When Richard the Lionheart returned to London, officials of the monarch who had ransomed the king were upset to see that the English had more money than they had let on, and weren’t in desperate poverty!

>The streets were decked with tapestries and green boughs. Ralph of Diceto, the dean of St Paul’s, who was almost certainly present, tells us that the king was ‘hailed with joy in the Strand’. In the city [Richard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Church_of_Fontevraud_Abbey_Richard_I_effigy.jpg) was escorted by cheering crowds to St Paul’s, to be welcomed at the cathedral by a great throng of clergy. >Some of the emperor’s German officials, in London to collect the remainder of the king’s ransom, were astonished by the general rejoicing and by the city’s obvious prosperity; they grumbled sourly that they had expected London to have been reduced to utter poverty from paying the money demanded by their master, and that had he realized how rich the country was, he would have asked for much more – the lamentations of the English had deceived him. __________________________ **Source:** Seward, Desmond. “Richard’s Return.” *Eleanor of Aquitaine*. New York: Times , 1979. 187-88. Print. __________________________ **Further Reading:** [Ralph de Diceto](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_de_Diceto) [Richard I of England / Richard Cœur de Lion (Richard the Lionheart) / Oc e No (Yes and No)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_I_of_England) [Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_VI,_Holy_Roman_Emperor)