Period written: 1590-1591
Known first performance:

The play begins a confrontation between Richard, Duke of York and the reigning King Henry VI and their respective supporters. Threatened with physical violence by the Earl of Warwick (Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick), the king brokers a deal to make York his heir. Disgusted at his cowardice, his supporters abandon him. The Queen, Margaret of Anjou, makes it clear that she will not agree to this, and declares war on the Yorkists, with the assistance of the young Lord Clifford and other supporters, including her son, Edward, Prince of Wales.
At the Battle of Wakefield, the Yorkists are defeated, and there follow some of the bloodiest and most heart-rending scenes in all of Shakespeare, as Clifford murders York’s young son, the Earl of Rutland. (In reality, Rutland was seventeen and had taken full part in the battle.) Margaret and Clifford then taunt the duke of York before killing him. The Earl of Warwick now takes York’s eldest son, Edward (King Edward IV of England) under his wing. At the Battle of Towton, they take revenge on Margaret’s army, and Clifford is killed. Following the battle, Edward is proclaimed king, and his two brothers, George and Richard are created Dukes of Clarence and Gloucester respectively. Richard is already showing signs of turning into one of Shakespeare’s most famous villains, though in reality he was less than ten years old at the time of the battle.

Warwick turns against Edward when he marries Lady Grey (Elizabeth Woodville) while Warwick is in France courting the French king’s sister on Edward’s behalf. Queen Margaret, in France with the Prince of Wales to beg military aid from France, accepts the reconciliation; the Prince agrees to marry Warwick’s daughter. The Duke of Clarence goes over to Warwick, marrying his other daughter. The invasion succeeds, and Edward IV is taken prisoner. Henry is restored to the throne and Warwick and Clarence are appointed as protectors. However, Edward is soon rescued by his brother Richard and the faithful Lord Hastings. News of this reaches Henry’s court, and the young Earl of Richmond (the future King Henry VII of England), a descendant of John of Gaunt and therefore a potential Lancastrian heir, is shipped into exile in France for safekeeping. Edward defeats and kills Warwick at the Battle of Barnet. In a subsequent battle (Battle of Tewkesbury), he kills the Prince of Wales and captures Queen Margaret. Richard of Gloucester begins his campaign to remove all obstacles in his path to the throne by murdering King Henry VI who is a captive in the Tower of London. Henry prophesies Richard’s career of villainy and his future notoriety. The play ends with the Yorkists apparently established for good: The Lancastrians are dead or exiled and the king’s son has just been born. Only Richard knows the trouble yet to come.

Henry VI Part 3 Characters
King Henry the Sixth
Edward, Prince of Wales
Lewis the Eleventh, King of France
Duke of Somerset
Duke of Exeter
Earl of Oxford
Earl of Northumberland
Earl of Westmerland
Lord Clifford
Richard Plantagenet
Edward, Earl of March
Edmund, Earl of Rutland
George
Richard
Duke of Norfolk
Marquess of Montague
Earl of Warwick
Earl of Pembroke
Lord Hastings
Lord Stafford
Sir John Mortimer
Sir Hugh Mortimer
Henry, Earl of Richmond
Lord Rivers
Sir William Stanley
Sir John Montgomery
Sir John Somervile
Tutor to Rutland
Mayor of York
Mayor of Coventry

Henry VI, Part 3 Scenes
Act I, Scene 1
London. The Parliament-house.
(Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, Edward, Richard, Norfolk, Montague, Warwick, Soldiers, King Henry, Clifford, Northumberland, Westmerland, Exeter, Queen Margaret, Prince Edward)

Act I, Scene 2
Sandal Castle.
(Richard, Edward, Montague, Duke of York, Messenger, Sir John Mortimer, Sir Hugh Mortimer)

Act I, Scene 3
Field of battle betwixt Sandal Castle and Wakefield.
(Rutland, Tutor, Clifford, Soldiers)

Act I, Scene 4
Another part of the field.
(Richard Duke of York, Queen Margaret, Clifford, Northumberland, Prince Edward, Soldiers)

Act II, Scene 1
A plain near Mortimer’s Cross in Herefordshire.
(Edward, Richard, Messengers, Warwick, Marquess Montague)

Act II, Scene 2
Before York.
(King Henry, Queen Margaret, Clifford, Northumberland, Prince Edward, Messenger, Edward, Warwick, Richard, George of Clarence, Norfolk, Montague, Soldiers)

Act II, Scene 3
A field of battle between Towton and Saxton, in Yorkshire.
(Warwick, Edward, George of Clarence, Richard)

Act II, Scene 4
Another part of the field.
(Richard, Clifford, Warwick)

Act II, Scene 5
Another part of the field.
(King Henry, Son, Father, Queen Margaret, Prince Edward, Exeter)

Act II, Scene 6
Another part of the field.
(Clifford, Edward, Warwick, Richard, Soldiers, Montague, George of Clarence)

Act III, Scene 1
A forest in the north of England.
(Keepers, King Henry)

Act III, Scene 2
London. The palace.
(King Edward, Gloucester, Clarence, Lady Grey, Nobleman)

Act III, Scene 3
France. King Lewis XI’s palace.
(Lewis the French King, Bona, Admiral Bourbon, Prince Edward, Queen Margaret, Earl of Oxford, Warwick, Post)

Act IV, Scene 1
London. The palace.
(Richard of Gloucester, Clarence, Somerset, Montague, King Edward, Queen Elizabeth, Pembroke, Stafford, Hastings, Post)

Act IV, Scene 2
A plain in Warwickshire.
(Warwick, Oxford, French Soldiers, Clarence, Somerset)

Act IV, Scene 3
Edward’s camp, near Warwick.
(Three Watchmen, Warwick, Clarence, Oxford, Somerset, French Soldiers, King Edward, Richard of Gloucester, Hastings)

Act IV, Scene 4
London. The palace.
(Rivers, Queen Elizabeth)

Act IV, Scene 5
A park near Middleham Castle in Yorkshire.
(Richard of Gloucester, Lord Hastings, Sir William Stanley, King Edward, Huntsman)

Act IV, Scene 6
London. The Tower.
(King Henry the Sixth, Clarence, Warwick, Somerset, Henry Richmond, Oxford, Montague, Lieutenant of the Tower)

Act IV, Scene 7
Before York.
(King Edward, Richard of Gloucester, Hastings, Soldiers, Hollanders)

Act IV, Scene 8
London. The palace.
(King Henry, Warwick, Montague, Clarence, Oxford, Exeter, King Edward, Soldiers, Gloucester)

Act V, Scene 1
Coventry.
(Warwick, Mayor of Coventry, Messengers, Sir John Somervile, King Edward, Richard of Gloucester, Soldiers, Oxford, Montague, Somerset, Clarence)

Act V, Scene 2
A field of battle near Barnet.
(King Edward, Warwick, Oxford, Somerset)

Act V, Scene 3
Another part of the field.
(King Edward, Richard of Gloucester, Clarence)

Act V, Scene 4
Plains near Tewksbury.
(Queen Margaret, Prince Edward, Somerset, Oxford, Soldiers, Messenger, King Edward, Richard of Gloucester, Clarence)

Act V, Scene 5
Another part of the field.
(King Edward, Richard of Gloucester, Queen Margaret, Clarence, Soldiers, Oxford, Somerset, Prince Edward)

Act V, Scene 6
London. The Tower.
(Henry the Sixt, Richard of Gloucester, Lieutenant)

Act V, Scene 7
London. The palace.
(King Edward, Queen Elizabeth, Clarence, Richard of Gloucester, Hastings, Nurse, Prince, Attendants)