So England is in debt to Denmark after Denmark whooped English butt in some kind of war situation. But I wonder if this was Claudius’ battle that was won over England. Because I don’t think he’s had time to defeat England since he took office. He’s preparing for war, for sure – but it would appear that England is already beat. So it’s really his brother’s favor he’s calling in here. Hamlet Sr. most likely beat England and got it indebted to Denmark…and here’s Claudius using the favor England owes Hamlet Sr., really, to get Hamlet Jr. killed. It’s a little bit funny.
But I suppose it might be possible that Claudius played some role in the English battles…maybe he passed some intelligence to them that kept some key personnel from getting slaughtered or whatever.. and then England would owe HIM, not just the Kingdom of Denmark.
The Hamlet Project 