She was having to deal with a challenger to the throne in Mary Queen of Scots, who, like Arthur in this play, was being backed by the French. But if that seems confusing, it’s okay, because he just gets identified as the Bastard for the rest of the play.Īll this questioning of who is the legitimate monarch could have had some resonance for Queen Elizabeth at the time the play was first performed. They even go so far as to knight him, renaming him Sir Richard Plantagenet, after his dad. And maybe it wasn’t just his heart that had the characteristics of a wild animal… At any rate, the product of this union, Philip Falconbridge, turns up at court and King John and Queen Eleanor are apparently very taken with him, immediately believing his story and far from being outraged at this wanton spreading of kingly seed. It’s kind of hard to say no to the king, apparently. It’s kind of okay, though, because the guy she did it with was none other than King Richard. Eleanor and Constance fling accusations of infidelity at each other in order to try and shore up the claims of their respective sons, but it turns out that Lady Falconbridge really did do a bit of horizontal dancing with someone other than her husband. Because it turns out that infidelity and illegitimacy play significant roles in the play. John’s neice, Blanche, also makes a reasonable appearance, and Lady Falconbridge takes part in the parade of (alleged) infidelity (okay, it’s not exactly a feminist play, even if there are several strong female characters). As well as Constance, who forcefully puts the case for her son (Arthur seems rather less interested in the whole business than his advocates), Queen Eleanor, mother to King John, takes a prominent role. This play is actually pretty notable for the large role taken by women in it.

Furthermore, King Philip of France is willing to back Arthur and his mother, Constance, in their arguments that Arthur is the real deal. You see, John had another older brother, Geoffrey, who died young but had a son, Arthur, and there certainly appears to be a strong argument that he should be king.

The problem, though, is that the rules of succession would seem to indicate that someone else had a stronger claim to the throne than John. John is King, and says that his older brother, Richard the Lionheart, decreed that this should be so in his will. As with a lot of Shakespeare’s history plays (and tragedies), this one hinges on the question of legitimate rule.

Just one damned thing