John of Gaunt III's rule was becoming unpopular due to high taxation and his affair with Alice Perrers, political opinion closely associated the Duke of Lancaster with the failing government of the 1370s. Furthermore, while King Edward and the Prince of Wales were popular heroes due to their successes on the battlefield, John of Gaunt had not won equivalent military renown that could have bolstered his reputation. Although he fought in the Battle of Nájera (1367), for example, his later military projects proved unsuccessful. When Edward III died in 1377 and John's ten-year-old nephew succeeded as Richard II of England, John's influence strengthened.
Throne of England constitutional monarch, and the 20th century governmental policies of devolution have accorded new emphasis on the Throne of England and the Throne of Scotland. The fungible meanings of "Throne of England" encompass the modern monarchy and the chronological list of legendary and historical monarchs of England, Scotland and the United Kingdom. This flexible English term is also a rhetorical trope. Depending on context, the Throne of England can be construed as a metonymy, which is a rhetorical device for an allusion relying on proximity or correspondence, as for example referring to actions of the king or queen or as "actions