RICHARD
. . . Yet I well remember
The favours of these men: were they not mine?
Did they not sometime 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?

In this poignant reflection, Richard II compares his betrayal to that of Christ by Judas, highlighting the depth of his disillusionment. He recalls the loyalty once sworn to him by many, only to find it all evaporated in his hour of need. Unlike Christ, who was betrayed by just one among twelve, Richard laments that in his multitude of subjects, he found no true loyalty. The line underscores Richard's isolation and the irony of his position—addressing the assembly, he mockingly questions if he must be both officiant and respondent in this ceremonial acknowledgement of a new king. Thus, he resigns to his fate with a bitter "amen," acknowledging the ascension of Bolingbroke even as he muses on the divine justice of such a reversal. This speech not only underscores Richard's tragic fall but also questions the nature of power and loyalty in the courtly world.