King, Conqueror, and Accuracy

The latest BBC Historical has caused that old argument among viewers, about whether historical inaccuracy in drama is acceptable

I don’t know if the following happened for sure, but I would not be surprised if it did. Picture the scene, the year is 1599 and an historian from Cambridge or Oxford is visiting London. During his time there he decides to watch a play for some relaxation. He goes to the Globe to see Henry V, or perhaps one of Shakespeare’s earlier plays, such as Henry VI Part 1 or King John. During the course of the performance, the historian becomes more and more annoyed, muttering to himself about taking liberties, that the ages of one or two of the characters were wrong when a certain event happened, that this individual and that individual did not meet. That the chronology is messed up etc.. He leaves, feeling disappointed and angry.