The action picks up shortly after the conclusion of Richard II (after Bolingbroke has deposed the now dead Richard and become King Henry). It still has a serious side, but this play subverts the legitimacy of the monarchy by the ways it uses language. It does this most effectively by its depiction of the heir to the throne, Prince Henry (known as Hal) and his debased and disgraced compatriot, Sir John Falstaff and the juxtaposition of their comic mocking with the serious business of state.