infertility

In her book The Shadow King: The Life and Death of Henry VI, historian Lauren Johnson claimed that the prudish 15th century king of England needed a helping hand to do the deed when it came to impregnating his wife. Remembered as an inordinately pious king, it appears that Henry was more interested in religion than his duties as a husband. So much so, that after his marriage it took eight years to produce an heir. The reign of Henry VI has gone down in history as the nadir of the British monarchy, a rule marked by civil war and the loss of England’s French territory. For Henry didn’t conform to the stereotypes of kingship during his era; depicted by