Henry IV Part 1

Prince John

John of Lancaster is Hal’s little brother, and though we don’t see much of him, he is apparently a valiant fighter who impresses both Hal and Henry at Shrewsbury, and even holds his own against Hotspur in battle. However, in 15th century England, the early bird gets the worm and the first born son gets the glory, so despite being the good son who doesn’t stay out all night drinking at the tavern, John is relegated to being secondary in every sense to the primogenital prince, Hal.

Westmoreland

The Earl of Westmoreland is one of King Henry’s most loyal men. He leads the royal army and remains by the king’s side throughout much of the play. At the end, he is told to ride with Prince John to find some of the most important remaining rebels: Northumberland and the Archbishop. In some ways, Westmoreland can be seen as a mirror image of Worcester, in that he almost functions as the king’s trusted brother, and uncle to John and Hal. However, where Worcester betrays the king by abandoning him in favour of his brother Northumberland, Westmoreland is steadfast in his support, and is rewarded with even greater responsibilities after the battle.

Sir Walter Blunt

Blunt is loyal to King Henry and even fights in the kings uniform at the Battle of Shrewsbury. His function in the play is largely a messenger, and he is charged with delivering Henry’s offer of grace to the rebels, which is promptly rejected by Hotspur.
At the battle, Blunt is one of the men Henry dresses in royal clothing so as to confuse their enemies (and it works!). This process of “counterfeiting,” aside from being a cunning political tactic, is also symbolic for how even a minor character like Blunt can seem like a king in their outward appearance.

Sir Richard Vernon

Vernon is aligned with the rebels and is complicit in Worcester’s plan to withhold important information from Hotspur because both men agree that he is “too wilfulblame” and “hare-brained” to be trusted. However, this is ultimately to their detriment, and he is put to death by King Henry for his part in the rebellion. Vernon is one of the more rational politicians in the play, but he is unable to outmanoeuvre the more effective role-players like Hal and Henry.

Lady Kate Percy

Kate is Hotspur’s (presumably long-suffering) wife who, to her credit, seems to genuinely love her husband in spite of his flaws. She does her best to dote on him, but he diminishes her at every turn – she asks about the battle and he tells her she’s too much of a woman to understand; she asks him to be a loving, chivalrous knight and he explicitly tells her he doesn’t love her; she tries to playfully flirt with him but he either ignores her or just doesn’t realise what’s going on because he’s fantasising about a battle! Their relationship is plagued by an inability to communicate their desires, which is all the more ironic when juxtaposed with Mortimer and Lady Mortimer.

Some readings of the play also interpret Hotspur’s deliberate distancing from his wife as a product of his fear of emasculation. In Hotspur’s mind, emotional or sexual intimacy with Kate would jeopardise his very manly fortitude.
Either way, Kate’s underlying affections for Hotspur make her an unwitting victim of his recklessness, and his death will leave her no recourse but to grieve his loss in Part 2.

Lady Mortimer

Lady Mortimer is also very, very Welsh. She speaks no English but is consumed with love for her English husband, Mortimer, and communicates with him via her father, Glendower. She does not have any lines in the play aside from her singing, but she functions to highlight dimensions of Hotspur and Kate’s characters and relationship.

Poins

Poins is Hal’s right-hand man during his time at the tavern, and the two
conspire to deceive Falstaff after the robbery in Act 2.

Bardolph, Peto, and Gadshill

These men are all tavern reprobates who are intimated to be liars, drunks, and thieves. They represent the “base contagious clouds” that Hal uses to seemingly “smother up” his brilliance in the early scenes, and though Hal seems to have a good rapport with them, engaging in witty persiflage, he ultimately abandons them when the time comes and he takes on his more princely demeanour.

Francis

Francis is a drawer (i.e. a servant) at the tavern. He is also often played as an affable idiot – a “puny” lower-class boy who struggles to count his own age, and so is essentially an innocent. Hence, Hal’s messing about with him could be interpreted as a kind of exploitation as this wealthy, highly educated prince dangles promises of wealth in front of a poor servant just to amuse himself. But his scene is also an example of how effortlessly Hal can manipulate others into loving him.

Archbishop of York and Sir Michael

These two men are only seen briefly in Act 4 Scene 4. They are supporters of Northumberland (and will pay the price for this in Part 2!) so try to warn Hotspur about the reality of his situation – his allies have abandoned him and the king is far more powerful than they once thought now that Hal is by his side. But Hotspur doesn’t want to hear it; he completely ignores the letter that Sir Michael rushed to deliver in favour of running head-first into battle. This mostly just underscores the hot-headed intemperance of Hotspur, but also hints at how well-intentioned or respected figures now have a diminishing role in this new world of Realpolitik.

King Richard II

Though he makes no appearance in this play, having been killed in the prequel, the spectre of King Richard II metaphorically looms over King Henry in this text. Though Henry didn’t technically kill Richard, he all but instructed one of his men to do the deed, later claiming that he knew nothing of such plans. Some of the rebels give us conflicting accounts about how they viewed Richard, with Hotspur glorifying the rightful king and expressing bitterness over the circumstances of his deposition and death. But most of the focus on Richard comes from Henry, who draws repeated contrasts between himself and the “skipping king” who “ambled up and down / With shallow jesters and rash bavin wits” and “mingled his royalty with cap’ring fools,” most notably in Act 3 Scene 2 when Henry warns Hal not to take his position for granted. Richard’s death is also likely a contributing factor to Henry’s irrepressible guilt, manifesting as a desire to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem so that he may atone for the sin of killing a king.