It tells the story of Hamlet, the eponymous prince, who becomes depressed following the sudden death of his father, also named Hamlet, the King of Denmark. He is further distressed by the remarriage of his mother, Gertrude, to his father's brother Claudius, who also assumed the throne upon Old Hamlet's death. In the play's first act, Prince Hamlet is visited by his father's ghost. The ghost tells the younger Hamlet that he was murdered by Claudius, who conspired with Gertrude to marry her and assume the throne. The elder Hamlet's ghost demands that his son avenge his murder.