William Marshal as Protector

• William Marshal headed Henry’s government as the king’s Protector
• He was a great landowner, calculating general and a shrewd politician
• Marshal would take charge of the government’s finances and the campaigns against the rebels and was supported by the papal legate
• No churchmen would take the risk of crowning Louis after the papal legate supporting Marshal
• Marshal reissued a revised version of the Magna Carta approved by the church
• By 1217, Marshal succeeded in taking control of key areas like Lincoln and London and Prince Louis returned to France