by Alex David
The journals, as well as the letters, contain accounts and views from virtually everything that took place in her life, making Victoria the most documented monarch in British history, and perhaps world history as well.
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William Shakespeare’s
Royal Plays
William Shakespeare composed 11 plays on the royal
history of England (10 in the accepted canon, plus one—
Edward III—recently attributed to him). Most of the plays deal with the Wars of the Roses, particularly the rise and fall of the House of Lancaster, and end with the accession of Henry VII who united the warring factions of Lancaster and York and brought peace to England. All but one of the plays ( Henry VIII) were written during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I who was Henry VII’s granddaughter, and the whole cycle was written as a cautionary tale against political factionalism which the Tudors had brought to an end. Shakespeare used contemporary
history chronicles to write his plays, particularly Edward Hall’s Chronicle of 1548 and Holinshed’s Chronicle of 1578, so the basic historical facts of his plays are correct.
However he also took considerable historical liberties, both for dramatic effect and to satisfy Tudor propaganda.
This is obvious for example in the creation of his most famous royal character, Richard III, who is based more on Tudor myth than actual facts.
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A short description of each royal history play by William Shakespeare follows below. The ‘Events Covered’ sub-sections record only the royal events described in the play, not necessarily their historical accuracy.
The Plays
(in order of composition)
Henry VI, Part I
Written: 1589-90.
Period described: c.1422-1445.
Events covered: The minority of Henry VI; English fighting in France during the Hundred Years War; the rise and fall of Joan of Arc; the start of infighting between
Lancastrians and Yorkists.
Memorable line: “Here I prophesy: this brawl today /
Grown to this faction in the Temple Garden / Shall send between the red rose and the white / A thousand souls to death and deadly night.” The Earl of Warwick to Richard Duke of York, Act 2, Scene 4.
Interesting fact: Following Tudor chronicles, Shakespeare set the beginning of the Wars of the Roses in London’s Temple Gardens where Lancastrians and Yorkists first identify with red and white roses. This incident however has no basis in fact.
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Henry VI, Part II
Written: 1590-91.
Period described: c.1445-1455.
Events covered: The beginning of the Wars of the Roses; the influence of Queen Margaret of Anjou over the weak Henry VI; the murders of Humphrey Duke of Gloucester and the Duke of Suffolk; the designs of Richard, Duke of York to seize the crown; Jack Cade’s Rebellion; the First Battle of St Albans.
Memorable line: “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers”: Jack Cade’s follower, Dick, Act IV, Scene 2.
Interesting fact: Eleanor of Gloucester’s attempt to use witchcraft to predict the King’s death is based on actual events.
Henry VI, Part III
Written: 1590-91.
Period described: c.1455-1471.
Events covered: The Wars of the Roses battles continue; the death of Richard Duke of York; the seizure of the throne by Edward IV and his marriage to Elizabeth
Woodville (Lady Grey); the brief restoration to the throne of Henry VI and his subsequent murder in the Tower of London; the triumph of the House of York.
Memorable line: “Here burns my candle out, ay, here it dies / Which whiles it lasted gave King Henry light. / O
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Lancaster! I fear thy overthrow / More than my body's parting with my soul!” Lord Clifford’s dying speech after the Battle of Towton, Act II, Scene 6.
Interesting fact: The play contains more battle scenes than any other of Shakespeare’s plays, and sets the stage for the rise of Richard III in the next royal history play.
Richard III
Written: 1592-93.
Period described: 1470s-1485.
Events covered: Richard, Duke of Gloucester, plots his way to the throne by murdering rival claimants including his brother, George, Duke of Clarence; Richard’s
usurpation of the throne after the death of Edward IV; the murder of his nephews, the Princes in the Tower; the Battle of Bosworth, resulting in Richard III’s death and the accession of Henry VII.
Memorable lines: “Now is the winter of our discontent /
Made glorious summer by the sun of York” Richard, Duke of Gloucester, Act I, Scene 1. “A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!” King Richard III, Act V, Scene 4.
Interesting fact: From about 1700 to the 1850s the play was performed in England and the United States in a bowdlerized version which cut out half the play and added new text. The original Shakespearean text began to be restored in 1845.
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King John
Written: 1595-96.
Period described: c.1200-1216.
Events covered: John’s usurpation of the crown from his nephew Arthur of Brittany and Arthur’s murder; the
barons’ rebellion against John; Richard I’s illegitimate son, Philip the Bastard, takes revenge for his father’s death; John clashes with King Philip II of France and with papal authority; France’s invasion of England; King John’s death.
Memorable lines: “This England never did, nor never shall / Lie at the proud foot of a conqueror.” Philip the Bastard, Act V, Scene 7.
Interesting fact: Shakespeare completely left out Magna Carta from the play, but invented the character of Philip the Bastard, based on the shady historical figure of Philip of Cognac, to represent English civic duty and patriotism.
Edward III
Written: 1590-94. * Only partly composed by Shakespeare.
Period described: c.1337-1356.
Events covered: Edward’s claim to the French throne and the beginning of the Hundred Years War; the Black
Prince’s successes at the Battle of Crecy and Battle of Poitiers; the story of the Burghers of Calais; the English conquests in France.
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Memorable lines: “Tell him, the Crown that he usurps, is mine / and where he sets his foot, he ought to kneel. /
‘Tis not a petty Dukedom that I claim / but all the whole Dominions of the Realm.” King Edward III, Act I, Scene 1.
Interesting fact: The play was not included in the first Shakespeare Folio of 1623 and has only recently been admitted into the Shakespeare canon. It had been
banned during the reign of Scottish-born King James I because it contained many slurs and jokes against the Scots.
Richard II
Written: 1595.
Period described: 1398-1399.
Events covered: The play covers only the last two years of Richard II’s reign focusing on the events leading to his deposition including: the banishment of Henry
Bolingbroke; the death of John of Gaunt and the seizure of his property by Richard; Henry Bolingbroke’s return from exile and his seizure of the crown; Richard II’s deposition and his death in Pontefract Castle.
Memorable lines: “Not all the water in the rough rude sea / can wash the balm from an anointed king” King Richard II, Act III, Scene 2. “For God's sake, let us sit upon the ground / and tell sad stories of the death of kings.”
King Richard II, Act III, Scene 2.
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Interesting fact: On the eve of his failed rebellion against Queen Elizabeth I in February 1601 the Earl of Essex and his supporters paid a handsome sum to Shakespeare’s company to perform Richard II in London. Essex and his supporters hoped to rally popular support to their cause by staging a play about a royal deposition, however this appeal failed. Elizabeth I did not hold a grudge against the company for performing the play.
Henry IV, Part I
Written: 1596-97.
Per
iod described: 1402-03.
Events covered: King Henry IV’s struggle for legitimacy after the deposition of Richard II; Owen Glyndwor’s rebellion in Wales; the misspent youth of the Prince of Wales (Prince Hal); the Percy rebellion; the Battle of Shrewsbury.
Memorable lines: ““I am the Prince of Wales, and think not, Percy / to share with me in glory anymore. / Two stars keep not their motion in one sphere.” Prince Hal, Act V, Scene 4. “The better part of valour is discretion.”
Falstaff, Act V, Scene 4.
Interesting fact: Both Henry IV plays include one of Shakespeare’s most popular characters, the larger-than-life drinking wit Sir John Falstaff, who spends most of his time carousing with young Prince Hal, the future Henry V.
The character was so popular when first presented that 680
Queen Elizabeth I requested that a new play be written specifically for him, which became The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Henry IV, Part II
Written: 1598.
Period described: 1403-13.
Events covered: The Archbishop of York and his allies plot against Henry IV; Prince John, Henry IV’s second son, deceives the plotters, arrests them, and has them
executed; Henry IV’s illness and death; Prince Hal
becomes King Henry V and reforms his ways.
Memorable lines: “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” King Henry IV, Act III, Scene 1.
Interesting fact: There is no conclusive evidence on whether King Henry IV’s death scene, where his son Hal takes the crown from him while his father is still alive, is based on actual events. Henry’s death in the Jerusalem Chamber however, fulfilling a prophecy that he would die
‘in Jerusalem’, is based on true accounts.
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Henry V
Written: 1598-99.
Period described: 1413-20.
Events covered: Henry V’s resumption of the Hundred Years War with France; the Southampton Plot; the siege of Harfleur; the Battle of Agincourt; the conquest of France; Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Valois, daughter of the French King.
Memorable lines: “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more / Or close the wall up with our English dead!” King Henry V, Act III, Scene 1. “The game's afoot /
Follow your spirit: and upon this charge / Cry — God for Harry! England and Saint George!” King Henry V, Act III, Scene 1. “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. /
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me / Shall be my brother.” King Henry V, Act IV, Scene 3.
Interesting fact: Tradition holds that this was the first play performed in the newly constructed Globe Theatre in London in 1599.
Henry VIII
Written: 1612-13. * Only partly composed by Shakespeare.
Period described: 1521-36.
