Henry VI, Pt. 2 recap

Henry VI's marriage to Margaret of Anjou strengthens Suffolk while increasing resentment over England's losses in France. Court rivals unite against the popular Protector Gloucester. His ambitious wife Eleanor is convicted of seeking supernatural predictions, and Gloucester is stripped of office, arrested, and murdered. Suffolk is banished for his role and killed at sea; Cardinal Beaufort dies tormented by guilt. York, whose hereditary claim is stronger than Henry's, is sent to suppress unrest in Ireland and secretly uses Jack Cade to test rebellion at home. Cade's populist rising seizes London but collapses after royal pardons draw away his followers, and Alexander Iden kills him. York then returns with an army. When his demand that Somerset be removed is frustrated, he openly claims the crown. The factions meet at Saint Albans, where Yorkists kill Somerset and Clifford and force Henry and Margaret to flee. Political intrigue has become the Wars of the Roses.

Previously, Henry V's infant son inherited the crowns of England and France as Henry VI. English nobles governed during his minority while fighting to preserve his father's conquests. Joan of Arc helped restore the French cause; the English heroes Talbot and his son died in battle, and much of France was lost. Rival English factions hardened around Richard, Duke of York, and the supporters of Lancaster. Suffolk captured Margaret of Anjou and arranged her marriage to Henry without a dowry, secretly agreeing to surrender Anjou and Maine. The match gives Suffolk influence over the new queen as England begins this play divided abroad and at court.

Suffolk presents Margaret to Henry, who is delighted with his new queen. Gloucester is alarmed that the marriage settlement gives up Anjou and Maine, while other nobles blame him for England's decline in France. Margaret dislikes Gloucester's wife Eleanor and quickly identifies Gloucester's protectorship as a limit on her own power. Suffolk, the cardinal, York, Somerset, and Buckingham form a loose coalition to bring him down, though they have competing ambitions. Eleanor dreams of royalty and is encouraged by Hume to consult practitioners of magic, unaware that her enemies are financing the trap. A petitioner's complaint about Suffolk exposes the strain beneath the formal welcome. Separately, York explains to Salisbury and Warwick that his descent through the Mortimer line gives him a better hereditary title than Henry. They agree to support him but decide to proceed cautiously while the other factions weaken one another.

During a royal gathering at Saint Albans, Gloucester exposes Saunder Simpcox, who has pretended that a shrine cured his blindness. The episode reinforces Gloucester's reputation for practical justice but cannot protect his household. Eleanor attends a forbidden ceremony seeking prophecies about the king and leading nobles; Buckingham and York interrupt it and arrest her. York then sets out his claim to Salisbury and Warwick in detail, securing their allegiance. In the trial by combat between the armorer Horner and his apprentice Peter, the frightened Peter wins after the drunken Horner admits the treasonous words attributed to him. Eleanor is sentenced to public penance and banishment. Gloucester must surrender his office as Protector and watches his disgraced wife depart. With his political authority gone, the court faction can move directly against him.

At Parliament in Bury St Edmunds, Margaret and her allies accuse Gloucester of corruption and treason. Henry weakly permits his arrest, though Gloucester denies the charges and recognizes that his enemies intend his death. Suffolk arranges for hired killers to murder him in custody. When the body is produced, Warwick points to signs of violence, and public anger turns against Suffolk. Henry banishes Suffolk, forcing an anguished separation between him and Margaret. At sea, pirates capture Suffolk and execute him; his severed head is later delivered to the queen. Cardinal Beaufort dies in terror and apparent remorse, further associating Gloucester's destruction with guilt. York is ordered to lead an army against rebellion in Ireland. Before leaving, he reveals his plan to have Jack Cade stir disorder in England under a false claim of Mortimer descent, allowing York to measure support and return with troops when the government is weakest.

Jack Cade leads a rising in Kent, presenting himself as the rightful Mortimer heir and promising his followers abundant food, cheap goods, and the destruction of literacy, law, and inherited rank. The rebels defeat royal forces led by the Staffords and enter London. They kill Lord Saye and his son-in-law, and Cade attempts to rule through arbitrary commands. The city turns into a battleground as loyalists resist. Buckingham and Clifford finally offer pardons in Henry's name and appeal to memories of Henry V, causing most of Cade's followers to abandon him. Cade escapes hungry into the garden of Alexander Iden, attacks the landowner, and is killed. Iden takes Cade's head to the king. The immediate revolt ends, but its success has exposed the government's weakness just as York prepares to return from Ireland with an army of his own.

York lands with troops and says he seeks only the removal of Somerset, using that demand to avoid an immediate charge of treason. Buckingham assures him that Somerset is confined, and York briefly dismisses his army. When Margaret and Somerset then appear together, York declares his royal title openly. Salisbury and Warwick join him; Margaret, Clifford, and Somerset defend Henry. At the first battle of Saint Albans, York kills the elder Clifford, and York's son Richard kills Somerset. Warwick breaks the Lancastrian defenses and the Yorkists win. Henry, Margaret, and their surviving allies flee toward London. Young Clifford discovers his father's corpse and swears vengeance not only on York's fighting men but on his entire family. York's party pursues the king, determined to press the claim before the Lancastrians can regroup. The play ends as court rivalry becomes open civil war between the houses of York and Lancaster.

York returns from Ireland with an army, initially claiming that he seeks only the removal of Somerset. When Somerset appears despite reports that he was imprisoned, York openly asserts his right to the crown. The rival houses gather their supporters and fight at Saint Albans. York kills the elder Clifford, while York's son Richard kills Somerset. Warwick's forces break through, and the defeated King Henry and Queen Margaret flee toward London. Young Clifford finds his father's body and vows revenge against the whole house of York. York, Salisbury, Warwick, and their allies pursue the royal party, intending to press York's claim before Henry can recover. Cade's revolt has failed, but the deeper conflict York cultivated now becomes an open dynastic war.