Richard I was king of England for a decade, starting in 1189, but he spent only five months of that time in the country. No wonder his brother John tried to steal his throne. Known as Richard Coeur de Lion (English rulers spoke French in those days, because they were French), he was the third son of Henry II and an outstanding soldier. Richard was on his way back from Jerusalem and the Third Crusade when he landed in a Vienna jail. His mom, Eleanor of Aquitaine, paid the ransom to get him out. Richard went on to fight, and die, for England's claim to lands in what is now France.