Richard III

Roles

• Lady Anne - Young Adult (20-35), Female

About this piece

Lady Anne regrets having married Richard

Summary

The play begins at the end of a long civil war between the house of Lancaster, that ruled with King Henry VI, and the house of York. The house of York has prevailed and Edward IV is now king of England. His younger brothers are Clarence and Richard, the Duke of Gloucester. Richard plots against noblemen and even his own family to become the future king. He spreads false rumors about his brother Clarence and marries Lady Anne, the young widow of Henry VI's son, Prince Edward. After King Edward IV dies, Richard eliminates noblemen who are loyal to the king's sons, among which Lord Hastings. He arrests Queen Elizabeth's family and executes them. He imprisons the young princes in the Tower of London and has them killed. In this scene Lady Anne, Richard's wife meets Queen Elizabeth, her son Dorset and Clarence's young daughter in front of the Tower. They learn that Richard has forbidden anyone to visit the young princes. They learn that Richard will soon become King of England and Lady Anne finally regrets having accepted Richard's proposal to marry him. She says she finds it hard to sleep as Richard is always having nightmares and she is afraid that he plans to have her executed soon.

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