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RICHARD II

Richard II was the son of Edward The Black Prince and King of England from 1371 to 1399. Richard II succeeded to the throne at the age of ten, on his father Edward's death. In 1381 the Peasants' Revolt broke out and Richard, aged 14, bravely rode out to meet the rebels at Smithfield, London. Wat Tyler, the principal leader of the peasants, was killed and the uprisings in the rest of the country were crushed over the next few weeks (Richard was later forced by his Council's advice to rescind the pardons he had given). Highly cultured, Richard II was one of the greatest royal patrons of the arts; patron of Chaucer, it was Richard II who ordered the technically innovative transformation of the Norman Westminster Hall to what it is today.

Richard II's authoritarian approach upset vested interests, and his increasing dependence on favourites provoked resentment. In 1388 the 'Merciless Parliament' led by a group of lords hostile to Richard II (headed by the King' s uncle, Gloucester) sentenced many of the King's favourites to death and forced Richard II to renew his coronation oath. The death of his first queen, Anne of Bohemia, in 1394 further isolated Richard II, and his subsequent arbitrary behaviour alienated people further.

Richard II took his revenge in 1397, arresting or banishing many of his opponents; his cousin, Henry of Bolingbroke, was also subsequently banished. On the death of Henry's father, John of Gaunt (a younger son of Edward III), Richard II confiscated the vast properties of his Duchy of Lancaster (which amounted to a state within a state) and divided them among his supporters.

Richard II pursued policies of peace with France and still called himself king of France and refused to give up Calais, but his reign was concurrent with a 28 year truce in the Hundred Years War.

His expeditions to Ireland failed to reconcile the Anglo- Irish lords with the Gaels. In 1399, while Richard II was in Ireland, Henry of Bolingbroke returned to claim his father's inheritance. Supported by some of the leading baronial families (including Richard II's former Archbishop of Canterbury), Henry of Bolingbroke captured and deposed Richard II and Henry of Bolingbroke was crowned King as Henry IV. Risings in support of Richard II led to his murder in Pontefract Castle; Henry V subsequently had his body buried in Westminster Abbey.
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