The Lion in Winter - Characters

Characters

• Henry II, King of England (Male, 50) - In his time, at 50, men were either infirm or dead, yet Henry is still very nearly as vital as he ever was. His manipulations of family and others are portrayed as spontaneous and emotional as opposed to the well-thought out stratagems of Eleanor, and the cold, calculating machinations of Geoffrey.
• Queen Eleanor (Female, 61) - Eleanor is the wife of Henry and a beautiful woman of great temperament, authority and presence. She has been a queen for nearly 46 years and while possessing feminine qualities, she is thoroughly capable of holding her own in a man's world. She schemes against Henry and intensely loves him at the same time. She has contempt for her children but is not willing to see them harmed.
• John (Male, 16) - He is the youngest son of Henry and Eleanor. He is sulky and sullen, with a boyish outlook on his position; many in the play describe him as a spoiled brat. He is described in the play as pimply and smelling of compost. He is Henry's favourite, but also the weakest. He constantly vacillates throughout the play, not out of cleverness, but out of fear and weakness. He is easily tricked and manipulated by Geoffrey.
• Geoffrey (Male, 25) - He is a son of Henry and Eleanor, and a man of energy and action. He is attractive, charming and the "brains" of the family; he is also a cold, amoral schemer. His view of himself is of one who yearned greatly for the love of his parents while receiving none. Yet, the play leaves open to question whether any of Henry's three sons should be thought to have been truly loved by either Henry or Eleanor and not merely used by King and Queen as pawns in their ceaseless scheming against one another.
• Richard the Lionheart (Male, 26) - The eldest son of Henry and Eleanor, he is handsome, graceful and impressive. He has been a famous soldier since his middle teens. War is his profession and he is good at it. He is easily the strongest and toughest of the three sons/princes. Richard and Philip Capet have been sexually involved prior to the action of the play. However, Philip declares that he participated in the affair purely for political purposes, whereas Richard indicates he had genuine affection for Philip.
• Alais Capet (Female, 23) - She is beautiful and in love with Henry. Everyone underestimates her intellect and power. She is initially portrayed as innocent, but by the end of the play has begun to acquire a ruthless streak of her own, insisting that Henry imprison his three sons for the rest of their lives in the dungeon.
• Philip II, King of France (Male, 18) - He has been King of France for three years. He is not initially as accomplished as Henry in manipulating people, but seems to acquire greater skills at this during the play. He is impressive and handsome without being pretty.