King John's relationship with his barons continued to deteriorate after Runnymede. When he did not keep the charter (bolstered, no doubt, by the Pope's actions in declaring it null and void), the barons called for French assistance as they continued to fight the king. John Lackland died the year after Magna Carta, in 1216, as he was in the midst of another invasion. He was 49 years old. His final resting place is in Worcester Cathedral.

But nearly 800 years later, Magna Carta lives on as the foundation of British and American common law. Even bad kings, with nefarious motives, are sometimes remembered for good results - despite their best efforts to the contrary. So is the case with King John.

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