Mortimer, Ian, 'Richard II and the Succession to the Crown', History 91 (2006), 320-336

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Quick Summary

Richard’s decision to announce the earl of March as his heir in 1386 caused Henry Bolingbroke to join the rebellion of the Lords Appellant in 1387

  • Henry Bolingbroke rebelled in 1387 because Richard II changed the line of succession
  • By 1394 Richard II favoured Edmund Langley above Henry Bolingbroke
  • After the death of John of Gaunt in 1399, Richard II saw Henry Bolingbroke as a liability
Key Conclusion

Mortimer explores Richard II’s arrangements for the succession to the crown in the event that he died childless. Mortimer concludes that Richard’s decision to announce Roger Mortimer, earl of March, as his heir caused Henry Bolingbroke, earl of Derby, to join the rebellion of the Lords Appellant in 1387. Richard’s announcement in the parliament of 1386 overruled plans for the succession set out in the document known as Edward III’s ‘entail of the crown’, which designated John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, as Richard’s heir. Henry Bolingbroke – John of Gaunt’s son – joined the Lords Appellant to defend his father’s position as Richard’s heir, thereby also defending his own position in the line of succession.

Content Overview

Edward III’s entail of the crown, made in 1376 or early 1377, settled the order of succession in favour of the king’s male line of descendants. During the reign of Richard II, this made John of Gaunt heir apparent, and after him, his son, Henry Bolingbroke, followed by Edmund Langley, duke of York. In the years following the rebellion of the Lords Appellant in 1387, Richard II seems to have acknowledged Edward III’s entail, and accepted John of Gaunt as his heir. By 1394, however, the king changed his position and began to favour Edmund Langley above Henry Bolingbroke. Roger Mortimer, meanwhile, ‘was barely even being recognized as a member of the royal family’ (p. 336).

Further Findings

When he left England to lead a military expedition to Ireland in 1394, Richard appointed Edmund Langley as keeper of the realm. He did this despite pleas from John of Gaunt to recognize the line of succession and appoint his son, Henry Bolingbroke, as keeper instead. Other evidence, such as witness lists on charters, also suggests that Richard favoured Edmund as his heir. Mortimer argues that after the death of John of Gaunt on 3 February 1399, Richard saw Bolingbroke as a ‘liability’ (p. 336). Richard took steps to revoke his pardon for his part in the rebellion of the Lords Appellant in 1387, and confiscate his inheritance – the duchy of Lancaster. Bolingbroke rebelled in 1399, and deposed Richard II.

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