‘Necessitas non habet legem’ (‘necessity has no law’) he wrote in his own hand on the letter. The phrase sums up Henry’s kingship: neither legally correct, nor wholly lawful, but done anyway, because the safety of the nation is more important than the law.

— Ian Mortimer The Fears of Henry IV: The Life of England's Self-made King (2007)

More quotes by Ian Mortimer

The Fears of Henry IV: The Life of England's Self-made King (2007)

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The Fears of Henry IV: The Life of England's Self-made King (2007)

The Fears of Henry IV: The Life of England's Self-made King (2007)

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