The Royal Court in 1399
King Richard II.
Queen Isabelle de Valois, Richard’s second wife.
The House of York
Edmund of Langley, Duke of York.
Isabella, Princess of Castile, now deceased, mother of the three York children:
- Edward of Norwich, Earl of Rutland, Duke of Aumale, later Duke of York.
- Constance of York, Lady Despenser, Countess of Gloucester.
- Richard (Dickon) of Conisbrough, later Earl of Cambridge.
The Despensers
Thomas, Lord Depsenser, Earl of Gloucester, husband of Constance, father of their 3 children:
- Richard.
- Elizabeth.
- Isabella.
Henry Despenser, Bishop of Norwich, in silent sympathy with the York and Despenser conspirators.
House of Lancaster
King Henry IV, son of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster.
Joanna of Navarre, Duchess of Brittany, second wife of King Henry.
The six royal children:
- Henry (Hal), Prince of Wales.
- Thomas.
- John.
- Humphrey.
- Blanche.
- Philippa.
John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset, half-brother to King Henry.
Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, half-brother to King Henry.
The Holland Family
John Holland, Earl of Huntington, Duke of Exeter.
Thomas Holland, 3rd Earl of Kent, John Holland’s nephew.
Joan, Duchess of York, second wife of Edmund of Langley, sister of Thomas and Edmund Holland.
Edmund Holland, 4th Earl of Kent, lover of Constance of York.
Madonna Lucia Visconti, an Italian lady with a large dowry, Countess of Kent, wife of Edmund Holland.
Alianore, daughter of Edmund Holland and Constance of York.
The Mortimers
Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, a child in captivity in Windsor Castle.
Roger Mortimer, his younger brother, also in Windsor Castle.
The Percys
Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, a man of authority, ambition and conflicting loyalties.
Sir Henry Percy (Hotpsur), Northumberland’s son and heir.
Those to be found in aristocratic households
Friar John Depyng: King Richard II’s soothsayer.
Ralph Ramsey, one of King Henry IV’s esquires, rewarded for his loyalty.
William Flaxman, another Court minion in receipt of the King’s generosity
Richard Milton, agent of Constance in the Windsor plot.
A locksmith who paid for his conspiracy with his life.
Richard Maudeleyn, a clerk, who played the role of Richard II.
William Maidstone, Constance’s chivalric champion.
Sir John Pelham, a staunch supporter and counsellor of King Henry IV.
And in Wales
Owain Glyn Dwr, stirring rebellion in the west and claiming the title of Prince of Wales.