Richard Plantagenet II

  Noted events in his life were:

• fact. Richard was born in Bordeaux at the feast of Epiphany, with three kings present at his birth. His father was Edward of Woodstock the Black Prince of Wales, (otherwise known as the Black Prince) and his mother was Joan "The Fair Maid of Kent". After Richard's elder brother had died in infancy, he became heir to the throne of England (and was created Prince of Wales) in 1376, when the Black Prince died after a wasting illness. The following year his grandfather King Edward III of England also died, making Richard king at the age of 10.
During his minority, three 'continual councils' lasting from June 1377 to January 1380 were responsible for the general governing of the country. In reality John of Gaunt, his uncle, exerted considerable influence on matters of importance (despite not being a member of any of the three councils) especially with regard to foreign policy. During that time, the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 brought Richard to prominence at the age of 14. It fell to him personally to negotiate with Wat Tyler, the other rebel leaders, and their massed armed ranks of several thousand. He promised pardon to the leaders of the rebellion, but the promise was not honoured - they were arrested and executed. Although it is now generally accepted that Richard was not sympathetic to the rebels' demands, it remains doubtful whether Richard intended the arrests to occur, or if he was forced to go against his word by militant sections of the English nobility. Either way, his tactics dispersed the rebel forces from the streets of London back to their homes in the country, thus ending the disorder. But as the young king matured into adulthood he revealed an inability to make the deals and compromises essential to 14th century politics and diplomacy, leading eventually to his deposition in 1399.

Richard married Anne of Bohemia in 1382. (Anne of Bohemia was born in 1366 and died in 1394.)