Henry IV – Closing Time
‘No, you insolent young pup!
Don’t you tell me that my time as king is up!’
So said the old, tired hound, King Henry IV to the eldest of his litter, Prince Hal! Henry was angry beyond measure that his son would suggest that he should abdicate as king.
Teaching Prince Hal a lesson!
The king also said:
‘You know kid, I could name your younger brother, Tom as my heir as king!’
‘If I were to do that, you would not be king, but just another duke!
Doesn’t the prospect of that, cause you to go pale in the face, and want to puke!’
To young Tom you, an older brother, would spend your life playing second fiddle!
In that role, you would be no more significant than a piggy in the middle!’
However, words are one thing, but action is another.
In 1410 Prince Henry had elevated his ally, Sir Thomas Beaufort as chancellor, but the king soon replaced him with his own man, Thomas of Arundel. The former Archbishop of Canterbury was a loyal friend of the king and had previous experience as chancellor.
Thomas of Arundel.
The king also had some of the prince’s supporters arrested and incarcerated in the Tower. Late in 1411, Henry IV convened a parliament where the possibility of abdication was debated, but thrown out; the old king still ruled. Prince Henry soon saw sense and proceeded to ingratiate himself with his father.
Reconciliation – father and son!
The reconciliation was something of a dramatic affair, a veritable touch of the theatre was deployed by young Prince Hal. In June, 1412 Prince Henry arrived at Westminster and sent word beseeching his father to receive him.
Entering his father’s chamber, he approached the old king with head bowed, his face a mask of anguish. The king sat impassively, his fevered frame still as a statue. The son then went down on his knees and drawing his dagger, he looked up at his father’s visage and paused. Young Hal then meekly offered the dagger to his father. With tears in his eyes, the prince implored the king to slay him, if it would bring comfort and ease to his heart and mind.
‘Father, if I offended you, then the price of the offence, I must and will pay!
Then take this dagger and with it, yes, my errant self you may slay!’
The old king wept and embraced his son with great warmth, in a true spirit of reconciliation. Henry IV then stood up, the tears glistening on his cheeks, and his voice breaking with emotion said:
‘You Prince Hal! You are my first born son and to the crown of England, the heir!
A truly awesome undertaking and one that must borne with dignity and great, unrelenting care!’
This was probably the last moment of happiness that Henry IV would ever know. His mortal coil was unravelling quite swiftly as his illness intensified in the final months of 1412. The end could not be far off and indeed, it was not.
In February 1413, the king was stricken once again while praying in Westminster Abbey. Henry had sought solace at King Edward the Confessor’s shrine, but this was where his kingship was to cease. The king had entered the abbey alive, but would not leave until his last breath had expired.
He was then taken to the Jerusalem Chamber of the abbey and remained there until he died on March 21st. He was forty-six years old.