15 April: Henry IV

Born on April 15 1367 Henry IV, (Henry Bolingbroke), son of John of Gaunt, was King of England from 1399 to 1413.

1. Henry was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire. His father was John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, and his mother was Blanche of Lancaster, heiress to the Lancashire estates and a descendant of Henry III.
2. King Richard II was Henry's first cousin. They were friends as children and young men, admitted together to the Order of the Garter in 1377, but later on the relationship soured. Richard had Henry banished, and when John of Gaunt died, seized his inheritance. Henry invaded England, to not only get his land back, but to take the crown as well.
3. In the early years of his reign, Henry survived numerous plots and assassination attempts. Even though Richard had died in prison, possibly by starving himself, and his body put on display so it could be seen that he was indeed dead and had not died violently, there were frequent rumours that Richard was still alive and ready to win back the throne.
4. Henry was married twice. His first wife was called Mary de Bohun. He had six children with her, including his successor, Henry V. She died before he became king. His second wife was Joanna of Navarre, widow of John IV, Duke of Brittany. She'd had eight children with John, but didn't have any with Henry.
5. Henry seems to have been a devotee of St Thomas Becket. At his coronation, he was anointed with a holy oil believed to have been given to St Thomas Becket by The Virgin Mary. When he died, he was buried in Canterbury Cathedral beside Becket's shrine. The wooden panel at the western end of his tomb bears a painting of the martyrdom of Becket.
6. In his later years, Henry suffered from a disfiguring skin disease, which might have been leprosy or psoriasis. Some medieval writers say he was struck with leprosy as a punishment for having Richard le Scrope, Archbishop of York, executed. He suffered acute attacks of some other disease, which may have been epilepsy. The attack he suffered in 1413 proved fatal. He was 45.
7. There was a prophesy that Henry IV would die in Jerusalem. In Shakespeare's play about him, Henry believed he would die while on a crusade. He died in the Jerusalem Chamber in the abbot's house of Westminster Abbey, during a lawmaking session of Parliament.
8. Henry IV Part 1 is the only Shakespeare play to include the word radish.
9. Only two of his six legitimate children had children who lived to see adulthood. One was his eldest son Henry V. The other was a younger son, Humphrey, whose descendants today include several royal spouses - Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, queen consort of George VI(the Queen Mother), Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
10. Actors who have played him on screen include John Gielgud, Timothy West, Jeremy Irons and Rory Kinnear.

New!

Closing the Circle

A stable wormhole has been established between Earth and Infinitus. Power Blaster and his friends can finally go home.

Desi Troyes is still at large on Earth - Power Blaster has vowed to bring him to justice. His wedding to Shanna is under threat as the Desperadoes launch an attempt to rescue their leader. 

Someone from Power Blaster's past plays an unexpected and significant role in capturing Troyes.

The return home brings its own challenges. Not everyone can return to the life they left behind, and for some, there is unfinished business to be dealt with before they can start anew.

Ben Cole in particular cannot resume his old life as a surgeon because technology no longer works around him. He plans a new life in Classica, away from technology. Shanna hears there could be a way to reverse his condition and sets out to find it, putting herself in great danger. She doesn't know she is about to uncover the secret of Power Blaster's mysterious past.

Available from:

Amazon (Paperback)

Amazon Kindle

Completes The Raiders Trilogy. 

Other books in the series:

Book One

Book Two