No formal regent was appointed on Richard's accession. Control of the government was initially assumed by Parliament, but this increasingly passed into the hands of his uncle, John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, who was the most powerful man in England and who also had claims on the kingship of Castile. Some contemporaries believed that Gaunt himself had pretensions to the throne but, if he did, these did not come to the fore and he remained one of the staunchest supporters of his nephew throughout his minority and into his kingship. Richard early proved his courage and strong spirit with the Peasant's Revolt of 1381. In 1377 the first poll tax had been introduced to help finance the wars with France and campaigns in Scotland, Wales and Ireland. It was unpopular but was tolerated, though the increases in the tax in 1379 and 1380 caused considerable unrest. In June 1381 one of the tax collectors was killed by Wat Tyler of Dartford in Kent because of the taxman's attack on Tyler's daughter. Tyler's colleagues came to his aid in defence and a force of around 100,000 evolved around Tyler as its leader to march on the capital. The rebels killed Simon of Sudbury, archbishop of Canterbury, and Robert Hales, the treasurer. The establishment had already raised the anger of the English common folk by proceedings against the religious reformer John Wycliffe, whose challenge to authority had gained popularity among the peasants. Richard appeased the rebels, promising to grant them their wishes. Although this satisfied many of them, a core remained with whom the king agreed to parley the following day at Smithfield. Here Wat Tyler became more presumptuous and raised his hand several times to the young king. Tyler was struck down by the Lord Mayor of London, William Walworth, and killed. The remaining peasants prepared to fight, but Richard risked placing himself in front of them and subdued their wrath. He led them out of the city, and many were attacked and killed by Sir Robert Knollys. Richard emerged from this with increased prestige, not only amongst his own barons, who respected his bravery, but surprisingly amongst the English common folk who held him in regard as their champion against oppression, even though he had in effect betrayed them, especially as he never instigated the reforms he promised. This success, though, influenced Richard's later life when he came to regard himself as a champion of England and one not to be dictated to by anyone, whether his barons or his subjects.

Nevertheless Richard's relationship with his court soon became divided. Much of this came at the instigation of Richard's close friend, his chamberlain, Robert de Vere, earl of Oxford, and of his advisor and later chancellor, Michael de la Pole. Richard bestowed much bounty upon these two colleagues which incurred the enmity of the court circle, whose opposition polarised around the leadership of Richard Fitzalan, earl of Arundel. By the mid 1380s Richard II's court had become divided along exactly the same lines as that of Edward II seventy years earlier. Richard even made the same mistake as Edward by seeking to gain glory by an expedition to Scotland in 1385. This had been occasioned by a show of might by a combined army of Scots and French, the French having allied themselves with Scotland against a common enemy. Although the army had caused havoc in Northumberland, it retreated against the might of Richard's army and though Richard marched through southern Scotland, laying waste as he went, the two armies did not once meet, and Richard retreated without a victory. The Scots bided their time for three years and then made further devastating raids on Northumberland. By that time Richard was in less of a position to respond because he was fighting for his own right to govern.

Richard had caused the final rift with his enemies in 1386, when he made Robert de Vere duke of Ireland with full powers of regency, and Michael de la Pole chancellor, without consultation with Parliament. When later that year John of Gaunt, who had maintained the stability in government, sailed to Castile to defend his right to the throne, Richard's opponents took the opportunity to act against Richard. They were led by his uncle, Thomas, duke of Gloucester, with the earl of Arundel and Thomas Beauchamp, earl of Warwick. Together with Thomas Mowbray, earl of Nottingham, and Richard's cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, son of John of Gaunt, these five opponents became known as the Lords Appellant. Their private armies allowed them effectively to assume control of the country. They forced Richard to hand over his courtiers for trial. Richard did not, but retribution was still carried out. Some, like de Vere and de la Pole, escaped but had their lands forfeited, but others were rounded up and executed. For a while, although furious with the Lords Appellant, Richard complied with their wishes. Although he declared himself of age in 1389 and assumed full kingship, he carried out no vengeance upon the Lords Appellant, although he did dismiss most of the counsellors imposed upon him and replaced them with his own favourites. A relative period of calm followed over the next six years, during which time Richard successfully brought a settlement to the turbulence in Ireland in 1394 and concluded a twenty-eight year peace treaty with France in 1396. One major sadness was the death of Richard's wife, Anne of Bohemia, of the plague in June 1394. She was only twenty-eight. Richard was so grief stricken that he had the palace at Sheen, where she died, razed to the ground. They had had no children. Two years later, as part of his peace treaty with France, Richard married Isabella, the seven-year-old daughter of the French king Charles VI.

With troubles concluded abroad Richard believed he was now operating from a position of strength. In the summer of 1397 he had Gloucester, Arundel and Warwick arrested. Gloucester was despatched to Calais where he was murdered. Arundel and Warwick were tried before a parliament now firmly under Richard's control. Arundel was found guilty and executed. Warwick so prostrated himself before the king that he was reprieved but banished to the Isle of Man, under the lordship of William Le Scrope. As for Mowbray and Henry Bolingbroke, both had, in fact, been comparatively loyal to Richard. Many believed that Mowbray may have personally murdered Thomas of Gloucester. However in early 1398 they were both accused of treason and challenged to a trial by combat. Richard intervened before the contest. Mowbray was exiled for life and deprived of his lands, whilst Henry was exiled for ten years.

Richard now ruled as a total despot, assuming absolute power. He dominated his court and parliament and all lived in fear of his wrath. All of the viciousness and arrogance of the Plantagenet temperament become focused in Richard. He became the embodiment of the adage that absolute power corrupts absolutely. In his youth and when controlled by his parliament Richard had demonstrated both his courage and an ability to govern wisely, but this was now all laid aside in his desire for total control. For those who remained his favourites this was no problem as he continued to bestow his favours upon them. Richard was no warrior king, for all he was an able soldier, but like Edward II, Richard became a dilettante. He is credited with inventing the handkerchief, which may say much for his lifestyle, but there is no denying that his court encouraged the development of cultural pursuits. It was during his reign that Geoffrey Chaucer wrote his Canterbury Tales (1387). The rise of literature also brought with it the rise of criticism, and two other poets, William Langland and John Gower, both wrote remonstrances against Richard II's reign.

When John of Gaunt died in February 1399 Richard, instead of pardoning Henry Bolingbroke and allowing him to return to his estates, extended his banishment for life and forfeited his lands. He thereby made a dangerous enemy. In May 1399 Richard left for Ireland in order to quell the unrest. On 4 July Henry Bolingbroke landed in Yorkshire with a small army. The number soon swelled as Henry marched south. Richard returned to meet him but his support rapidly dwindled. Deserted, Richard was forced to submit to Henry at Flint on 19 August 1399. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Henry now used the precedent established by the deposition of Edward II to seek the abdication of Richard. It was complicated by the fact that Henry was not the direct heir. Richard was childless and the next in line to the throne was Edmund Mortimer, earl of March, who was descended from Edward III's son Lionel, the elder brother of John of Gaunt. However, Edmund was only eight, and there was no benefit following the revolution in installing an eight year-old king. Parliament thus agreed that Henry should succeed. Richard II eventually consented to abdicate on 29 September 1399, and Henry came to the throne as Henry IV.