Queen Elizabeth I of England

In Blackadder II, she sits on the throne of England as a spoiled, capricious child dressed as a queen, ordering executions on a whim and giggling at her own jokes. She wants amusement above all else, treats the court as her personal toy box, and is genuinely fond of Edmund even as she torments him mercilessly.

Richardson plays absolute power as a tantrum that never grew up, all sudden shrieks, sulks and delighted cruelty, and the joke lands precisely because she seems to believe her own nonsense completely. It is a performance of pure comic conviction, turning historical majesty into something closer to a dangerous toddler with an army.