Henry was count palatine of the Rhine from 6 August 1195 to 1213.

Henry was the eldest son of Duke Henry the Lion

Henry the Lion

Henry the Lion was a member of the Welf dynasty and Duke of Saxony, as Henry III, from 1142, and Duke of Bavaria, as Henry XII, from 1156, which duchies he held until 1180....

, from his marriage to Matilda

Matilda of England, Duchess of Saxony

Matilda of England was the eldest daughter of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Through her marriage with Henry the Lion, she was Duchess of Saxony and later of Bavaria.-Early life:...

, eldest daughter of King Henry II of England

Henry II of England

Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...

 and Eleanor of Aquitaine

Eleanor of Aquitaine

Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages. As well as being Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, she was queen consort of France and of England...

. He grew up in England and became count palatine of the Rhine through his 1193 marriage to Agnes, heir to the Staufen

Hohenstaufen

The House of Hohenstaufen was a dynasty of German kings in the High Middle Ages, lasting from 1138 to 1254. Three of these kings were also crowned Holy Roman Emperor. In 1194 the Hohenstaufens also became Kings of Sicily...

 count. When his younger brother Otto

Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor

Otto IV of Brunswick was one of two rival kings of the Holy Roman Empire from 1198 on, sole king from 1208 on, and emperor from 1209 on. The only king of the Welf dynasty, he incurred the wrath of Pope Innocent III and was excommunicated in 1215.-Early life:Otto was the third son of Henry the...

 became one of two rival kings of the Holy Roman Empire in 1198, Henry at first supported him, but switched sides to Philip of Staufen in 1203. After he inherited significant properties in northern Germany from his brother William in 1213, he ceded the Palatinate to his son Henry

Henry VI, Count Palatine of the Rhine

Henry VI "the Younger" of Brunswick, of the House of Welf, was Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1212 to 1214.Henry was born around 1196, the only son of Count Palatine Henry V and Agnes, daughter of Conrad, Count Palatine of the Rhine...

, and moved north. He left his northern German properties to William's son, Otto. Henry died in 1227 and is entombed in Brunswick Cathedral.

Family

In 1193, Henry married Agnes (born 1177, died 1204), daughter of Conrad, Count Palatine of the Rhine. Around 1209, he married Agnes (died 1248), daughter of Conrad II, Margrave of Lower Lusatia. He had the following children, all from the first marriage:

• Henry
  Henry VI, Count Palatine of the Rhine
  Henry VI "the Younger" of Brunswick, of the House of Welf, was Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1212 to 1214.Henry was born around 1196, the only son of Count Palatine Henry V and Agnes, daughter of Conrad, Count Palatine of the Rhine...
  
   (1197–1214)
• Irmengard (died 1260), married Herman V, Margrave of Baden-Baden
• Agnes
  Agnes of the Palatinate
  Agnes of the Palatinate was a daughter of Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine and his first wife Agnes, daughter of Conrad, Count Palatine of the Rhine . Agnes was Duchess of Bavaria by her marriage to Otto II Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria....
  
   (died 1267), married Otto II Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria
  Otto II Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria
  Otto II of Bavaria was the Duke of Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine . He was a son of Louis I and Ludmilla of Bohemia and a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty.- Biography :...
  
  

Ancestors