Richard II

1377 - 1399

aka Richard of Bordeaux

Richard was 10 when he was crowned King following the death of his grandfather, Edward III. Unimpressive in appearance, he was slight of build with feminine features and a pronounced stammer. By nature, he was known to be generous to his friends, two in particular, and was a patron of the arts. He enjoyed mounting lavish entertainments and dressing extravagently. He was nonetheless a weak king who took advantage of his privileged position. He alienated the Court with his arrogance and bad temper, leading to his downfall and eventual death in captivity. His reign did nothing to ease what had been a difficult time for England.

At the start of his reign, Edward was too young to rule alone. His uncle, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, was in a powerful position having recovered from the restrictions of ‘Good Parliament’ imposed at the end of his father’s reign. Richard was a true Plantagent however with strength and deviousness of his own. Aged 14 he met with Wat Tyler and John Ball, leaders of the Peasant’s Revolt against the Poll Tax. The tax was imposed following the Black Death which decimated the workforce. Labourers and craftsmen were already feeling aggrieved at being forced to work under conditions imposed by their employers. This was the first time that the common people of England, the indigenous anglo-saxons, had rebelled against the Norman regime. Richard faced an angry mob of 30,000 people and managed to appease the ringleaders who pledged loyalty to him. Although Richard agreed to act as their spokeperson and offered them concessions, he later dismissed them. He declared that they would remain serfs, possibly with more hardships than before. Not content with his arrogant treachery, Richard had the principal protesters executed.

Richard believed in a king’s divine right to rule and that all his subjects should pay him homage. He was the first king to insist on being known as ‘your majesty’ or ‘your highness’ rather than ‘my lord’. In May of 1389, Richard believed he was ready to take responsibillity for his country. The previous two years had been tumultuous. Richard’s enemies, the Duke of Gloucester and the Earls of Arundel and Warwick, known collectively with others as the Lords Appellant, had impeached Richard’s chancellor and friend, Michael de la Pole. Richard’s other great friend, Robert de Vere, had gone into exile following a defeat by rival barons at Radcot Bridge. This was followed by the ‘Merciless Parliament’ who threw Richard’s friends out of their governmental positions and even had some executed.

During this period, Richard’s Uncle John had been in Spain. His return reassured the barons and noblemen who had found Richard’s favouritism and frivolity insufferable. Although Richard had by now grown into a tall and handsome man, his vanity and insecurities were making him increasingly hard to reason with. In addition, opposition to Richard’s appeasement with France continued to grow. In 1396, three years after the death of his beloved wife Anne of Bohemia, Richard married Isabella of Valois having signed a truce with France. The following year, Richard took full advantage of his position. The King’s enemies, Arundel, Warwick and Gloucester were punished for their part in the Merciless Parliament. Arundel was executed for treason, Warwick was exiled and Gloucester was murdered in captivity. He finished his routing of the Lords Appellant by confiscating the lands of Henry Bolingbroke, son of John of Gaunt, and exiling both him and the Duke of Norfolk. Then he left for Ireland to put down a rebellion in the west of the country.

Taking Bolingbroke’s lands was the last straw for Richard’s noblemen. It was seen as a tyrannical act. As well as English backing, Bolingbroke gathered French support and landed with his troops in Yorkshire. Richard was captured on his return from Ireland. He lacked support from his noblemen and his ordinary subjects. He was so unpopular by now that he was pelted with vegetables on the way to his incarceration at the Tower of London.

The Archbishop of York announced his abdication on 30th September 1399 in the most damning and humiliating terms. Richard died a few months later of starvation, whether forced or self-imposed remains open to question.

Richard II Factfile