Richard Ii: The Boy Who Would be King

The future King Richard II was born in Bordeaux on 6 January, 1367. He was the son of the Black Prince the heroic victor of the Battles of Crecy and Poitiers, the grandson of King Edward III of England, and the direct descendant of the formidable Edward I. Much would be expected of the young Richard.

When his father, Edward, the Black Prince, died after a long illness on 8 June, 1376, Richard became heir to the English throne. The prospect of a child as King left many with feelings of trepidation, dynastic squabbles and the prospect of civil war loomed large, and prayers were said for the survival of the old King. These prayers were not answered however, and just over a year later on 21 June, 1377, the ailing King Edward III died.  

There was a genuine fear that Richard’s powerful uncle John of Gaunt would try to usurp the throne and so Richard was crowned King as hastily as possible at Westminster Abbey on 16 July, 1377. He was just 10 years old and fell to sleep during the service, at one point his slippers fell off, and he had to be carried out of the Abbey. It did not augur well. But then he was King in name only. The real power in the land remained John of Gaunt who ruled in association with the Lord Treasurer Robert Hales and the Archbishop of Canterbury Simon Sudbury. 

In the decades preceding Richard’s birth England had been ravaged by the Black Death, particularly the years 1348-50, and more than a third of the population had been killed. The severe shortage of labour that resulted was to change the nature of the market. Conditions for the workers improved and wages increased substantially. Those who had previously had nothing now had small fortunes to protect, those who had previously been peasants and labourers now became members of the village elite. Edward III had tried to address this issue by introducing the Statute of Labourers in 1351, that sought to peg wages to pre-plague levels but the labour shortage remained the same and the market dictated.

In 1381, John of Gaunt introduced a new Poll Tax, this was a tax levied at a set rate that took no account of income.  This was not the first Poll Tax but others had been justified as necessary for the Defence of the Realm and to combat the constant threat of invasion posed by the French. This tax appeared to be nothing but theft. Those who had benefited from the Black Death were damned if they were going to have their fortunes stolen by John of Gaunt and his cronies.