( woman breathing heavily, footsteps scurrying ) GIRLS' CHORUS: ♪ My care is like my shadow ♪ ♪ I bear beneath the sun ♪ ♪ It follows me at all times ♪ ♪ And flies when I pursue it ♪ ♪ I freeze and yet am always burnt ♪ ♪ Into myself I've always turned ♪ ♪ I love and yet am forced to hate ♪ ♪ I seem stark mute, inside I prate... ♪ They have summoned the guard!

God, please help us!

God helps those who help themselves, Lettice.

The tide is rising; we must play for time.

Light the candles.

Too gaudy!

If I am to live this night, I must not outshine her.

Too red!

A gift from the queen herself.

What better choice?

That one.

Lettice!

Remember, child: Curb your temper, no matter what she says, how much she tries to goad you.

Stay close, Kat.

( dice rolling ) Go!

Go!

( monkey chirrups ) The signal!

( chirruping ) Rosary!

The rosary!

( praying quietly ) WOMEN: ...de cetero me non peccaturum peccandique occasiones proximas fugiturum.

Amen.

Is this how you enter a princess' chamber?

You forget yourselves, gentlemen.

The queen will not receive you.

Her orders stand: You are to be confined in the Tower, pending investigation into the charges against you.

Fetch her things.

I am with her day and night.

She never met this man Wyatt.

If there was a conspiracy, she took no part in it!

Then she has nothing to fear... madam.

Quickly.

We must catch the tide.

I will write to her, plead my case.

You would do well not to defy her, my lady.

And you, sir, would do well to remember I, too, am a king's daughter.

ELIZABETH: Your Majesty, my dear sister Mary, I humbly beseech you to remember your last promise to me, that I will not be condemned without proof.

Now on your command, I am to be taken to the Tower, a place surely more fit for a traitor than a loyal sister.

MAN: "I beg you, let me come to you "so that you may hear my testimony.

"For I swear before God, "I never practiced, counseled nor consented in any conspiracy against you."

Enough!

She has made fools of you.

This is just more of her tricks.

She thinks if she buys time, she can soften my resolve.

Now the tide is lost.

My lord?

MAN: There is another tide at dawn, Your Majesty-- we can... Transport her in daylight?

So her followers may abduct her, mount another rebellion in her name?

Must I think of everything?!

These lines signify what, my lord?

I believe she was afraid an incriminating postscript might be added.

The dawn tide it must be.

My Lord Gardiner.

It is my wish that you take charge of her interrogation at the Tower.

Do not fail me again.

( door shuts ) Will God punish me, as I am now punishing her?

He knows you do it in his service, Your Grace, as he knows all things.

It is not just for your own protection but that of your husband.

Only by proving her guilt in this Protestant plot can justice be dispensed and with it, the threat she poses to you both.

Your father found the strength to deal with her whore of a mother.

Now you must do the same to deal with her bastard child.

And if her guilt cannot be proved?

ARCHBISHOP: To break her silence, you must first break her spirit.

GUARD: Let's go!

( dogs barking and yelping in background ) ( bystanders murmuring ) ( praying quietly ) ( bell rings ) ( pronouncing blessing quietly in Latin ) Amen.

MAN: Oars!

Sir John Brydges.

He will be your custodian here, my lady.

Shall we?

I pray you all...

I pray you bear witness that I come here as no traitor, but as a true and loyal subject of the queen, and shall be until my death.

( workers laughing ) ( man yelling in agony in distance ) ( moaning ) ( moaning, chains clanking ) ( agonized shouting continues ) ( desperately ): No!

A fine pair of lungs on him, your Mr. Wyatt.

( tortured cries continue in distance ) Your castle in Donnington.

In January you proposed to visit there, did you not?

Donnington?

Which county is that?

Berkshire.

I have so many properties.

Thomas Wyatt wrote to you at that time, did he not, stating his opposition to the queen's marriage and his intention to overthrow her government?

To put you on the throne in her place.

SECOND MAN: Did he not name Donnington Castle as a base for his rebellion?

That you meet him there with your supporters?

Had I received any such communication, I would have alerted my sister... and the privy council.

He enlisted the help of France, assembled four contingents in as many counties numbering over 2,000 men to march on London.

Only a fool would undertake such a mission without first gaining your consent.

Since I am not personally acquainted with Mr. Wyatt, I have no insight into how his mind works, foolish or otherwise.

Poison was the chosen method of disposing of the queen.

A letter to Wyatt from the French ambassador.

"Death is the only solution "to end her disastrous union with King Philip and save England from Spanish rule."

