John, King of England succession. Henry the Young King had been crowned King of England in 1170, but was not given any formal powers by his father; he was also promised Normandy and Anjou as part of his future inheritance. Richard was to be appointed the Count of Poitou with control of Aquitaine, whilst Geoffrey was to become the Duke of Brittany. At this time it seemed unlikely that John would ever inherit substantial lands, and he was jokingly nicknamed "Lackland" by his father. Henry II wanted to secure the southern borders of Aquitaine and decided to betroth his youngest son to Alais, the
Rupert, King of Germany the king was just beginning to make some headway when he died at his castle of Landskrone near Oppenheim on 18 May 1410 and was buried at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Heidelberg. On his deathbed Rupert had decreed the division of his heritage among his four surviving sons. He was succeeded as Elector Palatine by the eldest brother Louis III, while the second son John received the County Palatine of Neumarkt, the third-born Stephen the County Palatine of Simmern and Zweibrücken, and the youngest son Otto the County Palatine of Mosbach. In the following Imperial election on