About 1600 Shakespeare was caught up in a political upheaval which could have been dangerous. The queen was in poor health, and she had no clear successor. Uncertainty about succession was widespread, often reflected indirectly in Shakespeare's plays. A group of noblemen, led by the Earl of Essex shown here, decided not to wait for Elizabeth's death but to seize power and force her to abdicate in favor of Essex. He was a former favorite of the queen and a charismatic figure in the country. Shakespeare had included a tribute to Essex in Henry V. Among the young noblemen who flocked to his cause was the Earl of Southampton, Shakespeare's patron.

The conspirators gathered the night before the coup. One of them requested a private performance by Shakespeare's company of the play Richard II where a weak king is shown abdicating in favor of a strong ruler. The next day Essex's attempt to seize power failed utterly. The conspirators were rounded up, and most lost their heads. Southampton was jailed in the Tower. The authorities questioned the role of the actors in the fiasco. No one in the company was punished, but no further performances of the abdication scene were allowed. Queen Elizabeth is supposed to have said, "Know you not, I was supposed to be Richard."

Elizabeth died in 1603. Her successor, King James VI of Scotland, distantly related through Elizabeth's grandfather, was crowned James I in London. James was fascinated by the cultural life in London, especially the theaters. Within a few months he had named Shakespeare's company the King's Men, the royal acting company. The new king arranged for many productions of old and new plays to be performed at the palace, enriching Shakespeare. In gratitude Shakespeare wrote a tribute to his royal patron in the play Macbeth, honoring his Scottish heritage. Shakespeare and the principal actors in the company were apparently appointed as official members of the king's entourage and marched in the royal procession on state occasions. The boy from Stratford had come a long way.