The Royal Shakespeare Company: Henry VI, part 1

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The Plays

Henry VI, part 1 | Henry VI, part 2 | Henry VI, part 3 | Richard III

Henry VI, Part 1

Part I begins just after the premature death in 1422 of Henry V, whose victory at Agincourt added the throne of France to that of England. He left as his successor his infant son, Henry VI. But Henry’s conquests begin to deteriorate almost immediately after his death.

His family—all members of the House of Lancaster—begin to feud. At the same time, they must battle members of the House of York, who also lay claim to the throne. To make matters even more unstable, France, led by Joan of Arc, exploits the fierce power squabbles in England and battles to reclaim the French lands lost at Agincourt.

In 1445, Henry complicates things further by refusing a politically astute marriage in favor of marrying Margaret of Anjou, a move which is powerfully opposed by the Protector of the Realm, his uncle the Duke of Gloucester.

The family feud spreads to Henry VI’s cousin, Richard Plantagenet (later the Duke of York), head of the House of York, who also has a claim to the throne. In a scene set in the Temple Garden, a scene wholly invented by Shakespeare, members of the nobility are asked to choose sides. Those who back Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, choose a white rose; those who back Somerset, a Lancastrian, choose a red rose. Thus, in Shakespeare’s version, the conflict known as the Wars of the Roses begins.