January 6th: Richard II

Today is the anniversary of the birth of Richard II - so ten historical facts about him:

1. He was king of England from 1377 to 1399.
2. Richard was born at the Archbishop's Palace, Bordeaux, in the English principality of Aquitaine, on 6 January 1367. At the time, it was reported that three kings attended his birth on the feast of Epiphany - the King of Castille, the King of Navarre and the King of Portugal.
3. His parents were cousins. They were Edward, the Black Prince, and Joan of Kent ("The Fair Maid of Kent"). Their marriage required papal approval.
4. He became king at the age of ten, despite being the second son of Edward, the Black Prince. His elder brother and his father died before his grandfather, Edward III.
5. Richard II was just fourteen years old when he dealt with the Peasants' Revolt in 1381. Rebels led by Wat Tyler, John Ball and Jack Straw gathered at Blackheath near London, demanding the abolition of serfdom. They'd burned down John of Gaunt's Savoy Palace and killed the Archbishop of Canterbury and the king's Lord High Treasurer. Richard, sheltering within the Tower of London, knew it wasn't going to be possible to overcome them by force and so negotiation was required. How big a part Richard, at fourteen, played in the negotiations is disputed, but he did meet with the rebels twice, in Mile End and Smithfield. At the second meeting, a fight broke out during which Wat Tyler was killed. The king acted with calm resolve. He said, "I am your captain, follow me!", and led the mob away from the scene.
6. Richard married Anne of Bohemia, daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor (King of Bohemia Charles IV) and his wife Elisabeth of Pomerania. It was a strategic marriage but wasn't popular in England. However, Richard is said to have mourned his wife greatly when she died of the plague in 1394. There was no heir, and two years later Richard agreed, as part of a truce with France, to marry Isabella, daughter of Charles VI of France, when she came of age. She was just six at the time. Since Richard was deposed in 1399, when Isabella was still only nine, the marriage never happened.
7. The period towards the end of Richard's reign is known by historians as his "tyranny", when the king had several courtiers arrested. It's not known whether there was an active plot against the king, or whether Richard simply gained enough confidence by then to remove them as threats to his power.
8. Nobody is entirely sure how he died. It's known he surrendered to Henry of Bolingbroke, who promised to let him live if he abdicated, which Richard somewhat reluctantly did; Richard was imprisoned in the Tower and later Pontefract Castle. However, Richard's supporters planned to Kill Henry and put Richard back on the throne in the Epiphany Rising. The plot was foiled, but Henry knew now that letting Richard live was risky. He is thought to have starved to death in captivity on or around 14 February 1400, and, rather like Elvis, rumours persisted long after his death that he was in fact still alive. In Scotland, a man claiming to be Richard became a figurehead for various revolts, but he was dismissed by many as an imposter and a "beggar", who was mentally ill. Some historians believe that Richard himself was mentally ill and suffered from Schizophrenia, although modern historians have changed the diagnosis to narcissistic personality. The man had his supporters, though, and was given a king's burial in Scotland when he died.
9. Richard was tall and handsome. Contemporary writers described him as "most beautiful king" although they said he had a feminine face. When his tomb was opened in 1871 he was found to be six feet tall. Though not a warrior king like his grandfather, Richard was athletic and enjoyed tournaments and hunting. He was also intelligent and well read, and when agitated he had a tendency to stammer.
10. King Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in approximately 1595. The play covers the last two years of Richard's life, from 1398 to 1400.