King Richard had nominated John as his successor, having never renewed the recognition of Arthur of Brittany which he had made in Sicily. The new King at once set about securing his possession. He succeeded in laying hands upon the treasury at Chinon and the castles of Normandy. In Brittany, Anjou, Maine, and Touraine, there were signs of opposition. The barons put forward the claim of Arthur; Constance, his mother, took the young prince to the court of Philip, and that king proceeded in his name to master the towns and fortresses. But the assistance of his mother Eleanor, who had taken possession of her old inheritance Poitou and Aquitaine, enabled John to make successful opposition to the invasion, and on the 25th of April he was crowned at Rouen, and felt himself strong enough to establish his claims in England. Thither he had already sent the chief of his brother’s ministers--Hubert Walter, the Archbishop of Canterbury; Fitz-Peter, justiciary, and afterwards Earl of Essex; and William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke. These ministers had already obliged the nobles to tender their oath of allegiance; and John, on his arrival in May, was crowned at Westminster, taking the usual oaths to guard the Church, to do justice, and to repeal bad laws, but giving no further charter. The Archbishop is said to have begun the coronation with the declaration that the throne was elective, an assertion received with acclamation by those who were present. He is said afterwards to have declared that he took this step, knowing the King’s character; he was, however, throughout his life a devoted servant of the crown. [Sidenote: His strong position.] [Sidenote: His danger from France. 1200.]