Henry V Ascends the English Throne

March 20, 1413

The scarred prince who had taken an arrow through the cheek at Shrewsbury now inherited his father's uneasy kingdom. He put aside the tavern friends of his youth, the chronicles claim, and became an ascetic war-king overnight. Within two years he would be at Agincourt. His transformation from dissolute prince to devout warrior became a foundational legend of English monarchy, later immortalized by Shakespeare.