Hamlet is the prince of Denmark, son of the late King Hamlet and his wife, Queen Gertrude. His uncle Claudius is now king, and has married Hamlet’s mother. The kingdom of Denmark is almost at war with Norway, and an invasion (led by the Norwegian prince Fortinbras) is probable. Hamlet is alerted by three sentries that the ghost of his father was seen. Hamlet is already troubled by the hasty marriage of his uncle and mother. They, too, are troubled – by Hamlet’s melancholy – and send two of his friends to him to discover its cause. Hamlet quickly realizes his friends are now spies. He resolves to find his father’s ghost. He does so; the ghost tells him that he was murdered by Claudius and orders Hamlet to avenge him. Hamlet agrees, though he is not certain whether to believe the ghost. He begins to feign madness in order to discover the truth. His resulting interactions with other characters are based upon this feigned madness and result in various misunderstandings and deaths. In the end, Hamlet and the royal court (including his uncle and mother) are dead and Fortinbras arrives from Norway to seize the crown.