Henry had grown up with the charter, signed by his father King John in 1215, which put real limits on the power of the King. But a bit of a blow for a king who wanted absolute authority. Kings could no longer ignore the complaints of their subjects. They could be forced to submit to a council of the barons. That council thought of itself was the voice of the community of the realm, and even now began to be called "parliament". Its role would be to hold the King to his contract. Since Henry had become King as a boy of nine, he'd had no choice but to swallow this bitter pill. However, as he grew older, Henry burned with frustration and became determined to get free of its shackles, to restore the unchallenged authority of the crown. Knowing that this couldn't happen without a fight, Henry accepted a compromise position for many years, that the King was not free to govern through pure royal will.


亨利在《大宪章》的影响下成长，这是由他父亲约翰王于1215年签署通过的。该法律是用来限制英国国王权力，这对渴望绝对权力的统治者如当头棒喝。国王再也不能无视子民们的怨言。他们必须向男爵理事会述政，该理事会自诩为王国的发言机构。时至今日，他们被称作，议会。它的作用就是保证国王规行矩步，由于亨利即位时只有九岁，他无从选择，有苦只能往肚里咽。然而，随着年龄的增长，亨利越发沮丧，终于下定决心要挣脱束缚，复辟君主至高无上的权利。亨利深知此举必将引发政治斗争，因此多年来，他一直妥协忍让，保证国王不会凭个人意愿，独断政事。