1399-1509: The King's Relationship With Parliament

“The key factor in limiting royal power in the years 1399-1509 was the king’s relationship with parliament.”
How far do you agree with this statement?

Due to the unstable political environment of the period 1399-1509, royal power varied from monarch to monarch, as parliament’s ability to limit this power fluctuated. There are several factors in limiting royal power, including the king’s relationship with parliament, royal finances and a king’s popularity, often due to military success. The most significant of these factors, however is the king's finances, as one of parliament's primary roles was to consider the king’s requests for taxation, and thus denying these requests would have been one of the few ways to effectively limit royal power.

As it was only parliament who could effectively limit the king’s royal power, an amiable and steady relationship was key to a king maintaining almost complete control.

One monarch who faced limited royal power due to his relationship with parliament was Henry IV. This uneasy relationship was mainly down to the fact that Henry was a usurper, and was exacerbated by his long periods of serious illness later in his reign. Parliament was thus able to exercise a large amount of control over royal power, which is evident in the Long Parliament of 1406, in which debates lasted from March until December. The length of these debates shows us that Henry IV’s unstable relationship had allowed parliament to severely limit his royal power, as he was unable to receive his requested taxation. A king with an amiable relationship with parliament, such as Henry V, and later Edward IV, would be much more secure in their power, as taxation was mostly granted, however their power was also supported more by other factors, such as popularity and finances. Like Henry IV, Henry VI also faced severely limited power due to his relationship with parliament.

Parliament
originally had full control of royal power, after Henry inherited the crown as a child, however he never gained full control of royal power, possibly due to his relationship with parliament, which was negatively affected by his losses in France, however it is impossible to know how much his power was limited due to his relationship with parliament, and how much was limited due to his mental health issues and general incompetence on the throne. The other monarchs of the period, had mostly steady relationships with parliament, and as such on the most part, their power was not limited severely. Monarchs with a good relationship with parliament, could still, however have their power restrained, as was shown in 1504, after parliament refused Henry VII’s requests for feudal rights from his dead sons knighting, and marriage of his daughter from the last year.

Popularity was also a key factor in how much a monarch's royal power could be limited, and although this would often also have an affect on their relationship with parliament, it is important to separate the two, as a popular king with a bad relationship with parliament would often still be free from limits to his power. Henry V was probably the most popular monarch of the period 1399-1509, due to his military successes in France, particularly at Agincourt. Consequently, he was able to pass taxation to fund the Hundred Years War, without criticism from parliament. It is clear however, that despite his popularity, towards the end of his reign, this popularity was not enough to sustain his power, as late in his reign, it’s probable parliament either refused or delayed Henry’s request for taxation. Unlike his father, Henry VI was an incredibly unpopular, as a result of of his massive losses in France. Although Henry VI experienced huge limits to his royal power, it was also clear that he was unable to effectively rule on his own, so overall it is likely that his popularity didn’t affect how much his power was limited. This however, is different to other monarchs who were competent to rule, such as Richard III, who after the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower, faced unpopularity, and consequently face some limits to their royal power, however as his reign was so short, it is impossible to say how much this unpopularity affected royal power during his reign. Overall, although popularity did have some effect on a king’s royal power, this was only comparatively, a very small effect overall.

As well as the previous two factors, finances prove to be an important factor in limiting royal power.

This was due to parliament’s primary role being to consider the king’s requests for taxation. Refusing this request was on of the few ways to limit royal power. During part of his reign, Edward IV was able to rule with total royal power, after he signed the “Treaty of Picquigny”, which granted him £15,000, and then a pension of £10,000 a year. This money enabled Edward to rule without the need to call for a parliament, meaning he was free from control and criticism. This treaty was important as it signifies parliament losing some of their ability to control the crown. Edward was able to rule with this pension until 1482, to pay troops against Scottish rebels. Edward IV shows us that a king was able to rule with complete royal power, as long as they had the funds to support themselves. This also worked the other way round, with financially struggling monarchs having much of their royal power limited by parliament. The most important example of this is in 1404, when parliament demanded the appointment of “special” treasurers, to ensure taxes were not spent in the royal household. Henry IV later faced further limiting of his royal power, after thirty-one acts were written to control the finances of the royal

household.