![]() He presided over a government that defeated the rebels, expelled their French allies and restored the credentials of the monarchy. ![]() ![]() In private William apparently insisted, with a flourish of almost Churchillian sentimental exaggeration: ‘If everyone abandons the boy but me, do you know what I shall do? I will carry him on my back, and if I can hold him up, I will hop from island to island, from country to country, even if I have to beg for my bread.’ For the remaining three years of his life, William acted on behalf of Henry, a distinct medieval rarity – a non-royal ruling a kingdom. Sixteen months later, on John’s death and amid civil war, a French invasion and a haemorrhage of noble support, the nearly septuagenarian William emerged as regent for the new boy king, nine-year-old Henry III. At the head of the list of witnessing barons appeared the name of William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke (c 1147–1219). At Runnymede on 15 June 1215, King John sealed an agreement ‘for the reform of our realm’. ![]()
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