# Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset — Henry VI, Part III character guide

> Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset in Henry VI, Part III by William Shakespeare.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Somerset, my Lord of Somerset, gentle Somerset

**First appearance:** 0002-act-i-scene-i

## Snapshot

A Lancastrian duke whose severed head is hurled onto the parliament floor, Somerset embodies the bloody arithmetic of York's rising vengeance.

## Who they are

Somerset belongs to the Lancastrian faction that surrounds the pious King Henry, and his death at York's hands is announced before the play's first scene has finished. His head, thrown down by Richard of Gloucester, becomes a grisly trophy that hardens the resolve of both houses and turns a dynastic quarrel into a feud of blood. For the early arc, Somerset is less a man than a warning: the price of loyalty to a king too gentle to protect his own.

## In the story

### [Scene I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/henry_vi_part_iii_se/chapters/act-iv-scene-i)

Follows Clarence in defecting to Warwick.

### [Scene II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/henry_vi_part_iii_se/chapters/act-iv-scene-ii)

Arrives with Clarence to join Warwick's faction against Edward.

### [Scene III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/henry_vi_part_iii_se/chapters/act-iv-scene-iii)

Part of Warwick's force; assists in capturing Edward.

### [Scene VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/henry_vi_part_iii_se/chapters/act-iv-scene-vi)

Expresses concern over Edward's escape and arranges to send young Richmond to Brittany for safety.

### [Scene I: The Battle of Barnet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/henry_vi_part_iii_se/chapters/act-v-scene-i)

Somerset arrives with forces to support Warwick, entering Coventry.

### [Scene II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/henry_vi_part_iii_se/chapters/act-v-scene-ii)

Arrives with Oxford, informs Warwick of Montague's death and the queen's arrival from France.

### [Scene IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/henry_vi_part_iii_se/chapters/act-v-scene-iv)

Supports Margaret and Oxford, vowing shame to any who would not fight for such a cause.

### [Scene V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/henry_vi_part_iii_se/chapters/act-v-scene-v)

Captured and ordered beheaded.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/henry_vi_part_iii_se/characters/somerset
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/henry_vi_part_iii_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/henry_vi_part_iii_se/characters