Chronicles

One of the loudest anti-French voices at Richard II’s court was Richard II’s uncle and Edward III’s youngest son, the Duke of Gloucester, who argued that the wars with France should be resumed. Further, he “conceived such a hatred for the King that he could find nothing to say in his favour” (423). Gloucester began to scheme to put his great-nephew John, Earl of March, on the throne. However, John declined to participate in the plot and left for Ireland. After that, Gloucester turned to the merchants of London, convincing them that Richard II was squandering their tax money on luxuries. At a session of Parliament and later a meeting with the king and his advisors, the Duke of Lancaster and others successfully squashed the allegations.

Richard II was still nervous at the unrest and Gloucester’s plotting. To try to appease his enemies, he ended the truce with France and gave Charles VI the option to end Richard II’s marriage to Isabella on the pretext that the marriage had not yet been consummated due to Isabella’s young age. Richard II’s uncles advised him to be calm and patient, although they also abandoned the king, leaving London for their own estates.