The BBC Television Shakespeare
The First Part of Henry the Sixth
Episode Synopsis
Following the death of his father, Henry V, the young Henry VI is proclaimed king under the protectorship of his uncles, the Dukes of Gloucester and Exeter. There is conflict between Gloucester and his long-term rival, the Bishop of Winchester. Richard Plantagenet, having established a claim to the throne through the Mortimer line of his family, declares his animosity towards the Duke of Somerset. Charles the Dauphin, fortified by his alliance with Joan la Pucelle (Joan of Arc), dominates the battles in France. An uneasy peace is concluded between England and France, and Gloucester engineers a politically astute marriage between Henry and the Earl of Armagnac's daughter. Meanwhile, in France, Suffolk woos Margaret, daughter of the Duke of Anjou, to be Henry's queen and in order to gain her father's consent cedes the newly conquered French territories of Anjou and Maine. Suffolk persuades Henry, against opposition from the court, to marry Margaret and make her Queen of England.
