Henry VI Part 1

Edmund Mortimer, Plantagenet’s uncle, has been in prison for years, since the time of Henry IV (Henry V’s father). Mortimer is now on the verge of death, so weak he cannot stand. As he prepares to die in his cell, Mortimer asks to see his nephew. Mortimer is relieved that the jail’s warden will permit him this visit, though he is angry that Henry IV and Henry V have denied him and his descendants their rightful titles.

Plantagenet arrives, and Mortimer embraces him (though he is so frail that it is difficult to do so). As Plantagenet supports his uncle’s aging body, he catches Mortimer up on the feud with Somerset, emphasizing the insulting way that Somerset talked about Plantagenet’s father. Still, Plantagenet cannot help but wonder why his father was really executed—and why his uncle is still in prison. Before Mortimer dies, Plantagenet is desperate to learn the truth. 

With a pained sigh, Mortimer explains: after King Edward III died, his grandson King Richard II took over, as Richard was the “first begotten and the lawful heir.” But King Henry IV deposed Richard, claiming the throne for himself and his descendants. Many old English nobles resented this power grab, so they sought to replace Henry IV with Mortimer (himself also a great-grandson of Edward III).

When Henry IV learned of the plan to install Mortimer as king, he had Mortimer jailed. Years later, Plantagenet’s father Richard, Earl of Cambridge, gathered an army, hoping to avenge his brother Mortimer. But Henry V successfully put down the rebellion, then ordered Plantagenet’s father to be executed for treason. Shocked to learn the truth, Plantagenet responds that his father’s execution was nothing but a form of “bloody tyranny.”

Quietly, Mortimer hints to Plantagenet that he is the rightful heir to the throne. But though Mortimer wants his nephew to eventually seize power, he also urges caution, telling Plantagenet to be “wary” of the courtiers and “politic” in his dealings with the new king, Henry VI. With his dying breath, Mortimer tells Plantagenet not to mourn his death, but to revenge his life. Mortimer then dies, and Plantagenet vows to “redress” the wrongs his ancestors have suffered. But first, Plantagenet decides, he must go after Somerset, forcing the duke to answer for his insults.