Green, Henry Sir

c. 1390–1399

Sir Henry Green (died 1399) was an English royal councillor and courtier closely associated with the government of Richard II of England . In the final years of the reign he was one of the king’s most trusted advisers.

Green belonged to a Northamptonshire gentry family and held estates at Drayton. Through service at court he rose to prominence during the 1390s. Together with William Bagot and Sir John Bussy he became one of the principal councillors surrounding Richard II.

When the king left England for Ireland in May 1399 Green was among the small group entrusted with governing the realm. The council included Bagot, Bussy and the treasurer William le Scrope .

During Richard’s absence Henry IV of England , then Henry Bolingbroke, landed in England and rapidly gathered support among the nobility. Green and the other royal councillors withdrew to Bristol Castle, hoping to hold the fortress against the advancing army.

Bristol soon fell and Green was captured. Like Bussy and Scrope he was executed at Bristol in July 1399, shortly before Richard II returned to England and was forced to surrender the crown.