Elizabeth I

For much of Elizabeth I’s reign, the Earl of Leicester was her most trusted advisor—and her lover, although they agreed they could not marry for strategic reasons. When a French prince/suitor, Anjou, arrives on the scene, Leicester initially sees him as a political threat and slowly comes to see him as an emotional threat as well.

Following Leicester’s death, Elizabeth engages in a tumultuous relationship with the Earl of Essex, a young man half her age. Elizabeth must fight through her own carnal attraction to Essex and, with the help of her advisor, Robert Cecil, recognize and thwart his dangerous ambitions.