part of the Plantagenet family in on itself.  Though Phillip II didn't approve of the idea, he allowed his son to cross the channel with a party of knights as a sort of peace-keeping force.  The peacekeeping force rapidly turned into an invasion fleet that landed on the coast of Kent.  John fled to Winchester and Louis lost no time in taking London, where he quickly found the support of the townspeople and most of the warring barons.  Then, King Alexander II of Scotland got into the act, throwing his support behind Louis and doing homage to him for lands Alexander claimed in England. 

Louis besieged Dover, but had to call a truce and return to London.  Windsor also held out against the French.  John's forces besieged and took Rochester by force.  Then, in 1216, John died of dysentery.  There were three options, his 9-year-old son, Henry, his adult niece, Eleanor of Brittany, and Louis of France, still very much in London.  Pierre des Roches, Bishop of Winchester, hurried to have Henry crowned in Gloucester Abbey with a makeshift crown fashioned from a necklace.  William Marshal, yes that William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, was appointed Regent of the Kingdom.  He affirmed the royal assent to Magna Carta with some of the provisions revoked, including the nuclear option in Clause 61.  Marshal appealed to the barons to rally around young Henry and resist a takeover by the French.  The Pope got into the act by excommunicating Louis. 

Though Louis gained some victories, he eventually had to return to France for reinforcements.  The English weren't about to let him back in.  Working town by town and castle by castle, Marshal's forces slowly made gains against the French.  Louis was forced to sign the Treaty of Lambeth on September 11, 1217, accepting a sum of money to go away and stay away.