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The King's Men was the company of actors to which William Shakespeare (1564–1616) belonged through most of his career. Formerly known as The Lord Chamberlain's Men during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, it became The King's Men in 1603 when King James ascended the throne and became the company's patron. The royal patent of May 19, 1603 that charters the King's Men names the following players, in this order: Lawrence Fletcher, William Shakespeare, Richard Burbage, Augustine Phillips, John Heminges, Henry Condell, William Sly, Robert Armin, Richard Cowley, "and the rest of their... MORE

The King's Men was the company of actors to which William Shakespeare (1564–1616) belonged through most of his career. Formerly known as The Lord Chamberlain's Men during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, it became The King's Men in 1603 when King James ascended the throne and became the company's patron. The royal patent of May 19, 1603 that charters the King's Men names the following players, in this order: Lawrence Fletcher, William Shakespeare, Richard Burbage, Augustine Phillips, John Heminges, Henry Condell, William Sly, Robert Armin, Richard Cowley, "and the rest of their associates...." The nine cited by name became Grooms of the Chamber. On March 15, 1604, each of the nine men named in the patent was supplied with four and a half yards of red cloth for the coronation procession. In their first winter season, between December 1603 and February 1604, the company performed eight times at Court. In their second, from November 1604 through February 1605, they performed eleven times at Court, including seven plays that Shakespeare acted in (The Merchant of Venice twice), and two by Ben Jonson. This represented a workload twice as great as was typical under Elizabeth. The King's Men LESS