On This Day - 30 September, 1399
What must the king do now? must he submit?
The king shall do it: must he be deposed?
The king shall be contented: must he lose
The name of king? o’ God’s name, let it go:
I’ll give my jewels for a set of beads,
My gorgeous palace for a hermitage,
My gay apparel for an almsman’s gown,
My figured goblets for a dish of wood,
My sceptre for a palmer’s walking staff,
My subjects for a pair of carved saints
And my large kingdom for a little grave,
A little little grave, an obscure grave;
Or I’ll be buried in the king’s highway,
Some way of common trade, where subjects’ feet
May hourly trample on their sovereign’s head;
For on my heart they tread now whilst I live;
And buried once, why not upon my head?
Richard II, Act III, scene 3
On this day, 30 September, in 1399, Richard II, King of England and France, Lord of Ireland, was deposed by his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke.
Earlier in 1399, whilst Richard was in Ireland, Bolingbroke returned to claim his father’s (John of Gaunt’s) inheritance. Supported by some of the leading baronial families (including Richard’s former Archbishop of Canterbury), Henry captured and deposed Richard. In September Bolingbroke summoned a Parliament in his adversary’s name, and a committee was appointed to draft articles of deposition. On 30 September the King’s statement of abdication was read in Parliament and approved. Bolingbroke was crowned King as Henry IV whilst Richard was imprisoned in Pontefract Castle, where it is believe he died, though the cause is not known for definite.
Richard II is now in its final weeks at the Globe. Don’t miss Shakespeare’s most searching exploration of the meaning of kingship and the rising powers that can destroy it. With Charles Edwards as the weak and self-dramatising King, Simon Godwin’s production is full of pomp, splendour and dazzling ceremony. For tickets visit our website.