Of the many late-Plantagenet kings portrayed as weak or even despicable by William Shakespeare, none have as good a case for libel as Edward IV (1442-1483; regnal 1461-70, 1471-83): it has long been believed by many historians and literary scholars that Shakespeare contributed, if late in the game, to an orchestrated campaign to justify the Tudor coup of 1485. Even a hundred years after the fact, the Tudor establishment encouraged stories about the weakness and depravity of the late-Plantagenet monarchs in order to justify the invasion by Henry VII (1457-1509, regnal 1485-1509) and his establishment of the Tudor line. Whether Shakespeare was a deliberate propagandist, or whether he simply based his great historical dramas on propagandist sources, cannot be established with certainty. In either case, his portrait of King Edward predominates over the real historical...
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Citation: Dougherty, David C.. "Reign of King Edward IV". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 January 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=618, accessed 09 June 2026.]
