King Richard IV of England

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This article refers to a fictional TV character, for the pretender to the English throne sometimes referred to by this name, see Perkin Warbeck.

Blackadder character
King Richard IV of England
Nationality	British, some probable French ancestry
Occupation(s)	{{{occupation}}}
First appearance	The Foretelling
Last appearance	The Black Seal
Episode count	6
Played by	Brian Blessed

King Richard IV of England was a fictional character in the first series of the BBC comedy series The Black Adder, played by Brian Blessed. The character is loosely based on Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York (1473-1483?), son of Edward IV, brother to Edward V, who was, it is believed by some, murdered to the political benefit of his uncle, Richard III in 1483.

Richard and his wife Queen consort Gertrude of Flanders have two sons. The eldest is Harry, Prince of Wales, Captain of the Guard, Grand Warden of the Northern and Eastern Marches, Chief Lunatic of the Duchy of Gloucester, Viceroy of Wales, Sheriff of Nottingham, Marquis of the Midlands, Lord Po-Maker in Wardenry, Harbinger of the Doomed Rat (1460–1498), of whom the king is extremely proud. The younger, or 'slimy' son is Prince Edmund (1461-1498), Duke of Edinburgh, Laird of Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles, and Lord Warden of the Royal Privies, of whom the king is oblivious at best, contemptuous at worst. On the few occasions he does recognise his son, he calls him by the wrong name, be it Edgar, Enid, Edward or simply 'The other one'. He once said that comparing Edmund to Harry "is as comparing excrement to cream," a comment that flattered both sons.

According to the series, Richard came to the throne in 1485 after his uncle, Richard III, was accidentally killed by Edmund. He was actually similar to Henry VIII with his large red beard, desire to disestablish the church and his massive appetite (at one point he is seen to eat the back end of a horse). He revels in crusades and once defeated an entire Turkish horde armed only with a small knife used for peeling fruit. Clearly, he despises the Turkish people and once quoted the Bible as saying "Love thy neighbour as thyself. Unless he's Turkish, in which case, kill the bastard!" He once caught the bubonic plague, and went temporarily insane, attacking everyone he saw, believing them to be Turks. He had to be locked in his room for some time. He was known to shout "Chiswick! Fresh horses!" to his courtier Lord Chiswick.

According to the series, Richard, along with the rest of his court, was accidentally poisoned in late December 1498. At this point, Henry Tudor usurped the throne and re-wrote history so that he would be declared the victor of the Battle of Bosworth Field, and the reign of King Richard IV of England would be eradicated from history.

Blessed's performance as the loud, violent, crude, slightly insane king stood out as probably the most amusing and imaginative role in the first Blackadder series.