The Hollow Crown: Richard II

     So...for Shakespeare Week, I have decided to tackle The Hollow Crown miniseries which premiered in 2012. Starring Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, Patrick Stewart, David Suchet, Jeremy Irons, Tom Hiddleston, Julie Waters, Alun Armstrong, Joe Armstrong, Simon Russell Beale, Michelle Dockery and the late John Hurt, to name just a few of the extraordinary talent! Being not too familiar with Shakespeare or his historical interpretations of the royal history, my reviews will be more of a general overviews the stories. 

Richard II

by William Shakespeare

Setting: England, 15th Century

Primary Characters

King Richard II: Current King of England. Cold, arrogant, incompetent. Has a holiness complex. Despite his narcissistic personality, he is very loving toward his wife, Queen Isabella of Valois.

Henry of Herford/Bolingbroke: Richard's cousin. Upright, moral, devoted to his father and his country and believes he has a right claim to the throne.

John of Gaunt: Richard's uncle and Henry's father. Noble, strong, wise. Loves his son very much. Critical of Richard's role as king.

Duke of York: Enigmatic and ruthless in his beliefs. Unsure of where he stands. Refuses to have blood on his hands.

~ ~ ~

     King Richard the II has been called upon to settle a dispute between his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke and Thomas Mobrey. Henry has accused Thomas of stealing funds from the king and using them for his own purpose. Richard, not really caring about any of this, decides that they should duel it out with one another. However, at last moment he changes his mind and decides to banish both of them.

     This is a hard hit for everyone, especially Henry's aging father, John of Gaunt who loves his son dearly. Henry himself is popular with the people and genuinely desires to want to better his beloved England. Shortly afterwards, John dies either from old age or heartbreak, but Richard has little care for his uncle and would rather focus on traveling to the Ireland for battle. Unbeknownst to Richard though is that Henry has secretly been smuggled back into England. The feisty Bolingbroke wastes no time in gathering an army to fight Richard and depose him from his throne.

     It is soon discovered that Richard has been misusing money from the royal treasury of which can be seen as treason among his people. Henry manages to entrap Richard and prepares for battle, however, Richard surprises everyone by peacefully surrendering. Possibly to avoid bloodshed. Richard is then taken to the throne room in England where he claims he is willing to surrender his crown to his cousin. Yet, his solemn words suggest otherwise. He knows he has failed his people with his insufferable arrogance and pride, and believes God to be punishing him. Eventually he surrenders his crown to his cousin and is sent up to the London tower for his imprisonment.

     While Henry may have had many followers, Richard still has a handful that are devoted to him. One goes so far as to prophecy that Henry's rule will be marked with strife and war. While Henry is revered on his coronation day, Richard is reviled and abused in the cold and drafty Tower of London. After a plan is revealed to assassinate Henry and free Richard, the new King Henry IV wastes no time in hunting down and killing Richard's followers. His rule marred with strife and war begins.

     Richard himself is murdered in the Tower by his own cousin, Aurmerle who had sworn to protect him, but to save his own life, he murders the former king. The young Richard passes away in what he believes to be a true and holy martyrs death. When King Henry learns of Richard's murder, he is grieved at such an act toward a once holy anointed king.

     King Richard's death would haunt him for the rest of his life.