King Richard II

He was the youngest son of Edward, Prince of Wales ("The Black Prince" due to his armour), born at Bordeaux on 6 January 1367. After his father´s death in 1376, he was created Prince of Wales by King Edward III and succeeded to the throne on his grandfather´s death on 21 June 1377, aged 10. For the following five years during his minority, the government was carried by a "council of regency". In 1399, he tried to get rid of his parliamentary government and install a royal autocracy. His jealous cousins deposed him, and Henry Bolingbroke became King Henry IV. Richard was imprisoned and starved himself to death on around 14 February 1400.

His are the earliest signatures of a British Sovereign. On the left, his signature on a document dated 26 July 1386, on the right, his signature as "Le Roy R.S.".