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Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period. He was known as , or Richard the Lionheart, even before his accession, because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior. The Saracen called him Melek-Ric or Malek al-Inkitar - King of England.

By the age of sixteen Richard was commanding his own army, putting down rebellions in Poitou against his father, King Henry II.

Although speaking only langue d'oïl and langue d'oc and spending very little time in England (he lived in his Duchy of Aquitaine in the southwest of France, preferring to use his kingdom as a source of revenue to support his armies), he was seen as a pious hero by his subjects. He remains one of the very few Kings of England remembered by his epithet, rather than regnal number, and is an enduring, icon figure in England.

Richard was born on 8 September 1157, probably at Beaumont Palace. He was a younger brother of William IX, Count of Poitiers; Henry the Young King; and Matilda, Duchess of Saxony. As the third legitimate son of King Henry II of England, he was not expected to ascend the throne. He was also an elder brother of Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany; Leonora of England, Queen of Castile; Joan of England; and John, Count of Mortain, who succeeded him as king. Richard was the younger maternal half-brother of Marie de Champagne and Alix of France. His father, Henry, was Norman-Angevin and great-grandson of William the Conqueror. The closest English relation in Richard's family tree was Edith, wife of Henry I of England. Contemporary historian Ralph of Diceto traced his family's lineage through Edith to the Anglo-Saxon kings of England and Alfred the Great, and from there linked them to Noah and Woden. According to Angevin legend, there was even infernal blood in the family.

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