What characteristics of monarchy emerge from a study of the English history plays of William Shakespeare?

Monarchy and kingship is a subject that appears to have fascinated Shakespeare, and in his history plays it is apparent that he is commenting on what he considered to be the notion of kingship, concentrating largely on characteristics such as the divine right of kings and the manner in which individual monarchs exploited this belief to their own ends. Starting from the deposition of Richard II, through the 100 years of civil strife, and culminating with …

…King Richard II, 1984, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Shakespeare, William, King Henry IV part 1, 1997, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Shakespeare, William, King Henry IV part 2, 1999, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Shakespeare, William, King Henry V, 1992, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Shakespeare, William, King Henry VI part 1, 1984, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Shakespeare, William, King Henry VI part 2, 1984, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Shakespeare, William, King Henry VI part 3, 1984, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Shakespeare, William, King Richard III, 1999, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge