Henry IV of England

Henry IV (c. April 1367 – 20 March 1413), also known as Henry Bolingbroke, was King of England from 1399 to 1413, Lord of Ireland and duke of Aquitaine. Henry was the son of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (The fourth son of King Edward III), and Blanche of Lancaster.

Henry was involved in the 1388 revolt of Lords Appellant against Richard II, his first cousin, but he was not punished. However, he was exiled from court for life in 1397. After Henry's father died in 1399, Richard blocked Henry's inheritance of his father's lands. That year, Henry rallied a group of supporters, overthrew and imprisoned Richard II, formally deposing him, and usurped the throne; these actions later contributed to dynastic disputes in the Wars of the Roses (1455–1487).

Henry was the first English ruler whose mother tongue was English (rather than French) since the Norman Conquest, over 300 years earlier. He was also the first monarch to come from the House of Lancaster. As king, he faced a number of rebellions, most seriously those of Owain Glyndŵr, the last Welshman to claim the title of Prince of Wales, and the English knight Henry Percy (Hotspur), who was killed in the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403. Henry IV had six children from his first marriage to Mary de Bohun, while his second marriage to Joan of Navarre produced no surviving children. Henry and Mary's eldest son, Henry of Monmouth, assumed the reins of government in 1410 as the king's health worsened. Henry IV died in 1413, and his son succeeded him as Henry V.

Henry was born at Bolingbroke Castle, in Lincolnshire, to John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster. His epithet "Bolingbroke" was derived from his birthplace. Gaunt was the third son of King Edward III. Blanche was the daughter of the wealthy royal politician and nobleman Henry, Duke of Lancaster. Gaunt enjoyed a position of considerable influence during much of the reign of his own nephew, King Richard II. Henry's elder sisters were Philippa, Queen of Portugal, and Elizabeth, Duchess of Exeter. His younger half-sister Katherine, Queen of Castile, was Gaunt's daughter with his second wife, Constance of Castile. Henry also had four half-siblings born to Katherine Swynford, originally his sisters' governess, then his father's longstanding mistress and later third wife. These illegitimate (but later legitimized) children were given the surname Beaufort.

Henry's relationship with his stepmother Katherine Swynford was amicable, but his relationship with the Beauforts varied. In his youth, he seems to have been close to all of them, but rivalries with Henry and Thomas Beaufort caused trouble after 1406. Ralph Neville, 4th Baron Neville, married Henry's half-sister Joan Beaufort. Neville remained one of his strongest supporters, and so did his eldest half-brother John Beaufort, even though Henry revoked Richard II's grant to John of a marquessate. Katherine Swynford's son from her first marriage, Thomas, was another loyal companion. Thomas Swynford was Constable of Pontefract Castle, where Richard II is said to have died.

One of Gaunt's esquires, Thomas Burton, was appointed Henry's tutor in December 1374, and a Gascon named William Montendre was made his instructor in military matters in 1376. It was likely Hugh Herle who taught Henry to read and write in English and French and some Latin as well; Herle served as Henry's chaplain for many years. By 1381–1382, Henry is recorded riding, hunting, and travelling with his father, as well as jousting and observing official events. He later became an active and highly successful jouster. He was besieged with King Richard and others in the Tower of London during the Peasants' Revolt in 1381 and narrowly escaped being murdered when the rebels stormed the tower. He was saved by a man named John Ferrour of Southwark, who participated in the Epiphany Rising against Henry, by then king of England, nearly twenty years later and was pardoned.

Henry had a close relationship with his father, but he did not participate much in public affairs while Gaunt was present in England. He accompanied Gaunt to negotiations with the French in Calais in November 1383. He took part in Richard's Scottish campaign with his father's forces in 1385, and he may have also served in an earlier incursion into Scotland by Gaunt. He was summoned to parliament for the first time in October 1385.

In his youth, Henry joined crusading expeditions; contemporaries remarked that he "never lost a battle", and John Gower described him as "full of knighthood and all grace".