
Illuminated initial letter showing Henry IV from the records of the Duchy of Lancaster, c.1402, The National Archives UK
Henry IV (also known as Henry Bolingbroke) was king of England from 1399-1413. His father was John of Gaunt, and his mother was John’s first wife, Blanche of Lancaster (so he wasn’t from the illegitimate line). Henry was involved in a rebellion against the current king, Richard II (his cousin); ten years later, he led another one, this time successful, and Henry became king.

Most of Henry’s reign saw him, ironically, dealing with rebellions. He had all of his legitimate children with his first wife, Mary de Bohun, before coming to the throne (she died before he became king), including his eventual successor, Henry V. After becoming king, he married Joan of Navarre, but their only children were stillborn.

Let’s look at Henry IV in historical films and TV series!
As always, there are several productions for which I can’t find images:
- Ralph Truman in Richard of Bordeaux (1938)
- Clement McCallin in The Tragedy of King Richard IIÂ (1950)
- Kent Smith in Richard IIÂ (1954)
- Erik Hell in Henrik IV (1964)
- Hartmut Reck in König Richard II (1968)
- Sándor Lukács in II. Richárd (1976)
- Michael Cronin in The Wars of the Roses (1989)
- Nikolai Lavrov in Richard Vtoroi (1992)
- Richard Bremmer in Richard IIÂ (1997)
- Liam Brennan in Richard II (2003)
- Carl Wharton in Henry IV – Part 2 (2012)
Ian Keith in The Black Shield of Falworth (1954)
An American historical adventure feature film. “Peasant Myles Falworth is trained for knighthood and is groomed by various nobles to defeat the evil Earl of Alban who’s plotting to usurp King Henry IV’s throne,” per IMDB.

John Arnatt in Richard of Bordeaux (1955)
A romanticized play written in 1932 about Richard II.

Tom Fleming in An Age of Kings (1960)
A BBC series televising Shakespeare’s history plays. Henry features prominently in, obviously, Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2, but also plays a big role in Richard II.

John Gielgud in Chimes at Midnight (1965)
A historical comedy drama directed by Orson Welles, who took characters and dialogue from Shakespeare to rework them into his own telling of the reign of Henry IV and Henry V from the perspective of Falstaff.


Timothy West in The Tragedy of King Richard IIÂ (1970)
A BBC television version of the Shakespeare play.

Jon Finch in Richard II (1978)
Part of the “The BBC Television Shakespeare” series.


Jon Finch in Henry IV: Part I and Henry IV: Part II (1979)
More from “The BBC Television Shakespeare” series.

Ronald Pickup in Henry IV (1995)
More BBC TV Shakespeare!


Jeremy Irons in The Hollow Crown (2012)
Don’t freak out, but it’s BBC TV Shakespeare!



Rory Kinnear in The Hollow Crown (2012)
You guessed already right?

Ben Mendelsohn in The King (2019)
A feature film that’s based on several of Shakespeare’s plays.

What’s your favorite portrayal of King Henry IV on screen?
There’s something amusingly metafictional about Mr Jeremy Irons being cast as Henry IV when his son Mr Max Irons was cast as Edward IV (Albeit in different productions), given that it was the latter who seized the throne from the House of Lancaster and brought the bloodline of Henry IV to an abrupt end.
I noticed that Rufus Sewell is in the 1995 TV version. I’m surprised that Trystan didn’t make you make note of it.
I quite liked Jon Finch in the role, and the idea of Jeremy Irons in anything is always a draw. Coincidentally, I just finished a long, densely researched and very fine book, “The Eagle and the Hart” (Helen Castor), about Richard II and Henry IV. Richard was almost Trumpian with his insistence on a performative kingship: “I’m not here to take constructive action, guys; I’m god’s anointed and you will adore me because I’m special.” Very glad Henry stepped in; he was sane and understood governing and good lordship and all that medieval stuff.
That boom is on my TBR list. Happy to see another great review. I’m currently reading Dan Jones’s book on Henry V.
*book
Timothy West is the man in blue to the left of Ian McKellan in the 1970 production. And that’s the lovely Derek Jacobi in the 1978 production. I loved The Hollow Crown, mostly because of the glorious Rufus Sewell! I’m dying to see that Ben Mendelsohn portrayal, since he is such a versatie actor.
Please forgive me, but I don’t believe that Mr Sewell actually appeared in THE HOLLOW CROWN – you may be thinking of Mr Jeremy Irons instead.