| Notes |
- Acceded 1371
Knight of the Garter, Favourite of King Richard II
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Robert de Vere, 9th Earl of Oxford, was only nine years old when he succeeded his father. Nevertheless, he was allowed to act as Lord Great Chamberlain at the coronation of King Richard II. In 1376, King Edward III's eldest son and heir to the throne, Edward the Black Prince, died. So Richard, the son of the Black Prince (and Edward III's grandson) was proclaimed heir to the throne. A year later, King Edward III himself died. The monarch had been ill for a long time before his death and John of Gaunt (another of Edward's sons) had been acting as the de facto ruler. So, on July 16, 1377, when Richard II was crowned King of England, he was but 10 years old — so it was not too inappropriate that his ceremonial Chamberlain was a boy of nine. During the Peasants Revolt, Robert fought alongside King Richard III when the Royal forces faced Wat Tyler and his peasant army at Mile End. Robert had a tremendous relationship with Richard and the King bestowed upon the earl incredible gifts and valuable estates. This favoritism soon caused resentment among the other barons. In 1385, King Richard II created Robert EO9 as Marquess of Dublin and in 1386 gave him the additional title of "Duke of Ireland." Robert EO9 married, at age 16, Philippa de Coucy (daughter of Ingelgram de Coucy, Earl of Bedford and Isabel, the daughter of Edward III) in 1376. They were divorced in 1387, which caused quite a commotion, further inflamed when Robert set up household with one of the Queen's maids of honor. [His second marriage was to Agnes Lancerone.] Robert's enemies, furious at Oxford's new bounty of lands and titles, considered his dalliance to be the last straw. The Duke of Gloucester, who was the uncle of Robert's abandoned wife Philippa, was uniquely annoyed with EO9, and plotted with other barons to destroy Oxford. At the battle of Radcot Bridge (December 1387), Robert de Vere fought (and lost) against the Lords Appellant (headed by Gloucester and Henry of Bolingbroke). Furthermore, at the Parliament of 1388, Robert was impeached for high treason and sentenced to death, though he had already fled into self-imposed exile in France, never to return to England alive. In 1392 a boar fatally injured him while he was out hunting. Robert EO9 died childless, and was succeeded by his uncle Aubrey. Three years later, the body of the ninth earl was returned to England and re-buried in a funeral arranged and attended by Richard II. Robert's title and estates were then granted to his uncle, Aubrey de Vere who became the 10th earl.
By Robert Brazil
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1362 - 1392 (29 years)