Henry VI, Part II · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in Henry VI, Part II by William Shakespeare.
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King Henry VI
major
Also known as Henry, Henry the Fifth, noble Henry, Henry king
Henry VI sits at the head of a court already split into armed camps, greeting his new queen with a kiss while his uncles read out the treaty that surrenders Anjou and Maine. His piety and mildness, genuine virtues, make him helpless before the pride of Suffolk, the malice of Beaufort, and the quiet scheming of York. He matters because his weakness is the vacuum every ambitious lord in the play is racing to fill.
Queen Margaret
major
Also known as Margaret, Meg, dame Margaret, the Lady Margaret
Margaret enters the play as Suffolk's trophy bride, handed to Henry in a ceremony that costs England two duchies. Her quick wit and quicker pride make her a natural partisan in the court's feuds, and her bond with Suffolk gives her a weapon the king lacks. She matters because she turns the queen's chamber into a second court, one where softer men like Gloucester get no mercy.
Richard, Duke of York
major
Also known as York, Richard Duke of York, Richard, my Lord of York, Lord York, noble York
York stands among the peers who watch Anjou and Maine traded for a bride, and he alone understands the loss as personal: those lands were his to lose. His soliloquy reveals a patient, calculating ambition, a man who will flatter Gloucester and court the Nevilles until the moment is ripe. He matters because he is the slow fuse under every quarrel in the play, the future of the Wars of the Roses in a single watchful lord.
Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
major
Also known as Gloucester, my Lord of Gloucester, good Gloucester, the good Duke Humphrey, Duke Humphrey, Humphrey, good Duke Humphrey, Duke Humphrey of Gloucester, uncle Humphrey, smooth Duke Humphrey, the false Duke Humphrey, good Humphrey
Gloucester is the king's uncle and the realm's protector, a man whose plain dealing and open table have won him the love of the people. That same integrity puts him at odds with Suffolk, Beaufort, and eventually the queen, who see his virtue as an obstacle to their own advancement. He matters because his fall, more than any battle, marks the moment England's government stops pretending to be one thing.
Cardinal Beaufort
supporting
Also known as Beaufort, Cardinal, Cardinal Beaufort, uncle Beaufort, the Cardinal Beaufort
Beaufort is the king's great-uncle, a cardinal whose wealth and pride make him a rival power to the protectorate itself. His feud with Gloucester runs so hot that the two men arrange a duel in a grove while the king stands between them begging for peace. He matters because he shows how thoroughly the sacred and the political have collapsed into each other, and how little holiness restrains a man who wants to win.
William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk
major
Also known as Suffolk, my Lord of Suffolk, gentle Suffolk, Lord Suffolk, Suffolk True, William de la Pole, Pole, the Duke of Suffolk, King Suffolk
Suffolk returns from France with Margaret on his arm and a treaty in his hand that gives away two duchies, and he is rewarded with a dukedom for his trouble. His intimacy with the new queen makes him the most dangerous man at court, and his contempt for anyone below his rank is total, as his final confrontation with a pirate captain makes brutally clear. He matters because he embodies the play's central rot: private appetite dressed as public service.
Duke of Buckingham
supporting
Also known as Buckingham, Lord Buckingham, Sharp Buckingham, King Buckingham
Buckingham belongs to the cluster of lords — Suffolk, Somerset, and the queen — whose interests collide with the protector's household. He is a man of the moment rather than of principle, aligning himself wherever power and advantage settle. His presence in the opening court scene signals how quickly the realm's great men sort themselves into rival camps, and his shifting loyalties help drive the factional friction that erodes Henry's peace.
Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick
major
Also known as Warwick, Lord Warwick, good Warwick, Warwick Beaufort, Cardinal Ambitious Warwick, Warwick Father, Warwick Madam
Warwick enters as a lord of enormous landed power and rare public trust, the kind of man whose endorsement can make or unmake a king. He loves the common profit and hates the pride of Suffolk and the cardinal, yet his private assurance to York — that Warwick shall one day make York king — reveals an ambition as large as his patriotism. His decision to throw his weight behind York rather than Lancaster sets the dynastic conflict in motion.
Jack Cade
major
Also known as Cade, Brother Jack Cade, Soldier Jack Cade, John Cade, John Mortimer, Cade Marry, Cade surprised, Cade O monstrous, Cade Tut, Cade Valiant, Cade Here, Cade Iden, Messenger Jack Cade, that monstrous rebel Cade
Cade is the voice of the leather-apron crowd, promising seven halfpenny loaves for a penny and a commonwealth turned inside out. His pretensions to noble descent are punctured at every turn by Dick the Butcher's asides, which expose the bricklayer father and the whipping at the market cross. He matters because his rebellion shows how thoroughly the quarrels of lords have loosened the bonds of order, letting a braggart with a stolen name raise an army.
Lord Clifford
supporting
Also known as old Clifford, Clifford, Young Clifford
Clifford stands among the king's party at court, a nobleman of the old allegiance whose temper runs hotter than Henry's mild rule can contain. He is the kind of retainer whose personal devotion to a royal house becomes indistinguishable from personal vengeance. His presence in the early scenes foreshadows the vendetta that will poison the next generation of English politics.
Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset
supporting
Also known as Somerset, Edmund Duke of Somerset, The Duke of Somerset, proud Somerset, Lord Somerset, Somerset Cousin of Buckingham
Somerset belongs to the court faction that Salisbury names alongside Suffolk, the cardinal, and Buckingham as men whose pride must be bridled. His quarrel with York is both personal and territorial, sharpened by the loss of France and the blame that attaches to whoever held command there. He matters because his feud with York gives the dynastic struggle a human face long before the roses are formally plucked.
Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester
supporting
Also known as Nell, Sweet Nell, gentle Nell, Dame Eleanor, Eleanor, Dame Eleanor Cobham, Gloucester Eleanor, Lady Eleanor, Duchess, Duchess Tut, Exeunt Duchess, Duchess Ay
Eleanor Cobham is the proud wife of the protector, restless under the modest place a duke's consort is allowed. Her consultation of conjurers and witches — seeking to know what fortune holds for her husband — hands her enemies the weapon they need against Gloucester's house. She matters because her fall is the first great blow struck in the campaign to strip the good duke of his staff and his influence.
Sir Humphrey Stafford
minor
Also known as Stafford, Humphrey, Sir Humphrey Stafford, Stafford Rebellious hinds, Stafford Villain, Stafford Ay
Loyal knight sent to confront Jack Cade's rebellion.
Lord Say
minor
Also known as Lord Say, King Lord Say
Hated nobleman executed by Cade's rebels for his learning and governance.
Alexander Iden
minor
Also known as Iden, King Iden
Kentish gentleman who kills Jack Cade in his garden.
John Hume
minor
Also known as Hume, Sir John Hume, Sir John, Master Hume, Bolingbroke Master Hume
Priest who conspires with the Duchess of Gloucester in her treasonous schemes.
Earl of Salisbury
supporting
Also known as Salisbury, Salisbury Peter, father Salisbury, Salisbury This Edmund
Salisbury belongs to the old guard of English lords who fought to hold France and now watch Suffolk's negotiated peace hand Anjou and Maine away for a dowryless queen. His loyalty tilts toward Gloucester and York, placing him opposite the rising Beaufort-Suffolk axis that owns the young king's ear. As father to the formidable Warwick, he anchors one of the two great family networks whose rivalry will pull England toward civil war.
Walter Whitmore
minor
Also known as Walter Whitmore, Whitmore, Walter
Captain who captures and kills the Duke of Suffolk at sea.
Captain
minor
Also known as Captain, captain
Leader of the ship that intercepts Suffolk, demanding ransom and justice.
Dick the Butcher
minor
Also known as Dick Nay, Dick, Dick Aside
Follower of Jack Cade, known for the line 'The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.'
Smith the Weaver
minor
Also known as Smith, Smith Aside, Smith Sir
Rebel follower of Jack Cade, a weaver by trade.
George Bevis
minor
Also known as George, George Bevis, Bevis
Rebel follower of Jack Cade.
John Holland
minor
Also known as John Holland, Holland
Rebel follower of Jack Cade.
Sir John Stanley
minor
Also known as Sir John, John Stanley, Sir John Stanley, Stanley, Stanley Madam
Nobleman who escorts the Duchess of Gloucester into exile.
Peter Thump
minor
Also known as Peter, Peter Alas, Peter Thump
Apprentice who defeats his master Horner in a trial by combat.
Thomas Horner
minor
Also known as Horner, Horner Alas, Thomas Horner
Armorer accused of treason by his apprentice, dies in combat.
Roger Bolingbroke
minor
Also known as Bolingbroke
Conjurer involved in the Duchess of Gloucester's necromancy.
Margery Jourdain
minor
Also known as Margery Jourdain, Margaret Jourdain, Margaret Jourdain Asmath, Jourdain, Margaret
Witch who raises a spirit for the Duchess of Gloucester.
Sir John Mortimer
minor
Also known as Sir John Mortimer, John
York's uncle, a claimant to the throne, mentioned in York's genealogy.
Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March
minor
Also known as Edmund Mortimer, Edmund, Earl of March, Duke Edmund
York's ancestor whose claim to the throne is detailed in a genealogy speech.
Michael
minor
Also known as Michael, Michael Fly
Rebel follower of Jack Cade.
Robin
minor
Also known as Robin
Rebel follower of Jack Cade.
Matthew Gough
minor
Also known as Matthew Goffe
Soldier killed defending London Bridge against Cade's rebels.
Vaux
minor
Also known as Vaux, Exit Vaux
Messenger who brings news of Cardinal Beaufort's death.
Saunder Simpcox
minor
Also known as Simpcox, Simpcox Saunder Simpcox, Simpcox Born, Saunder, Simpcox O
Impostor who feigns blindness and is exposed by Gloucester.
Beadle
minor
Also known as Beadle, the Beadle
Official who whips the impostor Simpcox.
Mayor of Saint Alban
minor
Also known as Mayor Sirrah
Local official involved in the Simpcox miracle.
John Southwell
minor
Also known as John Southwell, Southwell
Priest involved in the Duchess of Gloucester's conjuring.
Spirit
minor
Also known as Spirit, The Duke, the Spirit, Exit Spirit
Demon raised by the conjurers to prophesy the fates of nobles.
