| Richard II | |
|---|---|
| |
| Richard II | |
| King of Anglia | |
| Reign | 4th August, 1574 - 25th June, 1577 |
| Predecessor | John III |
| Successor | John III |
| Born | 9th February, 1532 Lincoln, Anglia |
| Died | 25th June, 1577 Stamford, Anglia |
| Spouse | Isabella of Roncevalles |
| Issue | Margaret Richard III |
| House | Norfolk |
| Father | William III |
| Mother | Elizabeth of Luxembourg |
Richard II was briefly King of Anglia in the 1570s during the Anglian War of Religion and was the third son of William III to rule the country.
Renowned as a dour and humourless figure Richard had, as a spare heir to the Anglian throne spent much of his adult life in service of the Manx Company, one of the era's foremost mercenary companies gaining a formidable reputation in Iberia and Swabia and a building hefty personal fortune in the process. He would return to Anglia in 1573, quite wealthy by any measure and virtually bought the Earldom of Jorvikshire outright from his cashed-strapped brother, king John III. As now the north's most prominent figure he quickly gained allies within the nobility, many of whom were concerned about the lack of action being taken with the growing numbers of Lutheran adherents in the kingdom. He may well have had suspicions that his brother was secretly a Lutheran though it seems the brothers barely conversed.
In 1574 he was quick to back Archbishop Sampson in opposing the implementation of a Polish-style religious tolerance and headed the Catholic faction in the Lords. When John promoted a Lutheran to the Archbishopric of Jorvik and expelled the papal legates there seemed to be little choice but for Richard to go into full rebellion lest Anglia become a Lutheran country. In July 1574 the Witenage effectively deposed John electing Richard in is place. John would flee Lincoln and Richard's experience in mustering an army soon left him in charge of the kingdom. John however had the backing of the Lutheran-majority navy and escaped to Fryslân where he could rebuild his own troops.
Although this quick win seemed to secure Richard's rule and Catholicism, his reputation took a blow thanks to the capture and subsequent death in captivity of his nephew Henry of Ripon in March 1575. He soon began the persecution of Lutherans, burning their heretical churches, destroying books and printing presses and publicly burning unrepentant preachers. This only made the Lutherans more combative and he was faced with revolt in Holland, Norfolk and Durham as well as three separate assassination attempts. This chaos allowed John to slip back into the country with an army.
Richard would meet his end at the Battle of Stafford, dying of wounds inflicted on the field. John III would reclaim the throne, however his armies were too disorganised to capitalize on the victory and soon Richard's only son Richard succeeded in gaining the recognition of the still Catholic-majority Witenage. While John had taken the time to bury his brother in a Catholic ceremony in Ely, Richard would bring his father's body to Jorvik to be interred 'in glory'.
Family[]
Richard married Isabella of Roncevalles in 1556. They would have four children:
- Joan (1558)
- Richard III (1559-1625)
- Elizabeth (1563-1609)
- Katherine (1567-1572)
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