John of Gaunt return for a large annual payment and the marriage of their daughter Catherine to John of Trastámara's son Henry. John left Portugal for Aquitaine, and he remained in that province until he returned to England in November 1389. This effectively kept him off the scene while England endured the major political crisis of the conflict between Richard II and the Lords Appellant, who were led by John of Gaunt's younger brother Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester. Only four months after his return to England, in March 1390, Richard II formally invested Gaunt with the Duchy of Aquitaine, thus providing
Richard II of England of Wales and his father's other titles. On 21 June the next year, Richard's grandfather Edward III, who was for some years frail and decrepit, also died, after 50 years as England's monarch. This resulted in the 10-year-old Richard succeeding to the throne, being crowned king on 16 July 1377. Again, fears of John of Gaunt's ambitions influenced political decisions, and a regency led by the King's uncles was avoided. Instead, the king was nominally to exercise kingship with the help of a series of "continual councils", from which John of Gaunt was excluded. Gaunt, together with his younger brother