Richard III, Character List
House of York
King Edward IV
David Annen
Head of the House of York, Edward became King after a successful military campaign
against the House of Lancaster. The battles between the Houses of York and
Lancaster became known as the Wars of the Roses. Since defeating the Lancastrian
army at Tewkesbury in 1471 his reign has been a peaceful one.
At the beginning of the play King Edward is in ill health and nearing death.
George, Duke of Clarence
Scott Handy
Brother of King Edward IV and Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Clarence was disloyal to
his brother Edward during the Wars of the Roses, siding with Richard Neville, Earl of
Warwick and the House of Lancaster for a time before returning to support his
brother after the alliance proved unadvantageous.
At the beginning of the play King Edward has ordered George be imprisoned for
treason in the Tower of London following a rumour of a curse that prophesises a
person known by the letter ‘G’ will murder the King’s heirs.
Richard, Duke of Gloucester
Ralph Fiennes
Younger brother of King Edward IV and George, Duke of Clarence. Richard played a
significant part in overthrowing the previous King Henry VI and establishing his
brother Edward as King. Frustrated by his brother’s leadership and harbouring a
deep-seated ambition for the throne he begins the play intent on seizing power at any
cost.
Duchess of York
Susan Engel
Wife of the deceased Richard, Duke of York and mother of Edward IV, George, Duke
of Clarence and Richard, Duke of Gloucester.
Queen Elizabeth
Aislín McGuckin
Wife to Edward IV, Elizabeth was previously married to the Lancastrian Sir John
Grey. Following his death in battle her marriage to Edward IV caused great
displeasure within the House of York. This was made worse by the fact that she is not
of noble birth. She has a son from her first marriage, the Marquess of Dorset.
Earl Rivers
Joseph Arkley
Brother of Queen Elizabeth and an enemy to Richard.
Marquess of Dorset
Joshua Riley
Son of Queen Elizabeth by her first marriage; following the murder of the Princes in
the Tower Dorset flees to France to join Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond and his
army who will mount a campaign against Richard III.
Prince Edward
Lukas Rolfe, Baxter Westby
First son of King Edward IV and Queen Elizabeth, Prince Edward is heir to the
throne. Following the death of his father he is kept captive in the Tower of London
with his brother Richard and eventually murdered.
Richard, Duke of York
Ben Barker, Oliver Whitehouse
Second son of King Edward IV and Queen Elizabeth, Richard is murdered alongside
his brother Prince Edward so that he does not pose a threat to Richard III’s seat on
the throne.
Richard’s Allies
Duke of Buckingham
Finbar Lynch
Cousin of Edward IV, Clarence and Richard, Buckingham forms an alliance with
Richard to support him in being crowned King. Buckingham is resolutely loyal and is
promised lands by Richard for his help in persuading the court to petition Richard to
take the throne.
When Buckingham hesitates to agree to murder the Princes in the Tower, Richard
turns on him and denies him the land he has been promised leading Buckingham to
turn traitor and join the army rising against Richard.
William, Lord Hastings
James Garnon
A close friend and supporter of King Edward, Hastings served as Lord Chamberlain
during his reign. Hastings does not support Richard’s claim to the throne and as such
stands in the way of Richard achieving the power he so desires.
Catesby
Daniel Cerqueira
A loyal attendant and advisor to Richard, Catesby is a consistent supporter of
Richard’s ascension to the throne and follows him into battle against Richmond.
Ratcliffe
Mark Hadfield
Like Catesby, Ratcliffe is an attendant to Richard and loyal supporter.
James Tyrrel
David Annen
An obedient subject who is tasked with arranging the murder of the Princes after
Buckingham hesitates.
House of Lancaster
Queen Margaret
Vanessa Redgrave
Wife of the previous King Henry VI who was murdered in the Tower of London by
Richard, Duke of Gloucester.
Due to Henry VI’s frequent periods of mental illness and dislike of political conflict
Margaret became responsible for leading the Lancastrian side during the Wars of the
Roses.
At the start of the play we are introduced to her as someone who has lost a husband,
a son and the throne at the hands of Richard, Duke of Gloucester and is therefore
incredibly vengeful.
The curse she lays upon the House of York is steadily realised as the play unfolds.
Lady Anne
Joanna Vanderham
Daughter of Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick who was instrumental in bringing
King Edward IV to the throne but later switched allegiances from the House of York
to the House of Lancaster.
Anne married the Lancastrian Prince Edward, son of the previous King Henry VI and
Queen Margaret, who was later killed in battle at Tewkesbury by Richard, Duke of
Gloucester.
Like Margaret, Anne has good reason to despise Richard.
Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond
Tom Canton
A descendant of Edward III’s 4th son, Richmond becomes the Lancastrian heir to the
throne following the death of King Henry VI and his son Edward. Richmond fled to
Brittany following the ascension of Edward IV to the throne. After 14 years of exile he
is supported by the French to raise an army and challenge Richard’s right to rule
England.
The play ends with the Battle of Bosworth Field in which Richmond defeats Richard
and seizes the throne. Richmond is crowned King Henry VII and marries Queen
Elizabeth’s daughter, finally uniting the Houses of York and Lancaster.
Neutral characters
Lord Mayor
Mark Hadfield
The Lord Mayor of London is a neutral character who is convinced by Buckingham’s
argument that Edward IV’s heirs are illegitimate and petitions Richard to take the
throne.
Bishop of Ely
Simon Coates
John Morton, the Bishop of Ely was previously a supporter of the House of
Lancaster. He seems to side with Richard following Edward IV’s death but later flees
England to join Henry, the Earl of Richmond and the army he is raising to challenge
Richard.
Lord Stanley
Joseph Mydell
Stanley is a member of the court and is stepfather to the Earl of Richmond. He
remains neutral throughout the play until Richard threatens to kill his son if he does
not remain loyal to him in the fight against Richmond.