Page "Henry IV of England" Paragraph 12

Henry's first major problem as monarch was what to do with the deposed Richard.

After an early assassination plot ( The Epiphany Rising ) was foiled in January 1400, Richard died in prison of starvation.

He was thirty-three years old.

Though Henry is often suspected of having his predecessor murdered, there is no substantial evidence to prove that claim.

Some chroniclers claimed that the despondent Richard had starved himself, which would not have been out of place with what is known of Richard's character.

Though council records indicate that provisions were made for the transportation of the deposed king's body as early as 17 February, there is no reason to believe that he did not die on 14 February, as several chronicles stated.

It can be positively said that he did not suffer a violent death, for his skeleton, upon examination, bore no signs of violence ; whether he did indeed starve himself or whether that starvation was forced upon him are matters for lively historical speculation.

After his death, Richard's body was put on public display in the old St Paul's Cathedral to prove to his supporters that he was truly dead, though this did not stop rumours from circulating for years after that he was still alive and waiting to take back his throne.

Henry had Richard discreetly buried in the Dominican friary at King's Langley, Hertfordshire, where he remained until King Henry V brought his body back to London and buried him in the tomb that Richard had commissioned for himself in Westminster Abbey.