   richard ii (6 january 1367 &ndash; february 1400), also known as richard of bordeaux, was king of england from 1377 until he was deposed on 30 september 1399. richard, a son of edward, the black prince, was born during the reign of his grandfather, edward iii. richard was the younger brother of edward of angoulÃªme; upon the death of this elder brother, richardâat four years of ageâbecame second in line to the throne after his father. upon the death of richard's father prior to the death of edward iii, richard, by agnatic succession, became the first in line for the throne. with edward iii's death the following year, richard succeeded to the throne at the age of ten. during richard's first years as king, government was in the hands of a series of councils. most of the aristocracy preferred this to a regency led by the king's uncle, john of gaunt, yet gaunt remained highly influential. the first major challenge of the reign was the peasants' revolt in 1381. the young king played a major part in the successful suppression of this crisis. in the following years, however, the king's dependence on a small number of courtiers caused discontent among the influential, and in 1387 control of government was taken over by a group of aristocrats known as the lords appellant. by 1389 richard had regained control, and for the next eight years governed in relative harmony with his former opponents. in 1397, richard took his revenge on the appellants, many of whom were executed or exiled. the next two years have been described by historians as richard's "tyranny". in 1399, after john of gaunt died, the king disinherited gaunt's son, henry of bolingbroke
1367_births 1400_deaths 14th-century_monarchs_in_Europe Burials_at_Westminster_Abbey Deaths_by_starvation Dukes_of_Cornwall English_Roman_Catholics English_monarchs English_people_of_French_descent English_pretenders_to_the_French_throne House_of_Plantagenet Knights_of_the_Garter Medieval_child_rulers Monarchs_who_abdicated Murdered_monarchs Peasants\'_Revolt People_from_Bordeaux Princes_of_Wales Prisoners_in_the_Tower_of_London Richard_II_of_England Roman_Catholic_monarchs