Lancaster Bros

Yay, bad titles!  Family picture time!  King Henry IV's four sons:  Henry, John, Humphrey, and Thomas.

<sub>Prince Henry Monmouth  (Prince Hal/ King Henry V):  Originally seen as a good-for-nothing irresponsible teenager, Hal amazingly whips himself into shape upon the rebellion against Henry IV led by the house of Percy.  Throughout the duration of the play Henry IV, Hal grows from an immature boy to an heir capable of defending his claim to the crown.  Throughout the duration of the play Henry V, he proves to be a deft military leader and orator, but also awkward and shy around pretty ladies.  Hal (Henry V) was not only able to acquire much land from the French before his death in 1422, but also rally Welsh, Irish, and Scots to his cause as well as English soldiers, allowing him title of one of England's great warrior kings.  Henry V is also very focused on his independence, as he makes sure to keep the influence of his nobles from swaying his hand.

Lord John of Lancaster (Duke of Bedford):  John is shown to be relatively close to Henry and confident soldier.  However, for his bravery in battle, he also is not above using borderline illegal methods of getting his opponents to submit, like talking rebels into laying down their arms right before arresting them of treason.  In the plays Henry V and Henry VI, John redeems himself by proving a loyal subject and brother to Henry and Humphrey.  John dies of sickness at Rouen while the English take the castle back from the French.

Humphrey, Duke of Gloster (Gloucester):  While taking on a relatively small role in Henry IV, Humphrey is characterized as a faithful subject to his brother Henry V, when he restarts the Hundred Years' War in France.  Humphrey's larger role doesn't appear until Henry VI, where he serves as regent for his nephew, the nine-month-old king, Henry VI.  It is here where his strained relationship with his uncle Cardinal Winchester is established, and over the course of part 1 and 2 they become heated enemies.  In part 2, under the plot of Winchester and other hostiles in the court, Humphrey is immediately arrested for treason after giving up control of the the country to the grown-up Henry VI, against the protest of the King.  Henry VI insists on a fair trial for his uncle, but on the day of the trial, Humphrey is found dead, murdered in his sleep by the Duke of Suffolk.

Thomas, Duke of Clarence:  Thomas shows up briefly in Henry IV, where he is shown to be genuinely concerned about the well-being of his family, especially his father, Henry IV, whose sickness causes him to revert to worst-case-scenario thinking (even though he does die in the same scene).  Thomas is left out of Henry V, possibly alluding to his forgotten place in history, where he was killed in battle protecting English holds on France after the truce made by Henry V's marriage to Katherine.  It was suspected that Thomas, after missing Agincourt due to sickness, was desperate to make a strong military presence like Henry V, and died trying to get out of his brother's shadow.</sub>



I based their looks and personalities on the Shakespeare versions of the characters, so they're not completely historically accurate (even though I kinda had to look up actual history for Thomas).

Enjoy~