"THE Tragedy of King Richard the second As hath been publikely acted by the right Honorable the Lord Chamberlain his servants."
How many Elizabethan authors names can you find in this announcement from the title page of Richard II? Probably a lot of names if you are picking out letters. Right?
OK then
How many names of Elizabethan authors can you can you find in the announcement below from the title page of the first edition of Richard II when you restrict your search to the first letter or the first four letters per line as it was printed. That narrows possibilities doesn't it? Is Shakespeare's name in the first to the fourth letters? Is Lord Bacon's name contained there-in? You tell me.
"THE
Tragedy of King Ri
chard the se
cond.
As hath been publikely acted
by the right Honorable the
Lord Chamberlain his ser-
vants"

This is how the first title page looked:


Don't forget. Queen Elizabeth I was the daughter of Henry the 8th. As a result of Richard II's challenge to the divine right of kings, if Shakespeare existed he would have been tortured on the rack before execution for treason.

There was a man who copied the controversial parts of the play for distribution in a pamphlet. He was apprehended, thrown in the tower and would have been, at the minimum, tortured but for Bacon's intervention with the Queen. Bacon convinced her that he was guilty of a felony and not treason.

So, the second title page, printed from the first, Shakespeare’s name was added and no one was hurt.