Historians have argued for many years over whether Richard went mad in 1397

Historians have argued for many years over whether Richard went mad in 1397. In the mid-twentieth century it was thought that he had indeed lost his mind, and the death of Queen Anne was identified as one of the catalyst. But really this is a modern myth.

I. Mortimer, The fears of Henry IV (2007), 136

No one, not even the king, was so well connected as Henry

Twelve of the most prominent young men of the realm were to be knighted in a special service. … If ever there was an event which demonstrated Henry’s position at the heart of English aristocracy, it was this ceremony. Imagine the oak doors to the chapel closing behind them, and each of the twelve youths casting sideways glances at each other as they stood ready to be knighted. No one, not even the king, was so well connected as Henry. He was related to all but one of them.

I. Mortimer, The fears of Henry IV (2007), 33

Henry and Richard were born rivals

Henry and Richard were born rivals. For a start, they were almost exactly the same age. Richard was born at Bordeaux, in Gascony, on 6 January 1367; Henry was born at Bolingbroke, in Lincolnshire, just three months later. Although they would not have met until they were five or six, they were regarded as a pair, on account of them both being the king’s grandchildren and the same age. Moreover, they were the only two royal children of this age; the next eldest, Roger Mortimer, was seven years younger. … they were the heirs of the two most important dynasties in England. More than a hundred years earlier, King Henry III had two sons The elder had been crowned Edward I. The younger, Edmund, has been endowed with a massive inheritance in the north of England, centred on Lancaster which gave rise to his title of earl of Lancaster.

I. Mortimer, The fears of Henry IV (2007), 19