Point #1: The historical queen does actually have a name: Isabella of Valois. The only problem is she would have been about 10 years old at the time of Richard's deposition. Richard's first wife, Anne of Bohemia, died five years earlier. Anne was, by all accounts, a moderating force on the more capricious Richard, with whom she had a warm relationship. Since neither Dead Anne nor Toddler Isabella fulfilled Shakespeare's need for a tragic queen figure, he invented Nameless Queen a.k.a. Technically Isabella But Older.
Point #2: Northumberland shows up again in Henry IV parts 1 and 2, and is totally shocked when Richard's prophecy here turns out to be accurate.
This is the first of two York Family scenes, both of which I find adorable and hilarious.
This is one of those instances when a cartoon can't actually improve upon the adorableness and humor of the source material.
Here we get our first mention of Bolingbroke's son, also named Henry, and his burgeoning reputation as a bit of a wastrel. You'll see a lot more of him when I get around to doing Henry IV parts 1 and 2, not to mention Henry V.
Tomorrow we'll stop by Pomfret Castle and see how Richard is faring in captivity (spoiler alert: not very well).
Richard II
Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10