2. Edward III (ruled 1327-1277)
I am King Edward III. I have many
children. When I die, my four eldest
sons fight over the crown. They are
Edward the Black Prince, Lionel of
Antwerp (also known as the Duke of
Clarence), John of Gaunt (the Duke of
Lancaster), and Edmund of Langley (the
Duke of York).
3. Edward the Black Prince
I am Edward. I am the oldest. I get the
crown! But wait, I die of the plague!
Oh no! My son (Richard II), who is ten
years old, is now king. Because he is
only ten, his uncle, John of Gaunt
(Duke of Lancaster), will rule the
country.
4. John of Gaunt
I wanted that crown. At least I
have control of the country until
my nephew grows up. I have a
lot of children because I had
three wives. My third wife was
actually my mistress, but then
we got married and our children
were legitimized, although none
can inherit the throne. They still
become powerful. The children I
had by my first two wives can
take the throne. Yay for my
family!
5. Richard II (ruled 1377-1399)
My uncle is helping me rule, but I’m
getting older, and I don’t like his
decisions. I will rebel against him.
The downside is that the most
powerful men in the country don’t
like my decisions. When John of
Gaunt dies, I confiscate all his land.
6. Henry IV (ruled 1399-1413)
My father was John of Gaunt (Duke of
Lancaster), who helped Richard II rule.
Someone said I made a treasonous
comment. Richard and I were
supposed to duel to resolve the
issue, but Richard threw me out of the
country instead. Must be nice to be
king. Even though Richard is my cousin
and we played together as children, I
rebel against him, take the throne, and
throw him into prison, where he will
mysteriously die, probably of
starvation. After he dies, I put his body
on display so everyone sees he is dead.
I will be a better king than Richard. The
people don’t always think I should be
king, but that’s just too bad.
7. Henry V (ruled 1413-1422)
Before I become king, I spend all of my time
in taverns with a group of friends my father
doesn’t like. According to Shakespeare, I’m
deliberately doing this so I look even better
when I step up to the throne and start acting
like a king instead of a party boy.
I decide to take back France because that
land belongs to England. We have a final
battle at Agincourt. We are unbelievably
outnumbered (five to one), tired, and far
from home; the French are well rested and in
heavy armor. But, wait! It’s been raining, and
the French are getting weighed down in the
mud because of their armor. We lose 29 men;
they lose 10,000. We win!! I marry the
daughter of the French king, and we live
happily ever after…which means a year and a
half. I die before I am crowned king of France.
8. Henry VI
(ruled 1422-1461 and 1470-1471)
I become king of England at the age
of nine months. I lost France because
of Joan of Arc. I also suffer from
insanity. I marry Margaret of
Anjou, who wears the pants in our
relationship. The Yorkist side of the
family, led by Richard Duke of York, is
fighting with my army. They win. I am
injured and taken prisoner, and
Richard takes over the throne when I
have a mental breakdown that lasts
for a year.
9. Richard Duke of York
I am Protector of England! I get
to rule the country while Henry
VI is off his rocker!
10. Henry VI
But wait! I have recovered! Give
me back the throne! We fight
again, and Richard Duke of York
and his oldest son are killed.
11. Edward IV
(ruled 1461-1470 and 1471-1483)
My father, Richard Duke of
York, and my brother were
killed, but we won the battle.
I took the throne and took
Henry VI prisoner. England is
mine!!
12. Edward IV vs. Henry VI
Henry: No! It’s mine! We fight
again, and I win!
Edward: You’re wrong! I
defeated your forces again and
killed your son, Edward. He had
a cool name, but he had to go.
Henry: I’m imprisoned again.
Darn it! Then, I die. Some
people say I die of a broken
heart when I hear about the
defeat of my army and my son’s
death, but really, I was probably
murdered on the orders of that
snot-nosed Edward IV.
13. Edward IV
I am king! I stay on the throne until I die suddenly. When I am king, I secretly
marry a woman who isn’t of my social class, but she’s really pretty. Elizabeth
of Woodville and her brothers become part of my inner circle. The people
hate her and her brothers, but they’ll just have to get over it. When I die, I
have two sons. The older one should inherit the throne.
14. Richard III (ruled 1483-1485)
I am the fourth son. My
oldest brother was killed
fighting Henry VI.
