![]() The army of peasants, almost 10,000 strong had met in London, incensed by the flat rate poll tax. The Peasants’ Revolt began in Kent and Essex where a group of peasants, famously led by Wat Tyler, gathered at Blackheath. In 1381, the combination of social and economic concerns came to a head. This was a time when Richard was forced to prove himself, something he did with great ease when he successfully suppressed the Peasants’ Revolt at just fourteen years of age. The fallout from the Black Death, the continued conflict with France and Scotland, not to mention the increasingly high taxation and the anti-clerical stirrings produced a great surge of grievances which inevitably precipitated social unrest, namely the Peasants’ Revolt. Richard who was still only a teenager found himself in the midst of a volatile political and social situation, one which he had inherited from his grandfather. By 1380, the council was viewed with suspicion by the House of Commons and found itself discontinued. The councillors however included the likes of Robert de Vere, 9th Earl of Oxford who would gain considerable control over royal affairs whilst Richard had not come of age. In order to deal with the continued threat that John of Gaunt posed to the young king, Richard found himself surrounded by “councils”, from which Gaunt found himself excluded. Scene following the coronation of King Richard II ![]() When Edward passed away after a lengthy fifty year reign, Richard was crowned king at Westminster Abbey on 16th July 1377. In order to prevent this, Richard was given the princedom of Wales and inherited several of his father’s titles, ensuring that when the time came, Richard would become the next King of England. Meanwhile, the English Parliament were quick to make arrangements, fearing that Richard’s uncle, John of Gaunt would ascend the throne in place of the Black Prince. His father’s successful military escapades during the Hundred Years’ War had won him great plaudits, however in 1376 he succumbed to dysentery and left Edward III without his heir. ![]() At only ten years of age, Richard II assumed the crown, becoming King of England in June 1377 until his untimely and catastrophic demise in 1399.īorn in January 1367 in Bordeaux, Richard was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales, more commonly known as the Black Prince. ![]()
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