But he left England again almost straight away

In September 1190 Richard and Philip arrived in Sicily. After the death of King William II of Sicily in 1189 his cousin Tancred had seized power, although the legal heir was William's aunt Constance, wife of Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor. Tancred had imprisoned William's widow, Queen Joan, who was Richard's sister and did not give her the money she had inherited in William's will. When Richard arrived he demanded that his sister be released and given her inheritance; she was freed on 28 September, but without the inheritance. The presence of foreign troops also caused unrest: in October, the people of Messina revolted, demanding that the foreigners leave. Richard attacked Messina, capturing it on 4 October 1190. After looting and burning the city Richard established his base there, but this created tension between Richard and Philip. He remained there until Tancred finally agreed to sign a treaty on 4 March 1191.

Queen Eleanor repeatedly planned to overthrow Henry during his final years in power. Richard and his brothers waged an anti-father campaign in France with the support of their mother. Richard became King of England, Duke of Normandy, and Count of Anjou on July 5, 1189, after King Henry was beaten in battle and surrendered to Richard. Richard traveled again for France a month after his return from France. But he would never come back this time. Richard and Philip II engaged in intermittent warfare for the following five years till Richard was gravely wounded while besieging a stronghold in central France and passed away on April 6, 1199. Richard had only spent six months in England throughout his ten-year rule.