'Chatillon, the French ambassador, tells John that King Philip of France supports the claim of Arthur. John declares war on France.'
King John
Richard Coeur de Lion is dead. John, his younger brother, has become king, supported by their mother Queen Eleanor. But there is a rival claim to the throne from Arthur, the son of John's dead brother Geoffrey. Chatillon, the French ambassador, tells John that King Philip of France supports the claim of Arthur. John declares war on France.
Philip the Bastard, supposed eldest son of Lord Falconbridge, arrives at court to settle a claim to his inheritance and is revealed to be the illegitimate son of King Richard. Created Sir Richard Plantagenet, he vows to follow King John to the wars in France.
The English forces meet those supporting Arthur outside the French town of Angiers. While the mothers of the rival claimants subject each other to a torrent of abuse, the citizens of Angiers declare that, as subjects of England, they will recognise only England's rightful king. The English and French armies are about to unite to destroy the town. Peace of a sort is concluded when the citizens suggest that the Dauphin should marry King John's niece Blanche. Delighted with this solution, John offers to create Arthur Earl of Richmond.
Furious at this bargain, Arthur's mother Constance berates John and his ally, the Duke of Austria. Her rage is interrupted by the arrival of the Papal Legate, Pandulph, come to excommunicate John for his refusal to recognise the Archbishop of Canterbury appointed by the Pope. John remains defiant in his repudiation of Papal authority and is excommunicated. Threatened with the same fate, King Philip reneges on his treaty with John. A battle follows, in which the English are victorious and young Arthur is captured. John despatches him to England and secretly charges Hubert to kill the boy. Constance is overwhelmed by grief.
Pandulph encourages the Dauphin to make a claim for the English throne through Blanche, now his wife. Anticipating John's plan to dispose of Arthur, he rightly guesses that this will turn the people against John and unsettle the country.
Hubert is unable to carry out his order to kill Arthur. Instead he hides the boy and announces his death. This news turns the English barons Salisbury and Pembroke against John, who has just attempted to secure their allegiance and his throne by a second coronation. Bad news now arrives from all sides: the Bastard brings word of unrest in the country, the Dauphin has invaded, and John's mother Eleanor is dead.
Learning from Hubert that Arthur is alive, John sees a way of regaining popularity. Almost immediately Arthur is killed in a fall while trying to escape from his prison.
John offers to accept the Pope's authority in the hope that Pandulph will use his influence to stop the French invasion. The Dauphin, however, refuses to give up his claim and has now been joined by the disaffected barons. The armies meet. During the battle Pembroke and Salisbury discover that the Dauphin means to execute them when he has won the throne. Deserting the French, they are reconciled with John.
The French attack falters for lack of reinforcements and the Dauphin withdraws his army, leaving Pandulph to arrange terms for peace. But King John, sick and retiring to a nearby abbey, is poisoned by a monk. At his death-bed the Bastard and newly-returned barons proclaim John's son, Prince Henry, king as Henry III.
