Late 14th century English king Richard II lost all of his power towards the end of his reign as a result of his exploded sense of self-importance and godly association, which led to fatal opposition from multiple prominent aristocrats and eventually the whole England. This gradual growth of opposition can be seen in the persecution of Richard’s most favored advisors; the aftermath of fear and apprehension that followed Richard’s execution of the Lord’s appellant in 1397; and his swift and universally encouraged abdication by Henry Bolingbroke, future Henry IV.
The civil turmoil, famine, and plague that marked 14th century England was left behind by Edward the Black Prince in 1376 and entrusted in the hopeful 10 year old king Richard II in 1377. John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and Richard’s uncle, became the guardian of the new king and Richard’s trusted advisor. Not long after his coronation, a peasant revolt broke out in 1381 in response to the newly enforced tax laws under Gaunt’s parliament that placed unfair strain on the struggling lower class of England, which was already suffering from the effects of the ongoing Hundred Years’ War and the widespread Black Death. The rebellion, led by Wat Tyler, claimed extreme loyalty to Richard and targeted members of Parliament, hoping to push Richard into prominence and place him in charge. The 14-year-old king managed to keep the rebellion under control and, with the execution of Wat Tyler, subdued the rebels completely. This major victory nurtured a sense of political independence and maturity in Richard that led to the development of an inner circle of councillors whom Richard favored over all other lords. This false sense of power and independence initiated the first display of opposition from members of Parliament, and its effects caused a rivalry between prominent aristocrats and Richard that ultimately led to his confinement and death in Pontefract castle. During this rivalry Richard’s godly association and royal identity grew to extreme levels, unparalleled by any Plantagenet king before him. This, combined with his expensive military failures that attempted to end the ongoing Hundred Years’ War and untraditional cleanly and cultured nature, elevated Parliament’s ubiquitous dislike for him.
Richard II’s creation of an inner circle of favored advisors gave way to a lasting rivalry between the king and the aristocracy. This inner circle was comprised of Richard’s childhood friends and advisors: Simon Burley, his tutor; Robert de Vere, Michael de la Porte, his chancellor; and Thomas Mowbray, his long-time friend. As Richard started to not follow the wills of Parliament and assume his own power, the political community united against him and demanded some of his councillors to be removed. At the center of this opposition was the Lords Appellant, which was headed by the Duke of Gloucester, the Earl of Warwick and the Earl of Arundel, all very powerful at the time. Richard resisted their commands, resulting in his replacement by a “Council of Government”. Richard attempted to arrest the Earl of Arundel, but his royalist army was miniscule compared to the combined strength of the lords’ armies, resulting in a period of captivity in 1388. Meanwhile, Parliament became ruthless and known as “The Merciless Parliament”, accusing Richard’s councillors of treason, all the while attempting to justify their claims and executions using common law. As Alan Rogers, who is associated with Temple University School of Law, points out, “ If it [Parliament] could be induced to accept an appeal under common law procedure, so much the better, for then the legality of the proceedings could hardly be called in question. If not, then parliament must create its own procedure; it would be a law unto itself.” Parliament could not supply good enough reasons to convict Richard’s inner circle of lords, and therefore created their own set of rules for appeals, which collectively warned Richard of his place, and kept his vanity in check.
Richard II’s execution of the Lords Appellant nurtured a collective growth of fear and apprehension among Parliament that fueled his self-absorbed use of power. In 1397, Richard had gained power as a result of his maturity, and therefore recognized himself as a king not appointed by people, but by God Himself. His newfound power allowed him to gain revenge for the humiliation he was forced to suffer by the Lords Appellant ten years prior. By going on several spontaneous “witch” hunts Richard was able to effectively execute the members of the former Lords Appellant without much opposition; however, the power of the Lords Appellant wasn’t concentrated in these three men anymore but in John of Gaunt’s son Henry Bolingbroke. This sudden execution performed by the king initiated fear and alarm in Parliament that was replicated outside of the aristocracy as well, a second opposition not only from Parliament but from many common citizens of England. Richard used this fear to his advantage, and elevated his royal status to never before seen levels, which inflamed his self-absorption and personal spending to almost unbearable levels. Simon Schama, a professor of history at Columbia University and writer of various BBC historical documentaries, comments: “… the remaining restraints on Richard’s delusions of omnipotence disappeared and the autocrat of his imagination became the real thing. He took to eating, sleeping and travelling surrounded by his own praetorian guard, like a Roman emperor.” Now, the whole England disliked this “Roman emperor”, foreshadowing his inevitable and close downfall.
Richard’s dispersal and use of the fortune of the House of Lancaster was the final justification needed for Parliament to push Henry Bolingbroke towards the throne and Richard’s rapid removal. In 1398 a dispute between Bolingbroke and Thomas Mowbray, the king’s former friend, broke out concerning allegiance to Richard, and a duel was scheduled to settle the argument. However, Richard decided to cancel the duel, exiling Mowbray for life and Bolingbroke for 10 years, realizing that no matter the outcome of the duel he, as Schama puts it, “would be the loser.” With Bolingbroke gone and John of Gaunt’s death in 1399, Richard was able to acquire the wealth of the House of Lancaster, the largest inheritance in the country, and furnish his possessions as well as give some of the wealth to his most loyal followers. This “violation of the coronation oath” further deepened Richard’s negative reputation, angering and frightening various lords, who saw no limit to his self-proclaimed power. This final opposition would be the one to end Richard’s reign once and for all.