King Richard I The Lion Heart

King Richard I The Lion Heart (1189 - 1199)

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Name: King Richard I The Lion Heart
Born: September 6, 1157 at Beaumont Place, Oxford
Parents: Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine
Relation to Elizabeth II: 21st great-granduncle
House of: Angevin
Ascended to the throne: July 6, 1189 aged 31 years
Crowned: 2/3 September, 1189 at Westminster Abbey
Married: Berengaria, Daughter of Sancho V of Navarre
Children: Two illegitimate sons
Died: April 6, 1199 at Limousin, France, aged 41 years, 6 months, and 29 days
Buried at: Fontevraud, France
Reigned for: 9 years, 8 months, and 30 days
Succeeded by: his brother John

King of England 1189–99. He spent all but six months of his reign abroad. He was the third son of Henry II, against whom he twice rebelled. In the third Crusade 1191–92 he won victories at Cyprus, Acre, and Arsuf (against Saladin), but failed to recover Jerusalem. While returning overland he was captured by the Duke of Austria, who handed him over to the emperor Henry VI, and he was held prisoner until a large ransom was raised. He then returned briefly to England, where his brother John had been ruling in his stead. His later years were spent in warfare in France, where he was killed by a crossbow bolt while besieging Châlus-Chabrol in 1199. He left no heir.

Richard's experience in warfare came from controlling his rebellious vassals in Poitou in the 1170s and against his father, Henry II, in 1183. He took up Henry's plans to recover Jerusalem on his accession in 1189 and set out to establish bases for crusades in Sicily in 1190 and Cyprus, which he took in 1191. Engaging in the siege of Acre, which he brought to a swift conclusion, he set off down the coast to Jaffa, conducting a fighting march against Saladin. Once ransomed from the Germans, Richard recovered lands in France taken by Philip. In the Vexin, where he built Chateau Gaillard, the great castle on the Seine, and in the Touraine and Poitou, he thwarted the French king's every manoeuvre.

Himself a poet, he became a hero of legends after his death. He was succeeded by his brother John I.

Timeline for King Richard I The Lion Heart

Historical Timeline 800 - Present

1189	Richard I becomes King of England upon the death of Henry II
1189	William Longchamp is appointed Chancellor of England and governs the country during Richard’s absence abroad
1189	Richard sets out with Philip of France on the Third Crusade to the Holy Land
1191	William Longchamp falls from power and Richard’s brother, John, takes over the government
1191	Richard captures the city of Acre, Palestine, and defeats Saladin at Arsuuf, near Jaffa
1192	Richard reaches an agreement with Saladin to guarantee Christians safe pilgrimage to Jerusalem
1192	On his way back to England from Palestine, Richard is captured and handed over to Henry VI, Emperor of Germany. Henry demands a ransom of 100,000 marks from England for Richard’s release from prison
1194	The ransom is raised in England. Richard is released from captivity.
1195	Richard returns to England for a brief period, before leaving to fight in France, never to return to his homeland.
1196	The Assize of Measures standardizes weights including the lb (pound) and distance including the yard.
1199	Richard is mortally wounded by an arrow from a crossbow in battle at Chalus, in France.

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