History of the English line of succession the crown in 1376. On his death, on 21 June 1377, the line of succession to the English throne was: The throne passed smoothly to the first person in line, who became Richard II. On the day of Richard II's abdication, 29 September 1399, the line of succession to the English throne was as follows (following primogeniture, according to Richard II's entail in 1399): However, upon Richard's abdication the throne was taken by Henry Bolingbroke as Henry IV. Henry had justified his usurpation by emphasizing his descent in the male line. Thus, the Lancastrian line of succession is agnatic, similar
Conwy Castle 12 August 1399, after returning from Ireland, Richard made his way to the castle where he met Bolingbroke's emissary, Henry Percy, for negotiations. Percy swore in the chapel he would not harm the king. On 19 August, Richard surrendered to Percy at Flint Castle, promising to abdicate if his life were spared. The king was then taken to London and died later in captivity at Pontefract Castle. Henry Bolingbroke took the English throne to rule as Henry IV in 1400, but rebellion broke out in North Wales shortly afterwards under the leadership of Owain Glyndŵr. In March 1401, Rhys ap