1. Froissart reports a scheme to depose Richard and place Roger Mortimer, whom Richard had named as his successor, upon the throne. Mortimer allegedly declined and so Gloucester schemed to divide the kingdom in four parts and bestown them upon himself, his two brothers, and the earl of Arundel.
"The king, it is said, being informed of these designes, saw that either his own ruin or that of Glocester was inevitable; and he resolved, by a hasty blow, to prevent the execution of such destructrive projects."
2. Right before his execution, Gloucester allegedly made a confession and Hume is convinced that the report of this confession is genuine.
In this supposed confession, Gloucester allegedly confessed to the following crimes:
- Speaking contemptuously of the king's person and his government
- Deliberating concerning the lawfulness of throwing off his allegiance to him
- Took part in a secret conference, where his deposition was proposed, talked of, and determined.
Hume concludes that the plot was not so far advanced as to justify Richard in taking such drastic action as he proceeded to take: "It is reasonable to think, that his schemes were not so far advanced as to make him resolve on putting them immediately into execution. The danger, probably, was still too distant to render a desperate remedy entirely necessary for the security of government."
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