Characters

The cast of King John

The people who make King John move — what they want, who they love, who they hate, and how each one fits the story. Tap any name to read more.

Geoffrey Plantagenet (father, deceased); Constance (mother); King John (uncle)s

Arthur Plantagenet

Young claimant to the English throne; victim of political violence · child (historically ~15, dramatically presented as much younger)

Illegitimate son of King Richard I (Coeur-de-lion) and Lady Faulconbridge; half-brother to Robert Faulconbridges

The Bastard (Philip Falconbridge, later Sir Richard Plantagenet)

The play's truth-teller and moral axis—illegitimate son of King Richard I, knight, and voice of clear-eyed realism · Young man

Niece to King John; daughter of an unnamed alliances

Blanche of Spain

Bride caught between warring families; political pawn undone by contradiction · Young, recently married

Geoffrey (husband, deceased); Arthur (son)s

Constance

Arthur's mother; a widow fighting for her son's claim with eloquence and grief · widow

Son of Henry II; brother of Richard I (deceased); uncle to Arthurs

King John

Clouded monarch whose weakness undoes his kingdom · Middle-aged

Father to Lewis (the Dauphin)s

King Philip of France

French sovereign and Arthur's champion; a king swayed by ambition, religion, and self-interest · Middle-aged, established ruler

Son of King Philip of Frances

Lewis, the Dauphin of France

Young prince of France, caught between duty to his father and ambition for England · Young man

{"relation":"Son","to":"king-john"}s

Prince Henry

Young heir to the English throne; symbol of hope and renewal after chaos · Young, untested

son; recognizes as Richard's sons

Queen Elinor

King John's mother and political strategist; Eleanor of Aquitaine

English peerages

Lord Salisbury

English nobleman; voice of moral conscience and grief over Arthur's death

Other characters

Hubert

A loyal servant of King John, ordered to commit an atrocity; the play's moral pivot

Cardinal Pandulph

Papal legate and voice of Rome's authority; a master of equivocation who bends language to serve power

Pembroke

English nobleman and voice of the realm's conscience

Austria

Duke of Austria; military ally of France against King John

First Citizen of Angiers

Voice of the besieged town; neutral arbiter between warring kings

Messenger

Herald of news; bearer of tidings from the French wars and the court

Lord Bigot

English nobleman and rebel; voice of moral outrage

Chatillon

French ambassador; messenger of King Philip's demands
In the app

Hear every line of King John, narrated.

Synced read-along narration: every character's voice, words highlighting as they're spoken — so you never lose a line.

Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play