Dorset, Rivers, and Grey are family members of Queen Elizabeth. Thomas Grey, Marquess of Dorset (Dorset), and Richard Grey (Grey) are Elizabeth’s two sons from her first marriage, while Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers (Rivers) is Elizabeth’s brother. They are disliked by Richard and other members of the nobility because they are perceived to be social climbers who were promoted only because of their relative, Queen Elizabeth. They swear oaths of reconciliation with Richard’s side under the orders of Edward IV but such oaths prove to mean nothing when Richard has Rivers and Grey arrested and executed after Edward’s death and Elizabeth’s subsequent loss of power. Like many of people in the play, they reassert the idea of fate when they refer back to how they were cursed by Queen Margaret as they are taken to be executed during Act 3 Scene 3. Dorset, on the other hand, manages to avoid their situation and flees to Richmond during Act 4 Scene 1 with assistance from Stanley.The ghosts of Rivers and Grey later come back in Act 5 Scene 3 to haunt Richard and to support Richmond.
