King John Characters

King John

When the play opens, John is the King of England. (Winning!) Naturally, he wants it to stay that...

Arthur, Duke of Brittany

Arthur is King John's young nephew and, according to the play, he's the rightful (translation:...

Philip the Bastard (a.k.a. The Bastard)

Let's face it. Shakespeare's plays usually aren't very kind to "bastards." Just look at Edmund in...

Queen Eleanor

Some moms hack into the school district's computer system to change their kids' grades. Other...

Constance

Constance is a woman with a mission: she wants her son Arthur to become king of England. She...

Cardinal Pandolf

If we were hired to direct King John, we'd make sure that dark, ominous music began to play any...

Hubert

You remember Hubert, right? He's the guy who's assigned the unpleasant task of burning out little...

Louis, the Dauphin (aka Prince of France)

Let's start by making one thing clear: Shakespeare's King John is not a Renaissance prequel to...

Blanche of Spain

Blanche of Spain is King John's niece. Like most women of her time, especially those born into...

Philip, King of France

King Philip of France is a worthy opponent for King John—but that doesn't mean that he's an...

The Earl of Salisbury

Salisbury is an English nobleman. In the beginning of the play, he is loyal to King John, and...

The Earl of Pembroke

Pembroke's career follows pretty much the same trajectory as Salisbury's. In the beginning of the...

Limoges, Duke of Austria

The Duke of Austria comes to the play with a heavy backstory: he was responsible for the death of...

The Lord Bigot

Lord Bigot is one of the English lords who rebel against King John in the second half of the...

Châtillon

Châtillon is the snooty French messenger who delivers King Philip of France's threatening...

Melun

Count Melun is a pretty minor character. He's one of the French lords who join Louis on his...

Robert Falconbridge (Junior)

Robert Falconbridge (Robert Falconbridge, Jr., to be precise) only appears in one scene of the...

Lady Falconbridge

Lady Falconbridge makes a brief appearance at the end of Act I, Scene 1, where she shows up to...

Prince Henry

Henry is King John's young son. We don't get to hang out with him until the very last scene of...

The Earl of Essex

The Earl of Essex is barely a character in the play. He only appears in Act I, Scene 1. There, he...

Peter of Pomfret

Peter of Pomfret is a madman who makes prophecies in the street. One of his prophecies gets him...

James Gurney

James Gurney is a friend of Lady Falconbridge who accompanies her to the royal court. Is he her...