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| Richard I, Coeur de Leon
Richard, who was destined to be known as Coeur de Leon, was born in the Palace of Oxford and selected to be his mother's heir to Aquitaine and Poitou. He was proclaimed Count of Poitou in 1169, upon Eleanor's request for his recognition. Henry's physical description is closer to his father, Henry II's, then any of his other siblings. He had "the ruddy color of the Angevins, their bold expression and furious eyes[,] his build was stocky...and his stance that of the soldier and the horsemen" (Kelly, 173). Richard was intended to marry Alice Capet, daughter of King Louis of France, and was betrothed to her at young age. However, though Henry II took custody of her in infancy and maintained it for most of her life, he delayed the marriage indefinitely, which caused much agitation among the Capets. Richard was the favorite child of his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and as such he engaged in the rebellion in 1173 against his father at her encouragement. At the close of the dispute, Henry II granted him two residences and half the revenues of Poitou. Henry also requested that, as an able warrior and an acceptable administrator, Richard suppress the rebel barons in Aquitaine and he gave his son a measure of independence in governing the province. Richard's ruthlessness with the Barons earned him a reputation for fierceness, but although he did rather well, he was unable to secure political control or peace. This was partly due, at times, to the interference of Henry the Younger and Geoffrey, who both made attempts to seize control of Aquitaine from Richard. When Henry the Younger died, Henry II wanted Richard to assume his place as heir to the throne of England and give up Aquitaine and Poitou to John. Richard, who had always treasured Aquitaine and never felt jealously over Henry the Younger's inheritance or the deficiency of independence he was subject to, refused to accept his father's proposal. Henry II, then left with no alternative, forced Richard to give his lands back to his mother, who had originally been forced to cede them to her son in 1179. Though Richard did agree to this, he joined forces with King Phillip Augustus of France and began a successful war against his father. At the conflict's conclusion, in 1189, Henry II was subjected to humiliating terms of peace, but he died shortly thereafter and never had the chance to recover his losses. After Henry II's death, Richard assumed the throne of England, but he only remained in the territory for six months of his rule. He was soon off participating in the Third Crusade, leaving his mother to administer his lands. On his return from the Crusade, Richard was captured by the Duke of Austria and held for ransom. Eleanor eventually raised the amount that was needed to ensure his safe homecoming by collecting a scutage. Richard spent the remaining five years of his life defending his lands against the French king, Phillip Augustus, who had turned against him out of self-interest. He died on 6 April 1199 while walking around after a siege when an arrow shot by a young boy penetrated deep into his shoulder and could not be removed.
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