List of Major Characters in Richard III

• King Edward IV - The King of England until he dies of a sickness in Act II.
• Queen Elizabeth - Wife of King Edward IV, she remains one of Richard's greatest adversaries throughout the play.
• Edward, Prince of Wales, afterwords King Edward V - The 13 - year old son of Edward IV never has a chance to do anything as king. Richard faked paperwork saying that he was illigitemate and he was later murdered by Tyrell.
• Richard, Duke of York - Younger brother of Edward V, he is locked in the Tower of London and is later murdered with his brother.
• Queen Margaret - The wife of King Henry VI, who was murdered by Edward, Clarence, and Richard. She appears in Act 1 and curses almost all of the main characters to death. All of her prophecies come true.
• George, Duke of Clarence - The brother of King Edward IV, he is arrested by Edward and later murdered by Richard because of a prophecy saying that the next king of England's name would begin with G.
• Richard, Duke of Gloucester - The villian of the play, he murders a lot of people to achieve his goal of being King. However, he only rules for about three years until he dies at the battle of Bosworth Field.
• Duchess of York - The mother of King Edward IV, Clarence and Glouster. After Edward and Clarence have died, she supports Queen Elizabeth and Queen Margaret in cursing Richard.
• Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond - A distant relative of the royal family, he kills Richard, marries Princess Elizabeth (Edward IV's daughter, who does not appear in the play), and becomes King Henry VII.
• Duke of Buckingham - Richard's chief henchman, Buckingham will do whatever Richard asks him to - until he is asked to kill Prince Edward and York. He defects to Richmond's side and is later captured and executed by Richard.
• Queen Anne - The widow of King Henry VI's son, she marries Richard against her better judgement and later dies for it.
• Anthony Woodville, Lord Rivers - The brother of Queen Elizabeth, he is murdered along with Grey and Vaughan by Richard.
• Hastings - A political opponent of Richard who is falsely accused of treason and beheaded.
• Grey - The son of Queen Elizabeth from her first marriage. He is killed by Richard at Pomfret along with Grey and Vaughan.
• Stanley, Earl of Derby - A military general who betrays Richard, turning the tide at the battle of Bosworth Field.
• Lovel, Richard Ratcliffe, William Catesby, and James Tyrell - Henchmen who do all the murders Richard will not do in person.
• Robert Brakenbury - Lieutenant of the Tower of London. He keeps watch over Clarence during his rather short imprisonment.
• Vaughan - A political opponent of Richard who is murdered along with Rivers and Grey at Pomfret.

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