He was French by birth and was initially a strong supporter of King Henry, with England controlling a lot of territory in France many French Lords owed their allegiance to the King of England and spent a lot of time here. He was held in such high regard by the King that in 1238 he married Henry's sister Princess Eleanor and the following year was created Earl of Leicester. 

Unfortunately he fell out with King Henry shortly after his marriage over debts he expected the King to pay for him. 

At least the royals often led their armies into battle during these times. Many paying the price. The name de Montfort sounds French.

The last King to lead his forces was George ll at the battle of Dettingen 1743.

15 May 1464 - The Battle of Hexham.

For the background to the battle see 25 April. After delivering the Scots' envoys to York Lord Montagu heading back north to deal with the remnants of the Lancastrian army he had defeated three weeks earlier. He found the much depleted Lancastrians camped near Hexham and attacked before they had chance to rally. Most of the casualties drowned after trying to retreat across the Devil's Water, otherwise the number of dead was small. The Lancastrian commander Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somerset was captured and executed the same day. Two more Lords, Barons Ros and Hungerford were executed two days later.

The northern revolt against King Edward IV was over, he was safe, for now.   

That's a beautiful historic area in your country.  I just looked up some pictures and saw lots of ruins.  Wouldn't I love to hike that trail at Hexham.

Northumberland is a great county for history and wide open spaces.

16 May 1643 - The Battle of Stratton.

Cornwall in the far south west was a stronghold for the King at the beginning of the English Civil War. Cut off from the rest of the country and unable to persuade his army of Cornishmen to advance beyond the County boundary the Royalist commander Sir Ralph Hopton awaited an attack by the Parliamentarians. It came in May 1643 with an invasion of 5600 Parliamentarians under Col James Chudleigh who occupied the village of Stratton on 15 May and invited Hopton's 2900 men to attack.

They did so at 0500 the next morning. The battle raged for eight hours with no obvious outcome until Hopton's men prevailed against the odds forcing the Parliamentarians to retreat leaving 300 dead and 1700 taken prisoner, including Chudleigh. Hopton lost no more than 90 killed.   

16 May 1643 - The Battle of Stratton.

Cornwall in the far south west was a stronghold for the King at the beginning of the English Civil War. Cut off from the rest of the country and unable to persuade his army of Cornishmen to advance beyond the County boundary the Royalist commander Sir Ralph Hopton awaited an attack by the Parliamentarians. It came in May 1643 with an invasion of 5600 Parliamentarians under Col James Chudleigh who occupied the village of Stratton on 15 May and invited Hopton's 2900 men to attack.

They did so at 0500 the next morning. The battle raged for eight hours with no obvious outcome until Hopton's men prevailed against the odds forcing the Parliamentarians to retreat leaving 300 dead and 1700 taken prisoner, including Chudleigh. Hopton lost no more than 90 killed.   

Made no military sense with the numbers, but "against all odds" is a good explanation of the outcome. 

There are many battles in which lesser numbers overcame greater, but with no obvious reason. Sometimes the bigger army isn't as well trained or led. 

17 May 1215 - The Rebellious Barons Occupied London.

Under King John England lost Normandy to the King of France in 1204. In 1213 he crossed the Channel in an attempt to win it back, but returned defeated the following year. In his anger he levied a tax on those Lords who had failed to support his invasion. This, plus the sense of defeat surrounding the King, led to the Baron's Revolt.

It erupted in the north but soon spread south. In May 1215 King John was at Windsor with the rebel army steadily advancing on London. He ordered his half-brother William, Earl of Salisbury to move on the city before the rebels did so. However the rebels led by Robert Fitzwalter heard of this and upon receiving news that London would welcome their arrival they hastened south arriving on 17 May to enter the city unopposed, only the Tower remained in Royal hands. 

The loss of London greatly weakened the King's position who just four weeks later signed the Magna Carta granting concessions to the rebellious Barons.