What elements of historical context may have impacted or influenced Shakespeare's work?

There are a multitude of possible answers for this question, however I will explain a few. Firstly, Shakespeare was writing during both the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, which meant that the culture, regulations and regimes of these monarchs may have influenced the Bard's plays. For example, in 'King Lear', the eponymous protagonist "divides in three our kingdom", and essentially willingly revokes his status as a King. Jacobeans in particular may have found this disrespectful or shocking, as they believed their monarchs had the 'Divine Right' to rule - that God had deigned each monarch to be worthy of ruling and that they are positioned by his power. Perhaps Shakespeare was warning King James, suggesting that he should be wary of the power he has, and that he should fully submit to God’s divine selection. Alternatively, Shakespeare could be satirically mocking the monarchy, implying that Kings and Queens do not have the capacity to rule, and in the end are simply “foolish”, like Lear.Another example may involve the uncertainty and conflict between Protestantism and Catholicism. Prior to Shakespeare’s time, Henry VIII had initiated the English Reformation, in which he abandoned the Catholic faith and broke away from the Pope, so that he could divorce Catherine of Aragon. This angered many English Catholics, however Henry’s brutal rule meant that they now feared for their life if they refused to submit to his new Church of England. In ‘Romeo and Juliet’, this tension becomes apparent throughout the play. Firstly, it is set in the strongly Catholic city of Verona, and therefore includes many symbols of the Catholic faith. In the sonnet where Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time, the use of language such as ‘pilgrims’ and ‘saints’ evoke images of the Catholic faith, perhaps idolatry. This would have been extremely controversial to an English, protestant audience, yet critics have argued this could suggest Shakespeare’s Catholic sympathies. On the other hand, perhaps Shakespeare was attempting to create a sort of parable in ‘Romeo and Juliet’, warning his audience away from the passions and deceit associated with the Catholic faith in Elizabethan England, and also to appease his Queen?