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Was Arthur killed on the orders of his uncle, King John?
King John of England’s poor reputation precedes him. The legendary tales of Robin Hood have depicted John as a miserly ruler who aims to steal the throne from his brother, the good and noble King Richard. Curiously, these stories leave out one of John’s most depraved, alleged acts: the murder of his own nephew.
King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine had four sons who survived into adulthood: Henry, Richard, Geoffrey and John. These sons, save for John, rebelled against Henry at various times. This made John, perhaps by default, Henry’s favorite son. Unfortunately, John was at the bottom of the hierarchy, having with three older brothers ahead of him in the line of succession. For this reason, John wasn’t inspected to inherit anything and was mockingly called “Lackland.”
Yet fate had different plants. John’s prospects suddenly turned brighter due to his brothers’ misfortunes. The oldest brother, Henry, died young and without sons. Richard was more interested in fighting than marriage. A bit of a roadblock occurred when Geoffrey married. King Henry II had forced the Duke of Brittany to abdicate and hand over his daughter, Constance, to him as a ward. He married Constance to Geoffrey while they were children, ultimately planning for his son to rule over…