Events covered: Henry’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon; the fall of Cardinal Wolsey; Henry’s marriage to Anne Boleyn and her coronation; the death of Catherine 682
of Aragon; courtiers plot against Archbishop Cranmer; the birth of Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth I.
Memorable lines: “Had I but serv'd my God with half the zeal / I serv'd my king, he would not in mine age / Have left me naked to mine enemies.” Cardinal Wolsey, Act III, Scene 2.
Interesting fact: During a performance of Henry VIII at London’s Globe Theatre in 1613 a cannon shot fired as part of the play sparked a fire on the thatched roof which burned the whole theatre to the ground.
“This Scepter’d Isle...”
Shakespeare’s Richard II contains one of the most famous passages in all of English literature, the ‘Scepter’d Isle’
speech delivered by John of Gaunt in Act II, Scene 1, praising England as a distinct glorious world. The speech has often been used to lionise England, however the original speech is delivered in the play not in the spirit of praise but of warning: John of Gaunt laments that what was once a glorious land has been reduced to shameful exploitation by Richard and his cronies. The sense of the speech can be fully understood when reproduced in full:
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“This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England, This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings,
Fear'd by their breed and famous by their birth,
Renowned for their deeds as far from home,
For Christian service and true chivalry,
As is the sepulchre in stubborn Jewry,
Of the world's ransom, blessed Mary's Son,
This land of such dear souls, this dear dear land,
Dear for her reputation through the world,
Is now leased out, I die pronouncing it,
Like to a tenement or pelting farm:
England, bound in with the triumphant sea
Whose rocky shore beats back the envious siege
Of watery Neptune, is now bound in with shame,
With inky blots and rotten parchment bonds:
That England, that was wont to conquer others,
Hath made a shameful conquest of itself.
Ah, would the scandal vanish with my life,
How happy then were my ensuing death!”
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Miscellanea
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Royal Towns
and Settlements
Many places in the United Kingdom bear names
associated with the monarchy. The majority of them are historic settlements that received the words ‘King’,
‘Queen’ or ‘Regis’ in their names centuries ago because they originally belonged to the monarchy. Others
received royally-related names more recently as a way to honour a particular monarch, while a more select group comprises towns and boroughs that have been granted the privilege of bearing the title ‘Royal’ in their official names. All these types of royal settlements are described below.
Royal Towns, Boroughs and Counties
The privilege of bearing the title ‘Royal’ in their official names has been granted only to a few towns, boroughs and counties in the United Kingdom. The practice started in the late 19th-early 20 century, either to confirm an existing but unofficial royal status, or to honour particular royal events. These towns, boroughs and counties have the privilege of calling themselves ‘Royal’ in all official 686
documents and public signage, regardless of whether the word Royal is part of the actual name (i.e. ‘the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’ or ‘the Royal Town of Caernarfon’). The privilege must be expressly
bestowed by the monarch, usually by Letters Patents. As of May 2018, only four boroughs, five towns and one county have been bestowed this Royal privilege. All but two have historical links with the monarchy.
Royal Boroughs
The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames,
London
The oldest Royal borough in England, Kingston upon
Thames has been considered royal ever since the 10th century when seven Anglo-Saxon kings were crowned in the ancient town. King George V confirmed the right of the borough to bear a Royal title in 1927.
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead,
Berkshire
The site of Windsor Castle, Windsor was first mentioned as belonging to the King in the reign of Henry I in the 1130s and has been considered royal ever since. When the new, larger borough of Windsor and Maidenhead was created in 1974 the Royal title was confirmed for the new authority.
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The Royal Borough of
Kensington and Chelsea,
London
The Royal Borough of Kensington was granted the Royal honour in 1901 by King Edward VII in memory of his
mother Queen Victoria who was born in Kensington
Palace in 1819. When the borough of Kensington was
amalgamated with the borough of Chelsea in 1965 the Royal title was transferred over.
The Royal Borough of Greenwich, London
Greenwich was the birthplace of Henry VIII, Mary I and Elizabeth I, and was the site of the ancient Royal Palace of Placentia. It was declared a Royal Borough in 2012 to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.
Royal Towns
The Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands Now a suburb of Birmingham, the original town of Sutton Coldfield was granted a Royal title in perpetuity by Henry VIII in 1528 after a petition by Bishop John Vezey who was born in the town. The town was assumed to have
lost its title after it was incorporated into Birmingham in the 19th century, however after a successful petition in 2014 the government recognized that Sutton Coldfield could indeed use the title of Royal Town in perpetuity.
