Key Facts
- Duration
- 1422–1453 (31 years)
- Founded by treaty
- Treaty of Troyes, 1420
- Henry VI crowned King of France
- 16 December 1431, Paris
- Burgundian defection
- 1435, Duke of Burgundy recognised Charles VII
- End date
- 19 October 1453, fall of Bordeaux
- English territory retained
- Calais only, held for ~100 more years
Imperial Zenith Metrics
Historical Trajectory
Phase I: Rise
The dual monarchy originated with the Treaty of Troyes (1420), signed by the mentally incapacitated Charles VI of France, which designated his son-in-law Henry V of England as heir to the French throne, bypassing the Dauphin Charles. When both Charles VI and Henry V died in 1422, the infant Henry VI inherited claims to both crowns. English and Burgundian forces controlled much of northern France, lending the arrangement a degree of practical authority in those territories.
Phase II: Zenith
At its height, Henry VI's regency council administered English-controlled northern France, including Paris, while Burgundian alliance secured much of the northeast. Henry was formally crowned King of France at Notre-Dame de Paris on 16 December 1431, giving the dual monarchy symbolic legitimacy in allied territories. Meanwhile, the rival Valois claimant Charles VII held southern France beyond the Loire, limiting English de facto authority to roughly the northern third of the kingdom.
Phase III: Decline
The dual monarchy unravelled after Joan of Arc's campaigns enabled the Dauphin's coronation at Reims in 1429, undermining English legitimacy. The pivotal Burgundian defection in 1435 stripped Henry VI of his most powerful French ally. Successive French military victories gradually expelled English forces, culminating in the Battle of Castillon on 17 July 1453 and the fall of Bordeaux that October. England retained only Calais, and Charles VII emerged as undisputed king of France.
Notable Imperial Reigns
Selected rulers mapping the empire’s trajectory