King John Characters

Arthur is King John's young nephew and, according to the play, he's the rightful (translation: legal) heir to the English throne. That makes little Arthur a SERIOUS threat to the current monarch, w...

Let's face it. Shakespeare's plays usually aren't very kind to "bastards." Just look at Edmund in King Lear—the guy takes so much abuse for being born out of wedlock that he begs the gods to "sta...

Some moms hack into the school district's computer system to change their kids' grades. Other moms hire hit men so that their daughters can make the junior high school cheerleading squad.Yep. Shake...

Constance is a woman with a mission: she wants her son Arthur to become king of England. She thinks it is his by right, because the tradition is that the crown passes from the father to his oldest...

If we were hired to direct King John, we'd make sure that dark, ominous music began to play any time Pandolf walked on stage or into a room. (We're thinking Darth Vader's "Imperial March," but we'r...

You remember Hubert, right? He's the guy who's assigned the unpleasant task of burning out little Arthur's eyes with a hot poker. Before we go into detail about Hubert's character, we have to clear...

Let's start by making one thing clear: Shakespeare's King John is not a Renaissance prequel to the Flipper movies, and Louis the Dauphin is not a fun-loving sea creature.The name "Dolphin," more co...

Blanche of Spain is King John's niece. Like most women of her time, especially those born into royal families, Blanche is basically a pawn in political games that she can't control. In this case, s...

King Philip of France is a worthy opponent for King John—but that doesn't mean that he's an especially interesting or attractive figure. Mainly, he seems a good match for King John in his negativ...

Salisbury is an English nobleman. In the beginning of the play, he is loyal to King John, and he's one of the nobles who stands flanking him in his courtroom. He also plays the role of peacemaker a...

Pembroke's career follows pretty much the same trajectory as Salisbury's. In the beginning of the play, Pembroke is a loyal subject of King John. In the second half of the play (beginning in Act IV...

The Duke of Austria comes to the play with a heavy backstory: he was responsible for the death of Richard the Lionheart. Even though we don't get all the details on how this happened, we get the fe...

Lord Bigot is one of the English lords who rebel against King John in the second half of the play. Like them, he is outraged at the death of young Arthur; like them, he joins forces with Louis, the...

Châtillon is the snooty French messenger who delivers King Philip of France's threatening message to King John in Act I, Scene 1. We hope you didn't get too attached to Châtillon, because he only...

Count Melun is a pretty minor character. He's one of the French lords who join Louis on his invasion of England in Act V of the play. Despite his small role, however, Melun actually plays a pivotal...

Robert Falconbridge (Robert Falconbridge, Jr., to be precise) only appears in one scene of the play: Act I, Scene 1, where he comes before King John to challenge his older brother Philip's claim to...

Lady Falconbridge makes a brief appearance at the end of Act I, Scene 1, where she shows up to challenge all the horrible rumors that have been spread about her. When her son Philip the Bastard tel...

Henry is King John's young son. We don't get to hang out with him until the very last scene of the play, when Shakespeare pulls him out of a magic hat after King John gets sick. Prince Henry shows...

The Earl of Essex is barely a character in the play. He only appears in Act I, Scene 1. There, he is one of the nobles who stand around in King John's throne room. He also announces that two subjec...

Peter of Pomfret is a madman who makes prophecies in the street. One of his prophecies gets him in trouble with the authorities. He predicts that King John will give away his crown by the next Asce...

James Gurney is a friend of Lady Falconbridge who accompanies her to the royal court. Is he her servant? Her lover? A family friend? We don't know. Gurney barely has a chance to introduce himself b...