Richard III (1699 play) success with leading actors such as David Garrick playing Richard III. The Shakespeare renaissance of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries deprecated modifications of Shakespeare's plots. Cibber's adaptation could not stand comparison with Shakespearean originals, and has rarely been staged since. The play opens in the reign of King Edward IV before it represents the reign of King Richard III during the Wars of the Roses. The end of the play reflects the accession to the throne of the Earl of Richmond, descendent of the Tudor family and future King Henry VII. Shakespeare's play summarises events around the year 1485, although
Edward III of England extraordinary circumstances of the April parliament had forced the king into submission, but under normal circumstances the powers of the king in medieval England were virtually unlimited, a fact that Edward was able to exploit. Historian Nicholas Rodger called Edward III's claim to be the "Sovereign of the Seas" into question, arguing there was hardly any Royal Navy before the reign of Henry V (1413–22). Despite Rodger's view, King John had already developed a royal fleet of galleys and had attempted to establish an administration for these ships and ones which were arrested (privately owned ships pulled into royal/national service).