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Henry IV

Usurper of the English Throne

Feb 14, 2009 Barry Vale

Henry Bolingbroke the future Henry IV was the man that took the throne from Richard II in 1399. He was the first king of the House of Lancaster whose rule was insecure.

Dethroning Richard II

Henry Bolingbroke might never have become the king of England if Richard II had been a wiser monarch himself. Richard II grew increasingly anxious about his own hold on power especially as Henry Bolingbroke was next in line to the throne unless Richard II had children (as his second wife was only 7 in 1399) that was not likely for a few years. Richard was therefore a ruler who became increasingly concerned about the security of his reign yet made mistakes that hastened its end.

It was the heavy - handed behaviour of Richard especially towards his cousin Henry Bolingbrook, which brought about his own downfall. He confiscated all of Henry Bolingbroke’s estates and tried to control the other nobles. However when Henry returned from his exile with only a few hundred troops he quickly took the throne from Richard with little opposition.

Backed By the Percy Family

The Percy family had assisted Henry Bolingbroke in his capture of the throne; they were powerful nobles from Northumberland who anticipated lavish rewards for such backing. The support of the Percy family secured the throne yet backfired against Henry.

An Unstable Reign

Henry IV found that the Percy family made dangerous enemies when he was unable to substantially reward them for supporting his seizure of the throne. Henry defeated the main Percy army at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403 yet it took another five years of campaigning to restore his royal authority in England.

Besides having to deal with the threat from the Percy family for eight years Henry had to deal with the most dangerous rebellions in Wal since its conquest by Edward I in the 1280s. The Welsh rebels were very capably led by Owain Glyn Dwr (Owen Glendower in English), who even called himself the Prince of Wales. The Welsh rebels had early success as well as French assistance. Once Henry IV had defeated the Percy rebellion he was able to overcome the Welsh. Wales was effectively back under English control by 1408. The campaigns that Henry IV had to fight to keep his crown provided his son Henry V with invaluable military experience that proved helpful in his short reign.

Sources:

Ashley M, (2002) A Brief History of British Kings & Queens, Robinson, London

Gardiner & Wenborn (1995) The History Today Companion to British History,Collins and Brown Ltd, London

Morgan K O, (1993) The Oxford Popular History of Britain, Oxford University Press Roberts J.M, (1996) A History of Europe, Penguin, London

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