Plantagenet Kings

 Richard II

King Richard II was born on the 6th of January, 1367 at the Archbishop's Palace, in the western city of Bordeaux. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, the eldest son of King Edward III of England.

Richard's father, Edward, earned his nickname from the colour of his own armour. During the conflict with France known as the 100 Years War, Edward distinguished himself in battle leading the English army during the famous Battle of Poitiers (1356) in which the French King John was captured.

King Richard II of England (1367-1400; reigned 1377-1399)

In 1376, the Black Prince died, followed by his father Edward III a year later. As a result, the young Richard became king. Being only 10 years old, a minority government was formed to govern the country on Richard's behalf. 

John of Gaunt (1340-1399). He was the Black Prince's younger brother, thus Richard's paternal uncle. After the death of Edward III, he exercised great influence over the English throne during the minority of King Richard II with some people accusing him of plotting to become King of England himself. The name ''Gaunt'' was derived from a corruption of the word ''Ghent'', the town where he was born.

There were high hopes from the new king. England had been fighting France for the last 40 years, and King Edward III was forced to levy new taxes in order to support the war effort. However, the minority government didn't abolish them and the new regime became unpopular. Moreover, the French defeated the English and they recaptured much of the land that had been lost in 1360. 

John Wycliffe (1328-1384). He was a Catholic priest whose greatest accomplishment was translating the Bible from Latin into English for the first time in history. He also advocated for reforms to be initiated in the English Church. His followers became known as the ''Lollards''.

In 1381, the taxes, which were initially for the wealthy classes only, were expanded to be collected from all adults, even the poor, a move which led to social unrest and then rebellion. The Peasants' Revolt of 1381 started in Kent and Essex in the early summer and it was led by Wat Tyler, John Ball and Jack Straw.

During the Peasants' Revolt, Simon Sudbury, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Robert Hales, Lord High Treasurer of England, were killed by the rebels

Death of Wat Tyler (1341-1381). His death broke the spirit of the rebels and the revolt was defeated.

Even though the revolt was suppressed, it was a watershed moment in Richard's reign which brought to light all the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of his kingdom. In 1382, Richard married Anne of Bohemia, daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, the most powerful European monarch at that time. Richard hoped that this marriage would secure enough financial support to finance his military campaigns in France, but Charles wasn't interested in waging wars against the French. 

Anne of Bohemia (1366-1394), Richard's first wife

Furthermore, the marriage produced no heirs, despite that the two were committed to each other. One specific person who was instrumental in this matrimonial arrangement was Michael de la Pole. He came from a family of wealthy wool merchants, and managed to win the King's confidence and gradually became more influent at the court. In 1383, he was appointed the Chancellor of the Exchequer and made Earl of Suffolk in 1385. In 1385, also a French army contingent landed in Scotland and raided Northern England. In response, Richard II personally led a punitive expedition into Scotland accompanied by John of Gaunt. They managed to reach Edinburgh but they didn't besiege the city because of the King's decision to return home. In 1386, the King convened the ''Wonderful Parliament'' where de la Pole asked for new taxes. In response, the parliament demanded the reform of the government and greater oversight of the Crown's finances in return for agreeing new taxes. Richard reluctantly agreed to allow the creation of a commission which could monitor the royal expenses for one year. Then he left London for a country-wide tour in February 1387 designed to build support. 

After his return to London, the King was immediately confronted by the parliamentarian opposition. 

Henry Bolingbroke (1367-1413), son of John of Gaunt and Richard's cousin, was one of the leaders of the opposition.

His plan didn't work out and the Parliament demanded the removal of de la Pole from his office on the allegation of treason. As a result, de la Pole was forced to flee from England. Two years later, he and other members of Richard's court were sentenced to death in absentia. For a while, a parliamentarian faction, called the Lords Appellant, managed to revoke King Richard's powers and they placed the kingdom under their regency. 

Truce of Leulinghem (1389) in which England and France agreed on a 3-year truce.

However, the King reasserted his authority, while the Lord Appelants were either exiled or sentenced to death. After years of political instability, the 1390s were considered the most successful period of Richard II's reign which allowed for the flourishing of English Late Medieval culture. 

Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400). He wrote ''The Canterbury Tales'', widely regarded as the foundational text in the formation of modern English literature.

In 1394, his wife died of bubonic plague which deeply affected Richard. In the same year in October, he embarked on military campaign in Ireland with little successes and by 1395 he had signed several treaties with the Irish Lords. 

Isabella of Valois (1389-1409). She was the daughter of King Charles VI of France and Richard's second wife.

In 1396, Richard married his second wife, Isabella of Valois, in order to secure a stronger peace with France. However, Isabella was still a child and it would take at least a decade before the marriage could be consummated. By 1397, Richard had become a more autocratic ruler and he had developed a new faction of close followers to who the King granted titles and lands. In addition, he called another Parliament at Shrewsbury in 1398 which was dominated by his own supporters and it repealed all the acts through the Wonderful and Merciless Parliaments. Meanwhile, all who tried to oppose him were either exiled or sentenced to death. In 1398, Henry Bolingbroke was banished and he headed for France. In 1399, his father, John of Gaunt, died of natural causes which gave Richard the opportunity to disinherit Henry of his John's estates. As a result, Henry allied himself with all the English nobles who were exiled in France and they started to raise an army. In the summer of 1399, he landed with a small force in Yorkshire, but he had another advantage: Richard was campaigning in Ireland once again. Soon, disaffected elements from all over Northern England started rallying under Henry's banner, while Richard left his key allies in Ireland. 

Richard surrendering his crown to Henry

Eventually, Richard was deposed, arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London. 

King Henry IV of England (1367-1413; reigned 1399-1413)

In January 1400, a group of rebels loyal to Richard tried to assassinate Henry and restore the former king. Known as the Epiphany Rising the rebellion was quickly defeated and as a punishment Richard was starved to death at Pontefract Castle. He died in February, 1400.