Richard Duke of Gloucester, youngest brother of King Edward IV, will stop at nothing to get the crown. He first convinces the ailing King that the Duke of Clarence, his elder brother, is a threat to the lives of Edward's two young sons. Edward has him imprisoned in the Tower of London; killers in Richard's pay then drown Clarence in a barrel of wine. When news of Clarence's death reaches the King, the subsequent grief and remorse bring about his death. Richard is made Lord Protector, with power to rule England while his nephew (now King Edward V) is still a minor. Before the young king's coronation he has his two nephews conveyed to the Tower, ostensibly for their safekeeping. Richard's accomplice, the Duke of Buckingham, then declares the two boys illegitimate and offers Richard the crown, which after a show of reticence he accepts. After Richard's coronation, he and Buckingham have a falling-out over whether or not to assassinate the two children.
Richard III
King Henry VI
Duke of Buckingham
Queen Margaret
First Murderer
Lady Anne
First Citizen / Sir James Tyrrel
King Edward IV
Sir Richard Ratcliffe
Sir William Catesby
Jane Shore
Earl Rivers
Queen Elizabeth
Lord Grey / Lord Mayor of London
Duchess of York
Lord Hastings
Second Citizen / First Messenger / Earl of Richmond
Young Duke of York
Stanley, Earl of Derby / Archbishop of York
Sir Robert Brackenbury / Earl of Surrey
Edward, Prince of Wales
Second Murderer / Sir Thomas Vaughan
Marquess of Dorset
George, Duke of Clarence
Lady Margaret Plantagenet
Page to Richard
Halberdier / Lord Lovell
Ghost of Prince of Wales
Edward Plantagenet
Duke of Norfolk