Summary
Highlights
In 1381, a 14-year-old King Richard II and his cousin Henry Bolingbroke sought refuge in the Tower of London during the Peasants' Revolt. The rebels targeted Richard's 'evil counselors,' brutally killing the King's Chancellor and Treasurer. Richard, faced with anarchy, rode out to confront the rebel leader Wat Tyler. After a scuffle, Tyler was mortally wounded, and in an astonishing act of bravery, Richard addressed the rebels, proclaiming himself their leader and ordering them to disperse, which they did. This event instilled in Richard a lifelong belief in his divine right and invincibility.
The peasants, believing Richard to be their champion, returned to seal a new deal. However, Richard's true colors emerged as he declared, 'Peasants you are and peasants you remain,' vowing to torment them such that no one would dare rise up again. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of peasants were subsequently executed, solidifying Richard's belief that a king needed to be feared, not loved.
By 1385, Richard, now older and married to Anne of Bohemia, sought to assert his own authority, forming a young court led by his favorite, Robert De Vere. He clashed with the 'old guard,' including his uncle Gloucester and the Archbishop of Canterbury, who still viewed him as a child. Richard's attempts to remove them from his council led to increasing tension.
A French invasion threat in 1386 exposed the incompetence of De Vere and Richard's young council. Gloucester and the old guard confronted Richard, demanding the removal of his favorites. Richard's response was to accuse them of treason and threaten to seek help from the French. Gloucester's explicit threat to follow the fate of Edward II forced Richard to back down, leading to a bloodless coup where the old guard regained control. Richard, however, secretly sought a legal bypass, having judges rule that opposition to the king was treason.
Gloucester and his allies raised an army against Richard, prompting De Vere to do the same. Henry Bolingbroke, initially loyal, sided with the Barons due to De Vere's actions. Henry's forces easily defeated De Vere's, forcing De Vere to flee France. With De Vere gone, Richard was cornered and offered peace talks at the Tower of London. Richard was locked in the Tower for three days with the five leading nobles, including Henry, who considered deposing him to avoid civil war. Ultimately, they allowed Richard to remain king, believing it the 'least worst option'.
After the incident in the Tower, Richard kept a low profile, but was secretly raising a private army in the north of England, an army loyal solely to him and symbolized by the white hart. The Wilton Diptych, a portrait of Richard commissioned around this time, illustrates his self-perception as a divinely appointed ruler, with angels bearing his white hart emblem, signifying God's approval of his absolute power.
Henry Bolingbroke returned to England to find Richard's power symbolized everywhere by the White Hart. Richard's peace was shattered by the sudden death of his wife, Queen Anne, at 28. Her death unhinged him, unleashing his tyrannical tendencies. He publicly humiliated Arundel, one of the five nobles from the Tower, at Anne's funeral. Supported by his private army, Richard reinstated his harsh treason laws, initiating a vendetta against those who had humiliated him years prior.
Richard systematically eliminated his opponents: Warwick was imprisoned, and Gloucester was arrested and later reported dead under suspicious circumstances. Parliament, intimidated by Richard and his archers, was forced to accept Mowbray's report of Gloucester's convenient death and 'confession'. Henry Bolingbroke, as the fifth man from the Tower incident, chose to save himself by publicly condemning Arundel, who was sentenced to death.
With Warwick, Arundel, and Gloucester dealt with, only Henry and Mowbray remained. Mowbray accused Richard of plotting against them, but Henry, fearing a trap, denounced Mowbray to the King. Richard, seeing an opportunity, exiled both Henry (for 10 years) and Mowbray (for life), effectively eliminating the last of the five nobles. Richard then forced other nobles to sign blank parchments, giving him the power to seize their property or condemn them as he wished, establishing an iron-fisted tyranny.
Richard's tyranny reached its peak when Henry Bolingbroke's father, the Duke of Lancaster, died. Instead of allowing Henry to inherit the massive Duchy of Lancaster, making him the most powerful noble, Richard confiscated it. This act undermined the rule of law and gave Henry the perfect justification to return from exile and challenge Richard. While Richard was in Ireland extending his tyranny, Henry seized his chance, returning to England. Deserted by his army and nobles, Richard was forced to surrender to Henry and was imprisoned in the Tower.
Henry Bolingbroke, who had previously shied away from deposing Richard, now seized the throne. Richard, in a fit of rage, threatened Henry, but his authority was gone. In Parliament, Henry claimed the throne in English, signaling a new era. Richard II's continued existence posed a threat, and he died in custody in Pontefract Castle on February 17, 1400. It is believed he was left to die of thirst, providing Henry with plausible deniability. Richard's death marked the end of the legitimate Plantagenet line and set the stage for future conflicts for the English crown, ushering in the Wars of the Roses.