To onlookers, he appeared to embrace Richard in a kiss of peace. What he really said was, "God spare me long enough to take revenge on you." And when the King asked to see the names of all those who had joined Richard, to his horror, the first on the list was his beloved son, John. Faced with this ultimate treachery, Henry read no more. He died two days later in his castle at Chinon some chroniclers say of a broken heart. The only child at his deathbed was one of his illegitimate sons. "The others," he said, with Lear-like bitterness, "are the real bastards."


在外人看来，他拥抱理查，亲吻对方以示和平。其实他说的是 "愿主赐我时日，向你复仇"。当国王追究起理查的全部党羽，令他惊愕的是名单之首，居然是自己的挚爱之子，约翰。面对这种莫大的背叛，亨利再也无法忍受，两天后他在位于希侬的城堡去世。据一些编年史家所述，他是死于过度哀恸。最终只有一个私生子守在他的临终榻前，"其他的家伙" 他如李尔王般痛苦地感慨，才是真正的杂种[谐义: 私生子]"。