A watercolour sketch: the body of Richard II, draped in black cloth, is presented to King Henry IV. On the right, the king stands before his throne on a carpeted pedestal, one hand reaching out toward the crowd gathered in the hall. He is flanked by two children in blue and white outfits. A group of clergymen stand on the far left, including a bishop in a mitre. A soldier in armour kneels before the throne. Behind him is the black-draped bier, decorated with the English flag and royal arms. A row of pallbearers in black and grey stand on the far left. In the background, a row of courtiers and soldiers stand along the far wall, interspersed with banners bearing the royal arms. The scene takes place in a vaulted hall with a row of arched windows along the far wall. Around the top edges of the image a red theatrical curtain can be seen.
Image: A watercolour sketch: the body of Richard II, draped in black cloth, is presented to King Henry IV. On the right, the king stands before his throne on a carpeted pedestal, one hand reaching out toward the crowd gathered in the hall. He is flanked by two children in blue and white outfits. A group of clergymen stand on the far left, including a bishop in a mitre. A soldier in armour kneels before the throne. Behind him is the black-draped bier, decorated with the English flag and royal arms. A row of pallbearers in black and grey stand on the far left. In the background, a row of courtiers and soldiers stand along the far wall, interspersed with banners bearing the royal arms. The scene takes place in a vaulted hall with a row of arched windows along the far wall. Around the top edges of the image a red theatrical curtain can be seen.

Grieve’s concept sketch for the final scene of Richard II shows that he and Kean had made the decision to set this scene in St George’s Hall, a room of medieval origin at Windsor Castle.

This scene is unusual in the play in that Shakespeare does not assign it a specific setting, but in Shakespeare's source - Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicles - it is suggested that the appropriate location would be the Tower of London.

However, the choice had particular resonance in this production's very first staging, which took place in St George's Hall itself: a scaled-down performance staged as part of Victoria and Albert's recurring private theatricals held at Windsor during the winter months. In this medieval space, the play's sense of history, and its interest in Victoria's distant ancestors, came to the fore.

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