While leafing through the bric-a-brac in our attic, a member of our Exhibition team came across a very old piece of parchment that had previously gone unnoticed. After many hours of deliberation, we are thrilled to announce that we have found a missing page of William Shakespeare’s will! Long thought lost, the page gives us yet more incredible insight into the playwright’s life.

From initial investigation we can report that Shakespeare names a long-lost twin brother, Antipholus Sebastian Shakespeare, as one of the heirs to his estate. This astounding piece of information not only confirms rumours that Shakespeare did indeed have a twin, but also seems to suggest that he only discovered his brother’s existence a mere three years before his death. An excerpt from the will reads:

‘…to myne owne dearest Brother Antipholus, borne on the same daye and who wast lost to me at sea at which hour I wast still a babe, and who hath founde me agayne at which hour we are both grey.’

This ground-breaking piece of news has led many to question whether Shakespeare’s re-discovery of his twin was foreshadowed by one of his earliest and most farcical comedies, The Comedy of Errors, which features two sets of twins that are separated at birth and who happen to end up in the same city many years later to find each other after a series of humorous mishaps brought about through mistaken identities. It is unknown if Shakespeare and his twin caused chaos and confusion in London or Stratford-upon-Avon.

There is feverish speculation surrounding this new breakthrough. We’re hopeful that once the piece of parchment has been properly preserved, we should be able to uncover more incredible insights about William Shakespeare and feature the missing page in our new Shakespeare’s Globe Story & Tour.