Richard II became king of England in 1377 while still a child. Government initially depended on councils and leading nobles as war with France and demands for taxation strained the kingdom. In the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 he met rebels and made concessions under pressure. The rising was suppressed and its concessions withdrawn, but his personal appearances became a prominent episode in the development of his royal authority.

As he grew older, Richard relied on favoured ministers and courtiers, provoking opposition among powerful magnates. The Lords Appellant challenged his advisers and defeated their supporters. The Merciless Parliament of 1388 condemned several royal associates, leaving the king with sharply reduced freedom of action. He resumed personal control in 1389 and for a time governed through accommodation with important members of the political community.

Richard favoured peace with France, pursuing a long truce and marrying Isabella, daughter of Charles VI, after the death of Anne of Bohemia. He also led expeditions to Ireland and cultivated an elevated image of kingship through court ceremony, artistic patronage and building. His work at Westminster Abbey and Westminster Hall connected religious devotion with a visible statement of royal magnificence.

In 1397 he moved against former opponents, imprisoning, executing or exiling leading Appellants and confiscating their property. His subsequent banishment of Henry Bolingbroke and seizure of the Lancastrian inheritance after John of Gaunt's death created a dangerous enemy. While Richard was in Ireland in 1399, Bolingbroke returned and gained broad support. Richard lost his freedom and crown, and Bolingbroke became Henry IV. The deposed king died at Pontefract in 1400; the circumstances remain uncertain. His reign combined ambitious royal self-presentation and periods of conciliation with destructive political revenge. His final assertion of authority failed through loss of political support.