How did Henry IV come to power?

Question

what did he do in order to become king?

Answer 1

Henry IV (3 April 1367 – 20 March 1413) was the King of England and France and Lord of Ireland 1399–1413. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence the other name by which he was known, Henry Bolingbroke. His father, John of Gaunt, was the third son of Edward III, and enjoyed a position of considerable influence during much of the reign of Richard II. Henry's mother was Blanche, heiress to the considerable Lancaster estates.

John of Gaunt died in 1399, and without explanation, Richard cancelled the legal documents that would have allowed Henry to inherit Gaunt's land automatically; instead, Henry would be required to ask for the lands from Richard. After some hesitation, Henry met with the exiled Thomas Arundel, former (and future) Archbishop of Canterbury, who had lost his position because of his involvement with the Lords Appellant. Henry and Arundel returned to England while Richard was on a military campaign in Ireland.

With Arundel as his advisor, Henry Bolingbroke began a military campaign, confiscating land from those who opposed him and ordering his soldiers to destroy much of Cheshire. Henry quickly gained enough power and support to have himself declared King Henry IV, to imprison King Richard, who died in prison under mysterious circumstances, and to bypass Richard’s seven-year-old heir-presumptive, Edmund de Mortimer. Henry's coronation, on 13 October 1399, is notable as the first time following the Norman Conquest that the monarch made an address in English.

Answer 2

If you mean Henry IV of England, the short answer is that he deposed his cousin Richard II and took the crown.  A somewhat fuller answer is that while Henry was in exile, his father, the Duke of Lancaster, died, and Richard appropriated the old man's estate.  Thus Henry was motivated to come home to claim his inheritance, but of course since he had returned illegally, he then seemd to feel that the only way to protect himself was to seize the crown as well.  The two of them went through a charade in which Richard handed Henry the crown, but that's all it was.  And when the crown was placed on Henry's head, it gave him lice.

If you mean Henry IV of France, he was next in line after the death of the last of the sons of Henry II and Catherine de Medici, but he was Protestant and the country resisted him.  After trying unsuccessfully for some time to take the capital, he remarked, "Paris vaut bien une Messe" ("Paris is well worth a Mass'') and converted to Catholicism.

Answer 3

Henry IV of France or Henry IV of England? Or another Henry IV?

There's been several Henrys, Henris, Heinrichs with this number.

Answer 4

He became king of France in 1589. He was the first of the Bourbon dynasty of France. He was married to Margaret of Valois, the sister of King Charles IX.  His becoming King of France was supposed to end the French Wars of Religion and bring peace to the nation.