Crossword Genius

President bereft of a Shakespearean character (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

regan

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'shakespearean character' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'president bereft of a' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'a' could be 'an' and 'an' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'reg' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for regan that I've seen before include "king's daughter" , "Possessed gir" , "daughter seeking power" , "Princess" , "Lear's daughter" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Independent.
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