When it comes to Kings (and Queens) of England, there is strong competition as to who can claim the title of being the worst in the nation’s long history.
There is Ethelred the Unready, whose chaotic reign saw the country held to ransom by Viking invaders, and there is Richard the Third, forever associated with the murder of the young princes in the Tower of London. There is Henry the Eighth and his six wives. There is Queen Mary, better known as Bloody Mary, burning Protestant martyrs at the stake. There is Charles the First who, in common with some of Henry’s wives, ended up losing his head.
And then there is King John. That’s Bad King John, who ruled from AD 1199 to 1216 and features so prominently in the legend of Robin Hood.
Ethelred the Unready [left], Mary I of England - Bloody Mary [center], and Henry the Eighth [right]. (Public Domain)
Well Meaning or Dangerously Wicked?
Now King John does have his apologists who will point out that John (also known as John Lackland because, as the youngest son of King Henry the Second, he was not expected to inherit any great estates) was a monarch who struggled to do his best in difficult times.
King John on a stag hunt. (Public Domain)