Ceremony and ritual in Shakespeare's Richard II help readers or viewers of the play comprehend the changing of kings from Richard II to Bolingbroke, who becomes Henry IV in English history. When Shakespeare was writing the play, monarchy was also a site of anxiety in England. Elizabeth I, who was on the throne when Shakespeare wrote this play, had not produced an heir to the throne, which made everyone in England nervous about the future of the British monarchy. Shakespeare's play shows audiences that someone could take the throne right out from under a ruler, which violated the "divine right of kings." The divine right of kings is an early system of monarchy which claimed that kings were divinely chosen to sit on the throne. We today are a bit more removed from this idea of governance, but the political struggles that involve ceremony and ritual are still very much relevant to us.

The only way for the changing of kings to occur is for Richard to ceremoniously hand over the crown to Bolingbroke, absolving himself of kingship as he does in act 4, scene 1:

RICHARD: Alack, why am I sent for to a king,

Before I have shook off the regal thoughts

Wherewith I reigned? I hardly yet have learned

To insinuate, flatter, bow, and bend my knee.

Give sorrow leave a while to tutor me

To this submission. Yet I will remember

The favors of these men: were they not mine?

Did they not sometimes cry, "All hail!" to me?

So Judas did to Christ, but He in twelve

Found truth in all but one; I, in twelve thousand, none.

God save the King! Will no man say, "Amen"?

Am I both priest and clerk? Well, then, "Amen."

God save the King, although I be not he;

And yet Amen, if heaven do think him me.

To do what service am I sent for hither? (4.1.156–170)

In this speech, Richard explains his right to the crown and to kingship through his frequent questions " 'All hail,' to me?" and "Were they not mine?" He next compares his situation to that of Judas deceiving Jesus, referring to his own divinely ordained position of king. In this analogy, Richard is Jesus and Bolingbroke is Judas. He admits his inability to submit but must "Give sorrow leave a while to tutor me / To this submission," meaning he will let his own sorrow over this loss of kingship turn him to submission to the new king (Bolingbroke). Richard repeats "God save the king" to insist that the throne should be secured but also suggests that the court sympathizes with him.

Richard defies the divine right of kings, but he does so ceremoniously in front of parliament and the royal court. Richard physically hands the crown over to Bolingbroke, stating, "Here, cousin, seize the crown. Here, cousin, / On this side my hand, on that side thine" (4.1.175–177). Richard is breaking from tradition in who is able to rule England as king by ritualistically handing the throne over to Bolingbroke; however, Richard also wants to show parliament and everyone in the royal court that Bolingbroke has wanted this the whole time. Bolingbroke knows that he is unable to take the throne unless Richard hands it over, and Bolingbroke has forced his hand.

The importance of ceremony and ritual in this play is of course key to understanding the way in which the character of Richard functions. He is a character who appears to be so caught up in his kingly status, which is reinforced by the various ceremonies and rituals, that he suffers excessive pride, which is of course part of his downfall. Note, for example, the following quote from Act I scene 1:

Now, by my sceptre's awe, I make a vow
Such neighbour nearness to our sacred blood
Should nothing privilege him nor partialize
The unstooping firmness of my upright soul.

Richard believes that authority begins and ends with him. He swears on his own blood, and clearly believes himself to be the ultimate authority based on what he says. It is absolutely clear that the various ceremonies and rituals associated with the English crown have had the impact of creating a man who is so consumed with his own role and identity as king that he finds life intolerable when he has that role taken away from him.