Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester in the context of "Greenwich Castle"

Henry VI, Part 2 (1591) is a Shakespearean history play about King Henry VI of England's inability to quell the bickering of his noblemen, the death of his trusted advisor Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, and the political rise of Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York; it culminates with the First Battle of St Albans (1455), the initial battle of the Wars of the Roses, which were civil wars between the House of Lancaster and the House of York.

In the early historical narrative of Henry VI, Part 1 (1591), William Shakespeare deals with the low morale consequent to the loss of England's French territories (1429–1453) during the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453) and the political machinations that precipitated the Wars of the Roses (1455–1487). In the concluding play, Henry VI, Part 3 (1591), he deals with the fraternal horrors of civil war amongst Englishmen.

The Palace of Placentia, also known as Greenwich Palace,was an English royal residence that was initially built by Prince Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, in 1443. Over the centuries it took several different forms, until it was turned into a hospital in the 1690s. The palace was a place designed for pleasure, entertainment and an escape from the city. It was located at Greenwich on the south bank of the River Thames, downstream from London.

On a hill behind his palace, the duke built Duke Humphrey's Tower, later known as Greenwich Castle; the "castle" was subsequently demolished to make way for the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, which survives. The original river-side residence was extensively rebuilt around 1500 by King Henry VII. A detached residence, the Queen's House, was built on the estate in the early 1600s and also survives. In 1660, the old main palace was demolished by Charles II to make way for a proposed new palace, which was only partly constructed in the east wing. Nearly forty years later, at the behest of Queen Mary II, the Greenwich Hospital (now called the Old Royal Naval College) remodelled this wing, expanded, and rebuilt on the site.

Duke of Gloucester (/ˈɡlɒstər/ GLOST-ər) is a British royal title (after Gloucester), often conferred on one of the sons of the reigning monarch. The first four creations were in the Peerage of England and the last in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; the current creation carries with it the subsidiary titles of Earl of Ulster and Baron Culloden.

The title was first conferred on Thomas of Woodstock, the thirteenth child of King Edward III. The title became extinct at his death, as it did upon the death of the duke of the second creation, Humphrey of Lancaster, fourth son of King Henry IV.

The regency government of the Kingdom of England of 1422 to 1437 ruled while Henry VI was a minor. Decisions were made in the king's name by the regency council, which was made up of the most important and influential people in the government of England, and dominated by the king's uncle Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (brother of the king's father and predecessor, Henry V) and Bishop (cardinal from 1426) Henry Beaufort (Gloucester's half-uncle).

The individuals who constituted the regency council as at 9 December 1422 were (Griffiths 1981, p. 23):

John Dunstaple (or Dunstable; c. 1390 – 24 December 1453) was an English composer whose music helped inaugurate the transition from the medieval to the Renaissance periods. The central proponent of the Contenance angloise style (lit. 'English manner'), Dunstaple was the leading English composer of his time, and is often coupled with William Byrd and Henry Purcell as England's most important early music composers. His style would have an immense influence on the subsequent music of continental Europe, inspiring composers such as Du Fay, Binchois, Ockeghem and Busnois.

Information on Dunstaple's life is largely non-existent or speculative, with the only certain date of his activity being his death on Christmas Eve of 1453. Probably born in Dunstable in Bedfordshire during the late 14th-century, Dunstaple was associated with Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester and Joan of Navarre, and, through them, St Albans Abbey. Another important patron was John, Duke of Bedford, with whom Dunstaple may have travelled to France.