Richard II of England Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father die ...

has been depicted in popular culture a number of times.

Literature

*Richard is the central character in ''

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father died ...

'', a play by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

dating from around 1595. *Richard is also the main antagonist in an anonymous, incomplete play, often known as ''

Thomas of Woodstock (play) ''Thomas of Woodstock'' and ''Richard the Second Part One'' are two names for an untitled, anonymous and apparently incomplete manuscript of an Elizabethan play depicting events in the reign of King Richard II. Attributions of the play to Willi ...

'' or ''Richard II, Part 1'', whose composition is dated between 1591 and 1595. *He is the protagonist of the play ''

Richard of Bordeaux ''Richard of Bordeaux'' (1932) is a play by "Gordon Daviot", a pseudonym for Elizabeth MacKintosh, best known by another of her pen names, Josephine Tey. The play tells the story of Richard II of England in a romantic fashion, emphasizing the r ...

'' by

Gordon Daviot Josephine Tey was a pseudonym used by Elizabeth MacKintosh (25 July 1896 – 13 February 1952), a Scottish author. Her novel ''The Daughter of Time'' was a detective work investigating the role of Richard III of England in the death of the Princ ...

. *Richard appears in the novel ''The New June'' by

Henry Newbolt Sir Henry John Newbolt, CH (6 June 1862 – 19 April 1938) was an English poet, novelist and historian. He also had a role as a government adviser with regard to the study of English in England. He is perhaps best remembered for his poems "Vit ...

, along with Henry IV and

William Langland William Langland (; la, Willielmus de Langland; 1332 – c. 1386) is the presumed author of a work of Middle English alliterative verse generally known as ''Piers Plowman'', an allegory with a complex variety of religious themes. The poem tr ...

. *He is a character in the novel ''

The Named ''The Named'' is a fantasy novel written by Marianne Curley. It is the first book in the Guardians of Time Trilogy. Ethan is a member of The Named who is training his new apprentice, Isabel, under the guidance of his mentor Arkarian. Narration ...

'' by

Marianne Curley Marianne Curley, (born 20 May 1959) is an Australian author best known for her Guardians of Time Trilogy and Old Magic books. Life According to her official biography, Marianne Curley formerly lived in Coffs Harbour, on the Mid North Coas ...

. *He is one of the main characters in ''

The Crucible Trilogy ''The Crucible'' is a series of three historical fantasy novels written by Australian author Sara Douglass. The series is set around the adventures of English friar and nobleman Thomas Neville – who finds himself caught up between the eternal s ...

'' by

Sara Douglass Sara Warneke (2 June 1957 – 27 September 2011), better known by her pen name Sara Douglass, was an Australian fantasy writer who lived in Hobart, Tasmania. She was a recipient of the Aurealis Award for best fantasy novel. Biography A ...

. *He is one of the main characters in '' The Gentle Falcon'' by

Hilda Lewis Hilda Winifred Lewis (nee Maizels, 1896–1974) was a British writer of historical and children's fiction. Biography She was born Hilda Winifred Maizels in Whitechapel, London in 1896. Her father, Joseph Maizels, was a Jewish jeweler and silv ...

. *He is an important character in ''Das Lächeln der Fortuna'' by the German historical novel writer

Rebecca Gablé Rebecca Gablé (born 25 September 1964) is a German author of historical fiction. Gablé is best known for her medieval chivalry romances. She also works as a literary translator from English. After, leaving school, in 1984 she embarked on a one ...

. *Richard is a main character in ''Within The Hollow Crown'' by

Margaret Campbell Barnes Margaret Campbell Barnes (27 February 1891 – 1 April 1963) was an English writer of short-stories and historical fiction. Biography Margaret Campbell Wood was born on 27 February 1891 in Rotherfield, England, UK. She was the youngest of ten ch ...

.McGarry, Daniel D., White, Sarah Harriman, Historical Fiction Guide: Annotated Chronological, Geographical, and Topical List of Five Thousand Selected Historical Novels. Scarecrow Press, New York, 1963 (p.75). *Richard appears with his wife

Anne of Bohemia Anne of Bohemia (11 May 1366 – 7 June 1394), also known as Anne of Luxembourg, was Queen of England as the first wife of King Richard II. A member of the House of Luxembourg, she was the eldest daughter of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and ...

and their friend Robert de Vere in

Anthony Minghella Anthony Minghella, (6 January 195418 March 2008) was a British film director, playwright and screenwriter. He was chairman of the board of Governors at the British Film Institute between 2003 and 2007. He won the Academy Award for Best Directo ...

's play ''Two Planks and a Passion.''

Television

Richard has been portrayed a number of times on television, mainly in versions of Shakespeare's play. In this context he has been played by: *

Alan Wheatley Alan Wheatley (19 April 1907 – 30 August 1991) was an English actor. He was a well known stage actor in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, appeared in forty films between 1931 and 1965 and was a frequent broadcaster on radio from the 1930s to the ...

in a BBC version, ''The Tragedy of King Richard II'' (1950) * Maurice Evans in an American version, ''Richard II'' (1954) *

David William David William (24 June 1926 – 28 July 2010) was a British Canadian actor and director. He was born Bryan David Williams in London, the only child of Eric Williams and Olwen Roose. His family was London-based wine merchants. He was educated ...

in the BBC series ''An Age of Kings'' (1960), which contained all the history plays from ''Richard II'' to ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...

