The Lancastrian Usurper: Henry IV
-Chrissie
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When King Edward III of England died in 1377, he was succeeded by his ten-year-old grandson, Richard. As was common with child-rulers, Richard had a regency council who made needed decisions. This council was chosen by Parliament and purposefully excluded his uncle John of Gaunt for fear that he would arrange to have the crown transferred to himself. Even so, John was still unofficially influential and some sources credit him with running the kingdom in all but name.
When Richard was fourteen, he was given a lesson in the value of autocracy: he tried to negotiate an end to the Peasants’ Revolt in 1381 but was unsuccessful. Having failed to verbally convince the rebels, Richard changed tactics and subdued the rebels with force. This encouraged him in his beliefs that he had been put into his position by God (a foreshadowing of the divine-right kingship defined a few centuries later in France) and that he should act as an autocrat. When he dismissed his regency council three years later, his attempts at autocracy made him enemies among Parliament, including his own uncle, Thomas of Woodstock. There was also conflict over his choice of advisors and friends, particularly his relationship with Robert de Vere, whom he elevated quickly and, some thought, beyond his place. There were also rumors that the two were carrying on an affair, but the information for that comes primarily from hostile sources.
Richard came into conflict with Parliament and others over how to fund activities in France, as well as whether to conduct war with Scotland. In 1386, Parliament listed among its goals for the session securing promises (if not actual) reform from the King. He responded by trying to dissolve Parliament and was met with the potential of his being removed from the throne. With this context, his cousin Henry of Bolingbroke, along with his uncle Thomas of Woodstock, met with Richard to advocate that he act in a less autocratic manner. He agreed, though he did not have much choice. He also arranged a politically advantageous marriage to a daughter of the King of France, but it was disliked in England, mainly because she was six and so would not be able to actually be queen and produce heirs for many years. In order to assuage fears about a contested transition of power, Richard named his second cousin, a grandson of Lionel of Antwerp, as his heir until such time as he could produce a son.
Richard’s change of heart was short-lived. By the end of the next year he had arranged for the execution of many of the Members of Parliament who had opposed him, including his uncle Thomas of Woodstock. In 1398, he banished his cousin Henry of Bolingbroke, both to punish the man himself, but also his father John of Gaunt. When John died the next year, Richard declared his property intestate and took it for himself, preventing Henry from receiving his inheritance.
Henry crossed the Channel with a small army, claiming not to desire the throne but only to be allowed to take on his inheritance. Whether this was true at the time, Henry soon gained a following from among the people and Parliament which encouraged him to demand the throne. Richard was forced to abdicate on 29 September 1399, and Henry of Bolingbroke became Henry IV. Richard was imprisoned and died the following February, likely of starvation. Whether he was starved by his jailers or chose to commit suicide we cannot know. His body was displayed in St. Paul’s Cathedral in order to show the people both that he truly was dead and that his death had not been brought about by violence.
Henry was considered a usurper, but he also replaced a highly unpopular king, which made the question of legitimacy less relevant. In truth, his accession was in keeping with the laws of primogeniture: he was the next in line after Richard II died. The male line of the eldest son of Edward III had ended; the second son, Lionel, had no sons of his own, though he did have grandsons; and so the succession fell to the third son, John of Gaunt, and then to his son and heir, Henry. It was not until two generations later that the validity of this new line of succession would be called into question.