Edward, the next, is on
the throne. Before he
dies, I am going to find a
way to get rid of
Clarence, the next
brother. Clarence is
killed, and I am named
Protector of
England, but I want to be
king. I just have to get
rid of my nephews, and
then the throne will be
mine.
I also marry Anne
Neville, who was
engaged to Henry VI’s
son, Edward.
15. Princes in the Tower
Edward V (king in 1483) and his
brother
Hi Uncle Richard! You say we should go to the
Tower of London until the older of us, Edward
V, is crowned? Ok. Whoops. We’re never heard
from again. Some say we were murdered in our
sleep, but what really happened is a mystery.
16. Henry Tudor, became Henry VII (ruled 1485-
1509)
Richard: Now, I am king! There is no one to
challenge me because I’ve killed off a lot of
people.
Henry: But wait! I challenge
you! My grandfather was the
second husband of the
French woman who married
Henry V.
I am going to marry Elizabeth, Edward IV’s
daughter and your niece, before you can and
challenge you at the Battle of Bosworth. I win! I
find your crown on the battlefield, and I put it on.
I will now be Henry VII, and my family, the
Tudors, will rule for years. Shakespeare will write
during my granddaughter’s reign, and he’d better
make my side of the family look good in his plays!
17. Shakespeare’s History Plays
• Edward III
• Richard II
• 1 Henry IV
• 2 Henry IV
• Henry V
• 1 Henry VI
• 2 Henry VI
• 3 Henry VI
• Richard III
• Henry VIII
• King John
18. More about Richard III…
• Richard’s skeleton was found beneath a
parking lot in Leicester, England, in 2012. It
was confirmed as Richard’s remains through a
DNA test with a cabinetmaker in Canada, a
direct descendant of Richard’s sister Anne.
• The location used to be the site of Greyfriar’s
friary.
19. • Scientists found evidence of ten wounds,
including two “severe blows to the head.”
They also found evidence that some of the
wounds were inflicted after Richard died.
• After he died at the Battle of Bosworth Field,
historical records show that Richard’s body
was displayed, naked, in Leicester.
22. • The debate about Richard’s personality continues. With the
discovery of his body, members of the Richard III Society are again
engaged in defending him. “Richard III supporters such as Philippa
Langley, a screenwriter and member of the Richard III Society, were
driven to find the lost king’s remains by a desire to reopen the
debate over his place in history. Experts say that most of what is
known today about the medieval king is largely ‘propaganda’ of the
Tudor monarchs who followed him.
• “’I think the discovery brought the real Richard into sharp focus,’
Langley said. ‘People are realizing that a lot of what they thought
they knew about Richard III was pretty much propaganda and myth
building.’
• “‘This has been an extraordinary journey of discovery,’ Langley said.
‘We came with a dream and today that dream has been realized.
This is an historic moment that will rewrite the history books.’”
23. From the chairman of the Richard III
Society:
• “Even more significantly, the finding and reinterment
of Richard III’s remains will, we hope, open up the
debate about the king and his reputation. It would
make such a difference if people would start to look
into the history of this much maligned monarch
without the old prejudices. Perhaps, then, they will see
past the myth and innuendo that has blackened his
name and find the truth. No one is going to suggest
that he was a saint—I have said on many occasions
that we are not the Richard III Adoration Society—but
even a cursory reading of the known facts will show
that the Tudor representation of Richard III, especially
that in Shakespeare’s well known play, just doesn’t
stand up.”
24. • According to an NBC News article about Richard’s
personality:
• “Richard III lovers will likely be pleased with the new
psychological analysis, which ignored Shakespeare's
century-later portrayal in favor of historical documents
from the king's life. The researchers found no evidence
that Richard III was narcissistic, devious, callous, reckless or
lacking in empathy, the traits that define a psychopath.
• “However, Richard III's insecure childhood (which took
place during the War of the Roses, the civil war that would
eventually kill him) may have made him intolerant of
uncertainty, Lansdale said. The ‘intolerant of uncertainty’
syndrome is associated with piety, a strong sense of right
and wrong and loyalty, he said. But people who are
intolerant of uncertainty can also harbor control freak
tendencies and overreact when they feel their loyalty has
been betrayed.”