'' *Ric Hutton in an Australian TV version of ''

'' (1960) *

Hannes Messemer Hannes Messemer (17 May 1924 – 2 November 1991) was a German actor from Dillingen an der Donau, Bavaria. Biography World War II Messemer served on the Eastern Front of World War II and was eventually captured by Soviet soldiers. He ...

in a West German version, ''König Richard II'' (1968) *

Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. His career spans seven decades, having performed in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. Regarded as a British cultural i ...

in another BBC version, ''The Tragedy of King Richard II'' (1970) *

Tamás Jordán Tamás Jordán (born 15 January 1943) is a Hungarian actor. Jordán appeared in more than ninety films since 1969. Selected filmography References External links * 1943 births Living people Hungarian male film actors 20th-centur ...

in a Hungarian version, ''II. Richárd'' (1976) *

Derek Jacobi Sir Derek George Jacobi (; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. He has appeared in various stage productions of William Shakespeare such as ''Hamlet'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', ''Macbeth'', ''Twelfth Night'', ''The Tempest'', ''King ...

in the

BBC Shakespeare The ''BBC Television Shakespeare'' is a series of British television adaptations of Shakespeare's plays, the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and broadcast by BBC Television. Transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to ...

version, ''King Richard the Second'' (1978) *

Michael Pennington Michael Vivian Fyfe Pennington (born 7 June 1943) is a British actor, director and writer. Together with director Michael Bogdanov, he founded the English Shakespeare Company in 1986 and was its Joint Artistic Director until 1992. He has writt ...

in the BBC series ''The Wars of the Roses'' (1989), which included all of Shakespeare's history plays performed by the

English Shakespeare Company The English Shakespeare Company was an English theatre company founded in 1986 by Michael Bogdanov and Michael Pennington to present and promote the works of William Shakespeare on both a national and an international level. Funding came from th ...

* Aleksandr Romantsov in a Russian version, ''Richard Vtoroi'' (1992) *

Fiona Shaw Fiona Shaw (born Fiona Mary Wilson; 10 July 1958) is an Irish film and theatre actress. She is known for her roles as Petunia Dursley in the ''Harry Potter'' film series (2001–2010), Marnie Stonebrook in the fourth season of the HBO serie ...

in a British TV film, ''Richard II'' (1997) *

Michael Maertens Michael Maertens (born 30 October 1963) is a German actor. He appeared in more than forty films since 1988. His grandfather Willy Maertens Willy Maertens (1893–1967) was a German film and television actor. He was married to the actress Char ...

in another German version, ''Richard II'' (2001) *

Mark Rylance Sir David Mark Rylance Waters (born 18 January 1960) is a British actor, playwright and theatre director. He is known for his roles on stage and screen having received numerous awards including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Laurenc ...

in another BBC film, ''Richard II'' (2003), broadcast live from the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and gra ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Ben Whishaw Benjamin John Whishaw (born 14 October 1980) is an English actor and producer. After winning a British Independent Film Award for his performance in ''My Brother Tom'' (2001), he was nominated for an Olivier Award for his portrayal of the titl ...

in ''Richard II'' (2012) as part of the BBC's ''The Hollow Crown'', a series of four of Shakespeare's history plays which also includes Henry IV part 1, Henry IV part 2 and Henry V. Richard has also been played on television by: *

Andrew Osborn Andrew Osborn (born 10 October 1972) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the South Adelaide Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). After beginning his football with local club Reynella, Andr ...

in a BBC adaptation of ''Richard of Bordeaux'' (1938) *

Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage, and radio roles. He achieved recognition ...

in another BBC adaptation of ''Richard of Bordeaux'' (1955) *

Roger Allam Roger William Allam (born 26 October 1953) is a British actor, who has performed on stage, in film, on television and radio. He played Inspector Javert in the original London production of the stage musical ''Les Misérables'', First Officer D ...

in a BBC film, ''Henry IV'' (1995), a version of Shakespeare's ''

Henry IV, Part 1 ''Henry IV, Part 1'' (often written as ''1 Henry IV'') is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. The play dramatises part of the reign of King Henry IV of England, beginning with the battle at ...

Video

*Richard was played by Mattie Osian in a straight-to-video film adaptation of Shakespeare's ''Richard the Second'' (2001). *

David Birney David Edwin Birney (April 23, 1939 – April 27, 2022) was an American actor and director whose career included performances in both contemporary and classical roles in theatre, film, and television. He is noted for having played the title role ...

played him in an American video ''Richard II'' (1982), which was intended to simulate an Elizabethan stage production of the play.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richard II of England Cultural depictions of English monarchs Richard II of England Cultural depictions of kings