Real People from Shakespeare's History Plays

Some of the real faces and lives of characters found in Shakespeare's history plays.
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King Edward IV of England (1442–1483). At 6'4", Edward Plantagenet remains the tallest English monarch to date. Was he responsible for murdering his predecessor, Henry VI? Edward twice seized the throne from Henry, ultimately imprisoning the elder king in the Tower, where Henry soon died of "melancholy." Edward also had his younger brother George, Duke of Clarence, executed for treason. Despite ruling for 12 years, Edward never got his own Shakespeare play. #KingRichard3 #KingHenry6
Joan of Arc (c.1412-1431). Joan lived the life of a Shakespeare heroine, often adopting a male disguise in order to carry out her mission. Shakespeare did not seem to appreciate this about her, though. His Anglocentric portrait has Joan calling spirits and consorting with demons, offering them her body and soul in return for (undelivered) otherworldly support for her cause. #KingHenry6
King Henry VI (1421-1471). By age 1, Henry was King of England and France. A weak ruler who suffered incapacitating bouts of insanity, Henry was deposed twice. His power may have become more effective after death: his spirit is credited with several miracles, including raising the dead, dramatically intervening at the last moment to prevent an unjust execution, and curing migraines and the "King's Evil." Henry's ghost even has a cameo in Richard III. #KingHenry6 #KingRichard3
King Richard II (1367-1400). "I am Richard II, know ye not that?" said Queen Elizabeth I about Shakespeare's play, in the wake of the Essex Rebellion. The real Richard sought to aggrandize the role of king and distance himself from the nobility. He favored arts and culture over war, in part as a way to enhance the royal image. Geoffrey Chaucer served Richard as court official and poet. #KingRichard2
Philippa of Hainault (1328-1369), queen consort of Edward III. The real Philippa persuaded her husband to spare the lives of the Burgers of Calais, 6 civic leaders who offered themselves as political hostages to end the siege of their city. Queen's College at Oxford was named in her honor. #KingEdward3
King Edward III (1312-1377) granting Aquitaine to his son Edward, the Black Prince (1330-1376). The 1596 anonymous play "The Raigne of King Edvvard the Third," while not traditionally included in the Shakespeare canon, is now commonly thought to be at least partially by the Bard. #KingEdward3
King John of England (1166–1216). Also called John Lackland, his era's main claims to fame are excluded from Shakespeare's play: Robin Hood and the Magna Carta. #KingJohn
Catherine of Valois (1401-1437), wife of Henry V. Shakespeare crafted a charming version of their courtship in which Hal and Katherine struggle to overcome the barrier of language. In real life, Henry died just 2 years after their marriage. Forbidden to remarry, the 21-year old Catherine fell in love with her Clerk of the Wardrobe, Owen Tudor. Their children were eventually legitimized, and their grandson Henry took the throne and began the Tudor dynasty. #KingHenry5
King Henry V of England (1386 – 1422). Prince Hal's wild youth was mostly a fiction devised by Shakespeare -- the real Henry was a dutiful courtier and warrior. At age 14, he began a 4-year service as High Sheriff of Cornwall. At 16, he was seriously wounded by an arrow to the face in a battle against Harry Hotspur. This posthumous painting may date from as late as the 17th century. #KingHenry4 #KingHenry5
King Henry IV of England (1367-1413). Henry Bolingbroke coordinated the deposition of his predecessor, Richard II. He participated enthusiastically in the holy wars of the day, joining the Teutonic Knights in a siege of Lithuania, and dreamed of one day making a crusade to "free" Jerusalem. Henry was the only ruler of England to ever host a Byzantine emperor - Manuel II Palaiologos was honored with a special jousting tournament. #KingHenry4 #KingRichard2