Sir Robert de Wensley was an English knight. He allied himself with Archbishop Arundel. In January 1400, he visited Isabella, the deposed queen of Richard II, pretending to be an ally of hers against her husband's usurper, Henry IV. He went hawking with Ian Chesterton and met Barbara Wright, whom he took a romantic liking to.
After learning that Henry IV had been attacked in Oxford, de Wensley agreed to travel with Ian after the First Doctor and Barbara to warn them of the danger that would soon engulf London, where they had gone. They stopped at the Black Oak on their journey.
De Wensley brought Ian into the company of a conspiratorial group, which included Geoffrey Chaucer among their number, who plotted to overthrow Henry. When Arundel arrived, de Wensley turned on Ian, revealing he had used him to ingratiate himself with the conspirators, who wanted Ian for their own ends.
When Ian, the Doctor and Chaucer escaped from their prison cell, they encountered Robert, who, having passed a comment about Barbara, fought with Ian. De Wensley's sword became caught and the Doctor knocked him out with a chamber pot. They fled and King Henry sent de Wensley after them to collect Chaucer.
He made his way to the Tabard Inn, where Barbara was, and told her Ian was dead and attempted to make romantic advances, but Ian arrived and interrupted him. De Wensley tried to rally the crowd to his course by proclaiming Chaucer to be a criminal, but they took his side as Barbara's reading of The Canterbury Tales had improved trade in the inn. He pulled a knife, but Isabella aimed an arrow at him, forcing him to flee.
De Wensley made for the bank of the Thames and Ian pursued him. There, railing that Barbara would never belong to Chesterton, he slipped on the ice and fell into the water where the currents carried him away. (AUDIO: The Doctor's Tale)