Portrait of Henry IV- National Portrait Gallery (Creative Commons license)

Henry Bolingbroke was a happy-go-lucky young nobleman before he ran into trouble with Richard II. I suspect the king envied his cousin, who h...

Murder of Richard II from a 19th cent. Engraving

Before I started researching the reign of Henry IV, I had absolutely no idea that the death of Richard II was ever in question. After all, Shakespeare had Richard II killed in priso...

Henry IV claims the empty throne

Henry Bolingbroke was not raised to be a king. He was the only son of the powerful John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and would have had his hands full taking care of the dukedom. But f...

Portrait of Henry IV- National Portrait Gallery (Creative Commons license)

Before everything went wrong, Henry Bolingbroke had the most enviable life imaginable. Eldest son of the most important Duke in England, give...