Original: My Lord of Suffolk, say, is this the guise,
Modern: Lord Suffolk, tell me, is this the custom here,

Original: Is this the fashion in the court of England?
Modern: Is this how things are done in the English court?

Original: Is this the government of Britain’s isle,
Modern: Is this how Britain is ruled,

Original: And this the royalty of Albion’s king?
Modern: And is this the majesty of England’s king?

Original: What shall King Henry be a pupil still
Modern: Must King Henry remain a student forever

Original: Under the surly Gloucester’s governance?
Modern: Under the control of that grumpy Gloucester?

Original: Am I a queen in title and in style,
Modern: Am I only a queen in name and appearance,

Original: And must be made a subject to a duke?
Modern: But forced to take orders from a duke?

Original: I tell thee, Pole, when in the city Tours
Modern: I’m telling you, Pole, when you were in the city of Tours

Original: Thou ran’st a tilt in honour of my love
Modern: And you jousted in the tournament to honor me

Original: And stolest away the ladies’ hearts of France,
Modern: And you stole the hearts of all the French ladies,

Original: I thought King Henry had resembled thee
Modern: I assumed King Henry would be like you

Original: In courage, courtship and proportion:
Modern: In bravery, romance, and appearance:

Original: But all his mind is bent to holiness,
Modern: But all he cares about is being holy,

Original: To number Ave-Maries on his beads;
Modern: Counting Hail Marys on his rosary beads;

Original: His champions are the prophets and apostles,
Modern: His heroes are the prophets and apostles,

Original: His weapons holy saws of sacred writ,
Modern: His weapons are religious sayings from the Bible,

Original: His study is his tilt-yard, and his loves
Modern: His library is his jousting arena, and what he loves

Original: Are brazen images of canonized saints.
Modern: Are bronze statues of saints.

Original: I would the college of the cardinals
Modern: I wish the group of cardinals

Original: Would choose him pope, and carry him to Rome,
Modern: Would elect him pope and take him to Rome,

Original: And set the triple crown upon his head:
Modern: And place the papal crown on his head:

Original: That were a state fit for his holiness.
Modern: That would be a position suited to his religious devotion.

In Act I, Scene 3 of “Henry VI, Part 2,” the scene opens at the palace where several nobles gather, including the Duke of Gloucester, Cardinal Beaufort, the Duke of Somerset, the Duke of Buckingham, and the Earl of Salisbury. The scene revolves around mounting political tensions and accusations against the Duke of Gloucester, who serves as Lord Protector. Cardinal Beaufort and the other nobles express their distrust of Gloucester’s power and influence over King Henry VI, plotting together to undermine his position. They discuss their grievances and strategize about how to remove him from his role, each revealing their own ambitions and concerns about the current state of the kingdom.

The scene continues with the arrival of Queen Margaret, who also harbors deep resentment toward Gloucester and his wife, the Duchess Eleanor. The Queen joins forces with the Cardinal and other nobles in their antagonism toward the Protector. Suffolk enters and reports that the Irish have risen in rebellion, which provides the conspirators with an opportunity to further their plans against Gloucester. The scene establishes the dangerous political landscape surrounding King Henry’s court, with various factions maneuvering for power while Gloucester remains unaware of the extent of the conspiracy forming against him. The nobles agree to meet again to advance their schemes, setting in motion the conflicts that will drive much of the play’s action.

Henry VI, Part II opens with King Henry VI’s marriage to Margaret of Anjou, which was arranged as part of a peace treaty with France. The marriage proves politically disastrous, as Henry has agreed to surrender Maine and Anjou to France and provide no dowry, angering the English nobles. The Duke of Gloucester, Henry’s uncle and Lord Protector, opposes the marriage terms, while Cardinal Beaufort and the Duke of Suffolk, who arranged the marriage, work to undermine Gloucester’s influence. Queen Margaret quickly emerges as an ambitious figure who resents Gloucester’s power and begins plotting against him alongside Suffolk and other nobles.

The central conflict develops around the destruction of Gloucester, known as “Good Duke Humphrey.” Through a series of machinations involving his wife Eleanor’s involvement with conjurers and fortune-tellers, Gloucester is stripped of his position as Lord Protector. Eleanor is banished after being convicted of witchcraft, leaving Gloucester vulnerable. Margaret, Suffolk, Cardinal Beaufort, and others conspire to have Gloucester arrested on charges of treason. Before he can defend himself in trial, Gloucester is murdered in his bed, likely on Suffolk’s orders, shocking King Henry and the common people who loved Gloucester.

The aftermath of Gloucester’s murder destabilizes the realm further. Suffolk is banished by Henry after popular outcry against him, but he is captured and killed by pirates during his exile. Cardinal Beaufort dies tormented by guilt over Gloucester’s death. Meanwhile, Jack Cade leads a popular rebellion in Kent, claiming to be John Mortimer and demanding justice for the common people. Cade’s forces march on London, causing chaos and executing several nobles and officials before the rebellion is eventually suppressed. The play concludes with the return of Richard, Duke of York, from Ireland with an army, ostensibly to remove the remaining “traitors” around the king but actually to press his own claim to the throne, setting the stage for the Wars of the Roses that will dominate the final play in the trilogy.