King Edward IV is the brother of Clarence and Richard. Prior to the events of the play, he was involved in the overthrow of the Lancasters after he deposed Henry VI as king, twice (Henry VI was briefly re-established on the throne after an uprising by Warwick that was assisted by Clarence). Edward mistrusts Clarence, because Clarence has betrayed him in the past, and has him locked up due to the prophecy that somebody with the name of “G” will kill his children. He is shown to be a noble king who wishes for reconciliation between the opposing sides of Elizabeth and Richard, ordering them to swear vows of love to each other as he approaches the end of his life. He is distraught when he learns of Clarence’s death and Richard’s duplicity is shown to the audience again when he successfully fools Edward into believing that Clarence’s death came about because his order to reverse Clarence’s death sentence didn’t reach the prison in time. Edwards’s cries of anguish recounting all the good memories he had of Clarence only serve to reinforce Richard’s wickedness as, the audience knows that Richard was the one who had Clarence murdered.
