|
Evolution of the Royal Arms of England 
Henry IV Reigned 1399-1413 Born 1367 Died 1413 Father: John of Gaunt Mother: Blanche of Lancaster Henry IV -- In 1406, Henry IV's second great seal showed that the French quartering had been changed to the modern arms, "Azure three fleurs-de-lis or." Same arms continued for Henry V, Henry VI, Edward IV, Edward V, Richard III, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth. (Note: Circa 1550, during Mary's reign, the arms of England were sometimes impaled with the arms of King Philip II of Spain, her husband.) Henry IV was born at Bolingbroke in 1367 to John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster. He married Mary Bohun in 1380, who bore him seven children before her death in 1394. In 1402, Henry remarried, taking as his bride Joan of Navarre. Henry had an on-again, off-again relationship with his cousin, Richard II . He was one of the Lords Appellant who, in 1388, persecuted many of Richard's advisor-favorites, but his excellence as a soldier gained the king's favor - Henry was created Duke of Hereford in 1397. In 1398, however, the increasingly suspicious Richard banished him fov ten years. John of Gaunt's death in 1399 prompted Richard to confiscate the vast Lancastrian estates; Henry invaded England while Richard was on campaign in Ireland, usurping the throne from the king. |
