The Violent End of Richard II?

 In 1399, Richard II was deposed as king of England by his cousin Henry Bolingbroke. After his formal abdication of the throne at the Tower of London, Richard was taken north where he would be held at Pontefract castle in Yorkshire. It was here that the former king would meet his end. It’s generally believed that Richard died a slow, miserable death of starvation. Some said that Richard’s death was voluntary as the shock and pain of his losing the throne proved too much to bear. But, in reality, it’s almost certain that Henry Bolingbroke, now King Henry IV, ordered Richard to be starved to death. The need to remove Richard, despite any family loyalties that may have lingered, was made all the more plain to Henry when a plot to kill him and his family, whilst they were staying at Windsor castle, was foiled. Had the plot succeeded, Richard would have been restored to power. In short, whilst he lived, Richard would have remained a figurehead for rebellion against Henry and so he had to go. Despite Richard’s death, in February 1400, Henry’s reign would still be plagued by plots and rebellions throughout its 14 year long course.

Although it is widely believed Richard II starved to death, one medieval author gave a very different version of events. This account would heavily influence William Shakespeare’s play, Richard II. According to the anonymous author of the Traison Et Mort De Richard II, after the Windsor castle plot had been thwarted, Henry IV told one of his knights, Peter Exton, to ride to Pontefract and remove Richard II once and for all. On arriving at Pontefract, Sir Peter found Richard at the dinner table, waiting to be served. Sir Peter told Richard’s servant that he would no longer be required to assist Richard as he had been accustomed to do. He was not to taste Richard’s food (to check for poison). Sir Peter, supported by 7 other heavily armed men, made it quite clear to the helpless servant that this was to be Richard’s last meal. If the former king, unaware of these developments, questioned him too much, then he was to eat alone.

When Richard became aware that his servant was now acting under the orders of the new king, he was furious and struck his poor servant brutally over the head, cursing both him and the man who had taken the crown. On hearing this commotion, Sir Peter and his band of men stormed into the hall, brandishing their axes. If Richard was surprised, he didn’t show it and he lunged forwards and snatched an axe out of the hands of one of his would be killers. He swung his axe like a madman, cutting down four of the 8 knights. Sir Peter leapt up on to the chair where Richard had been sitting and waited for his moment to strike. Still, Richard continued to defend himself. But as the fighting wore on, Richard began to tire. With Richard being forced backwards, the moment for Sir Peter to strike came and he brought the axe crashing down on Richard’s head. Richard staggered and cried out “Lord have mercy on me!” before he fell to the ground. Sir Peter ensured the deed was done by striking another blow to Richard’s skull. When it was all over, Sir Peter sank to his knees and bemoaned the grizzly act, stating that it would haunt him for the rest of his days.

A king going down swinging like this makes for a far more interesting tale than simply saying that he died a lonely miserable death in some lonely room in the north of England. Exciting or not, this story is completely false. After the king’s death on 14th February 1400, his body was brought down to London where it was put on display at St Paul's Cathedral as “proof” that Richard had died of natural causes rather than foul play. It goes without saying that two blows of an axe to the head would hardly go unnoticed no matter what precautions were taken. Henry would hardly have been stupid enough to order such a violent execution of his rival and then put his body on public display. The author also further undermines himself by saying Richard was buried at Pontefract. He wasn’t. He was, as mentioned, transported to London before he was buried in Hertfordshire. Henry V later moved Richard’s body to Westminster Abbey.