Issues of the Realm Known to the General Public

[Cearnach]

1) The King is Dead, Long Live the King.
The death of Henry II and the accession of Richard Lionheart will change the kingdom. While the new king has shown favor to some who stood by his father, notably William Marshal, there will surely be a reckoning for those who got in the prince's way during the troubled latter years of Henry's reign.

2) Jerusalem Is Fallen.
It is the talk of all Christendom: the Holy City has fallen to Saladin. King Richard has personally taken the cross, as has Philip of France. Emperor Frederick Barbarossa has already set out with his host for Outremer. All of England has been taxed to raise an army to rival that of the Emperor, and it is known that Richard's eye is fixed on the Holy Land.

3) Prince John…
The Lionheart's only living brother is a fool. Everyone knows it, but few can say it safely. He ruined the hopes of the royal house in Ireland with his boorish arrogance. He broke his father's heart with his senseless betrayal. Now he is ruining Gloucester by refusing to set aside his marriage to its Countess, his cousin. The Archbishop's interdict still holds, and the souls of its people are in danger. But still John sits, pleased as punch with his new wife, thumbing his nose at consanguinity. The pope is being consulted on this issue, but how many die in the meantime without funerals, souls unshriven and buried in unhallowed ground? And what if, God forbid, the Countess should get with child in the meantime?

In a related issue, the proper heir of the Earldom of Gloucester is in question. There are two candidates: Prince John's wife Isabel and her sister Amice, who is married to Earl Richard de Clare. But I'm sure no problems will arise from their contested inheritance, particularly when the Prince's marriage has been denounced by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

4) Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen of England.
It has only been a few short weeks since Eleanor of Aquitaine was released from Ranulf de Glanville's prison in Normandy by order of the Lionheart. In that time, she has received homage from many noble lords first of France, then of England in the King's name, all the while styling herself not "Queen Mother" but "Queen of England." Eleanor has always been ambitious, and has always doted on Richard, but this bit of semantic overreach can only be a sign of things to come. Still, future strife is in the future, and Richard's love for his mother is well-known. It would be wise to stay out of the Queen's way if one wishes to rise in the King's favor.

5) The Dangers of Gwynedd.
The Welsh have been restive of late. The de Clares and King Henry could not prevent the Prince of Gwynedd from seizing Cardigan in open defiance of their English overlords. While no one imagines that the Welsh will be able to do lasting harm to the realm, those with territories on the borders of Wales (including the Earls of Chester, the de Clares, and William Marshal) are concerned about the safety of their territories.

6) Whatever happened to Geoffrey Ridel?
Geoffrey Ridel, the former Justiciar and sometime-Chancellor of England, Bishop of Ely, and so-called "Archdevil" in the service of Henry II, seems to have met with a sudden accident while traveling in Normandy. That this happened a mere day or so after the King's death can only be the most unfortunate of coincidences. And there is a certain rightness that a man's closest servants should follow shortly after him. But...maybe not that shortly. If he was murdered, the questions would be by whom, for whom, and for what reason. But maybe this is one of those incidents best left for history to uncover?

7) Succession.
The last issue is the issue of Issue. Richard is to be king, but the Royal House is starting to run low on male heirs. Two of Henry II's sons pre-deceased him. Prince John is the unmarried and childless Richard's only living brother. Unfortunately for John, he is almost universally despised and his older brother Geoffrey had a posthumous son with Constance, Duchess of Brittany. That boy is 2-year-old Arthur of Brittany. An auspicious name, perhaps, but it is difficult for the hopes of a kingdom to rest on such tiny shoulders. There is also the possibility that Richard may have illegitimate issue somewhere in England or (more likely) France. Certainly his father and grandfather were no strangers to natural children. Richard may, with some difficulty, choose to legitimize one of these. With the Crusade imminent and Richard being a man of war, the need for securing the succession may perhaps be the most pressing the kingdom faces.