Henry IV

Henry IV


House / Group: Lancaster
Born / died: 1367-1413
Reign: 1399-1413


Henry was the seventh child of John of Gaunt (the third surviving son of King Edward III) and his cousin Blanche of Lancaster.
His father had a good relationship with Richard, but Richard did not trust Henry, banishing him for ten years and preventing him from inheriting his father's title. Henry returned while the unpopular Richard was in Ireland and took the throne.
Henry's first wife was Mary de Bohun and they had 6 children ( Henry (V), John, Thomas, Humphrey, Philippa and one other daughter [still looking for the name]). After Mary's death, Henry married Joanna of Navarre but did not have any more children (Joanna  had 4 sons and 4 daughters from her previous marriage).
Henry's reign was plagued by unrest, one of his main initial problems being what to do with Richard (see below).
Henry suffered from ill health in later life, including a serious skin complaint which has been variously retrospectively diagnosed as leprosy,  psoriasis and syphilis. He suffered acute attacks of what might have been epilepsy or cardiovascular disease and was buried in Canterbury Cathedral.

Henry's arms were updated to use the current French design, azure three fleurs-de-lis or. These continued to be used up to and including Elizabeth I's reign.