Henry Bolingbroke

fictional character in “Richard II”

Also known as: Henry IV, Henry IV

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June 22, 2026

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Henry Bolingbroke is a character in William Shakespeare's play Richard II. He is the son of John of Gaunt and a cousin to King Richard II. Bolingbroke is exiled by Richard II, but he later returns to England with an army to reclaim his confiscated lands. This leads to a civil war, and Richard II eventually abdicates the throne, with Bolingbroke becoming King Henry IV. The play is part of a sequence known as the "second tetralogy," which chronicles events in late 14th and early 15th-century English history.12

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Richard II
Bolingbroke and Mowbray exiled; the death of John of Gaunt
…feuding noblemen, Thomas Mowbray and Henry Bolingbroke, seemingly because Mowbray has been implicated along with Richard himself in the murder of Richard’s uncle Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, while Bolingbroke, Richard’s first cousin, is a threat to the king because he is intent on avenging the death of Gloucester.
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…feuding noblemen, Thomas Mowbray and Henry Bolingbroke, seemingly because Mowbray has been implicated along with Richard himself in the murder of Richard’s uncle Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, while Bolingbroke, Richard’s first cousin, is a threat to the king because he is intent on avenging the death of Gloucester.
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