Henry is believed to have been born sometime in 1387 in the gatehouse of Monmouth Castle. He was the eldest son of Bolingbroke (later to be Henry IV) and Mary Bohun. In October 1399 Bolingbroke claimed the English throne and had Richard II imprisoned and possibly ordered his murder.

Wales

Shortly after becoming King Bolingbroke knighted his sons and made his eldest son, Henry, the Prince of Wales. In August of 1400, although only around twelve years old, Henry accompanied the King first to the north of England where Robert III of Scotland was raiding the border country and then to Wales where Owen Glendower was in revolt. The king left Henry in Chester with the task of defeating Glendower. To help the young prince the king gave him Henry Percy more commonly known as Hotspur. Hotspur was a member of the Percy family from the north of England who had helped Bolingbroke become King. In 1401 Hotspur resigned his position due to lack of funds from the king and returned to the north to help his family fight the Scots. By 1403 Henry at the age of fifteen was in control of the army fighting the Welsh and in July of that year, when Hotspur and the Percys rebelled againt the king, the prince fought at the king's side at the battle of Shrewsbury where Hotspur was killed. The conflict with the Welsh took up Henry's time until 1409 and the fall of Harlech Castle to the English.

Next monarch: King Henry VI

• Peter Earle,The Life and Times of Henry V,
• Peter Potter,Data Donation,