Synopsis:
Boyet reports to the Princess that the King and his lords, disguised as Russians, will visit the ladies. The Princess tells her ladies that she and they will cover their faces with masks and exchange the gifts sent to them. Each will wear another’s gift. The King and the lords will then mistake the ladies for each other and each lord will vow his love to the wrong lady. Later, when the lords return in their proper dress, the ladies will be able to mock them for their mistakes. All occurs as the Princess plans.
Costard introduces the pageant of the Nine Worthies. The pageant is interrupted by Costard’s announcement that Jaquenetta is pregnant and that Armado is the father. Armado challenges Costard to a duel.
A messenger from the French court arrives to announce the death of the Princess’s father. The King and his lords try once again to prevail upon the Princess and her ladies to accept their love, but the women insist that the King and lords spend the following year—the Princess’s year of mourning for her father—undergoing specific penances. At the end of the year the men may, if they wish, renew their proposals of marriage.