Eight kings of England were named Henry. Of these, only two, the third and the sixth, were born as heirs to the throne, and these proved to be the weakest. Two others seized the crown by force of arms, one by craft and opportunistic speed, and one by skilful diplomacy and an early flowering of that great British virtue, compromise. Among their number are saints and monsters, the best known and the least known of English kings. One was a storybook hero, leading an army to triumph against overwhelming odds. Another sat out a battle, singing to himself and playing with his fingers while the arrows flew. Half of them have been accused of murder, though in general the actual killings were carried out by others. When we look at the contribution made by the eight kings of that name, we find it underpins almost every aspect of our nation and its institutions. To the first two we owe our legal system and department of finance, to the third, intentionally or otherwise, the origins of our