Richard I of England, known as Richard the Lionheart, was one of the most famous warrior-kings of the Middle Ages. Born in 1157, the third son of Henry II of England ⓘ and Eleanor of Aquitaine ⓘ, he became king in 1189 and ruled until his death in 1199.

Modern historians increasingly emphasise that Richard’s reign was militarily brilliant but politically costly. He spent little time in England, devoting most of his kingship to the Third Crusade and to warfare in the Angevin territories of France. These campaigns were funded by unprecedented taxation and by the sale of offices and privileges, leaving the kingdom financially strained and politically neglected.

Richard’s prolonged absence allowed tensions between Crown, nobility, and Church to be deferred rather than resolved. His personal prestige and military reputation masked structural weaknesses that became apparent only after his death. By 1199, England and the Angevin dominions were heavily indebted, diplomatically exposed, and increasingly vulnerable to the ambitions of Philip II of France ⓘ.

As a ruler, Richard left behind a powerful legacy of chivalric kingship, but also a fragile inheritance. His reign bequeathed glory rather than stability, and the burdens it imposed would shape the troubled reign of John ⓘ, his successor.