Britain’s Dynasty Of Terror – Richard II And His Reign Of Terror
The Documentary begins by introducing the Plantagenet family, who ruled England for over 300 years during the Middle Ages. The narrator claims that the Plantagenet dynasty is more shocking, brutal, and astonishing than anything found in fiction.
He wants to show the Plantagenets as real people driven by official jealousy, hatred, and revenge, who murdered, betrayed, and tyrannized their way to spectacular success.
The Documentary then focuses on Richard II, who is portrayed as the most vicious Plantagenet of them all. In 1381, when he was just 14 years old, Richard faced a crisis when rebels besieged the Tower of London, where he was taking refuge with his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, the son, and heir of the Duke of Lancaster.
The rebels were after the King’s evil counselors, but unfortunately, Henry’s father, John of Gaunt, was one of them, which put Henry directly in the firing line.
The Documentary describes how the rebels killed two of the King’s counselors, Sudbury and Hales, and put their heads on spikes in London.
England was on the brink of full-blown anarchy, and Richard was in the hands of a 14-year-old boy. When the rebel leader, Wat Tyler, made his demands, which included no more bishops or nobles and common ownership of all land, Richard did something astonishing.
He charged alone straight towards the rebel ranks, cried out that he was their leader, captain, and king, and commanded them to lower their weapons. Miraculously, they did.
The Documentary then fast-forwards to 1385, when Richard, now 19 and married to Anne of Bohemia, the daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor, is fed up with people telling him what to do.
He decides to take the lead, and from this point on, his reign will be criticized. Richard’s new counselors, including Robert de Vere, are described as a bad company, and the King’s relationship with his old counselors, including his uncle Gloucester, is strained.
The Documentary describes how Henry Bolingbroke is missing from the King’s new entourage, but he’s not forgotten. When a crisis and the never-ending war with France loom, Richard is flanked by the ultima or the senior nobles.
In 1386, the French are poised to launch an invasion, and de Vere and the others do nothing to prevent it. The old jarls, or the old counselors, have had enough, and they go to Parliament to demand change. The Documentary ends with the suggestion that Richard’s tyranny will ultimately lead to his downfall.
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