King John (play) King John (play) The Life and Death of King John, a history play by William Shakespeare, dramatises the reign of John, King of England (ruled 1199–1216), son of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine and father of Henry III of England. It is believed to have been written in the mid-1590s but was not published until it appeared in the First Folio in 1623. King John receives an ambassador from France who demands with a threat of war, that he renounce his throne in favour of his nephew, Arthur, whom the French King Philip believes to be 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