Seized the throne in a revolution against Richard II. Forced Richard to abdicate, had an illegal Parliament declare the throne vacant, and had himslef anointed with recently re-discovered chrism. A precedent had been set: “a legitimate king had been ... replaced not by a legitiate heir but by an overmighty subject.” This precedent gave rise to the War of the Roses under Henry’s grandson, Henry VI.
551Before he became king, Henry had been a brilliant, dashing nobleman, admired throughout England for his chivalry. But as king, he was sickly, nervous, and tormented by guilt over his murder of Richard II. He also knew he was not the rightful heir to the throne. As son of John of Gaunt, the third son of Edward III, he was lower in degree than the sons of Lionel, the second son of Edward III. The descendants of Lionel became known as the House of York and Henry and his descendents known as the House of Lancaster. And thus were sown the seeds of the War of the Roses.
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