6. King Richard II Was Locked In Pontefract Castle And Starved To Death (1400)
King Richard II's reign on the throne was an unhappy one - he was deposed on a couple of occasions, and was eventually locked and murdered in Pontefract Castle. Having abdicated the throne on September 29, 1399, Richard was imprisoned in the Tower of London before being transported to Pontefract Castle in West Yorkshire. It is believed that King Henry IV, who succeeded Richard II to the throne, was originally willing to let his predecessor live - but the Epiphany Rising changed all of that. The earls of Huntingdon, Kent, Somerset and Rutland, as well as Thomas Despenser, planned to murder Henry VI and restore Richard II to the throne and, as a result, it is believed the latter was starved in Pontefract Castle and died on February 14, 1400. Whoever said being King was easy?
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