Do you deny you share such a sentiment?

Like most women, I have no head for politics, sir.

Every Protestant in the land condemned the match.

Now, why should you be the exception?

Wyatt's confession will put an end to her dissembling.

We're looking at days, if not hours.

Go no further than your commission here, Sir John.

( door thuds closed ) In the future, we may have to account for our dealings with her.

LETTICE ( quietly ): John Seymour... Duke of Northumberland...

There are scores of them.

Lady Jane Grey.

( footsteps approaching outside cell ) ( gasps ) Anne Boleyn.

Her mother is a subject she does not care to speak of, much less think of.

( door creaks open ) ( quietly ): One of the queen's ladies sent to serve you.

( quietly ): Or spy on me.

( quietly ): Wyatt's letters, Kat?

Burned with my own hands.

All of them?

Yes.

Then we are in God's hands now.

( Elizabeth whimpering and mumbling fitfully ) No... ( mumbling ) What... What...

I was... ( moaning ) Oh, no... No... ( voices murmuring ) ELIZABETH: Someone...

I must...

I must...

I must!

I must...

I must... ( lion roars ) ( screams ) ( panting ) Just the animals in the menagerie.

Hush.

( dog barking nearby ) ( whimpering ) ( wild cat growls ) I never wrote him a letter on that matter or any other.

How do you explain your reply, "I will do as I see cause"?

You're condoning their conspiracy.

Admit it!

Biding your time, waiting to see if their insurgence was successful!

Since I received no letter on the subject, it follows I did not reply to it.

No, you were too artful to reply in writing.

I could neither condone nor condemn a conspiracy of which I was ignorant, sir.

Though it seems I am to be condemned for the ambition of others... or their malevolency.

MARY: If she will not admit to her treason, Wyatt must be made to do it.

GARDINER: He denies her collusion, denies ever communicating with her.

Not the rack nor the bribe of a reprieve can move him otherwise.

The privy council will never consent to her trial, Your Grace, not without his testimony or her own confession.

To do so, we risk the mob taking to the streets on her behalf.

No man will meet his maker with a lie on his lips, Your Majesty.

If the rack cannot persuade Wyatt, let the prospect of eternal damnation do it for you...

Prepare his execution warrant.

Now.

Today.

( door opens ) ELIZABETH: You were right, Sir John.

The fresh air is most restorative.

And to see the sky again... That man-- who is he?

BRYDGES: Robert Dudley, my lady.

KAT: Robert is here?

BRYDGES: Since a year past.

KAT: On what charge?

BRYDGES: Treason, as were his father and his brother, before the scaffold took them.

His time is overdue, I fear.

Is she acquainted with him?

They were companions as children... close companions.

SPECTATOR: Traitor!

Kill the heretic!

( crowd jeering ) MAN: Kill the heretic!

MAN: Death to the traitor!

( crowd jeering ) Will people listen to me?!

SPECTATOR: Kill him!

He's a traitor!

Will people hear me!

SPECTATOR: Kill the heretic!

Listen to me!

SPECTATOR: Quiet!

They want me to accuse my lady Elizabeth for conspiring in the matter for which I am charged.

SPECTATOR: Free him!

Free him!

They think that death will wrench that lie from me!

But it is not so... nor ever was!

SPECTATOR: God bless you, Thomas Wyatt!

She had no knowledge of my intentions, nor consented to them by word or by deed!

As God is my witness... with my dying breath...

I swear that this is true!

WOMAN: Long live the lady Elizabeth!

He is innocent.

( blade slices ) Then she must be dealt with by other means.

GARDINER: Your Majesty.

( banging at door ) It's time.

( banging on door ) DUDLEY: For the lady Elizabeth.

You are too late, sir.

She's no longer with us.

WOMAN: God protect you, Lady Elizabeth.

WOMAN 2: God be with you, Lady Elizabeth.

God protect you, my lady.

God is with you, my lady.

MAN: You were heaven sent, my lady.

WOMAN: God bless you, my lady.

MAN: Most gracious Princess Elizabeth.

( fervent good wishes continue ) PHILIP: Elizabeth... ( speaking Spanish ) POLE: You have the king to thank for bringing you here.

It was he who intervened with the queen on your behalf.

It seems I am in your debt, Your Highness.

Alas, despite my endeavors, I cannot guarantee your safety.

She persists in her conviction you are a threat to her.

Her mind is quite set upon it.

It seems the love you inspire in the people, inspires only envy in others.

Their affection is about the memory of my father, Your Majesty-- nothing more.

I would speak with my sister alone, if it pleases you, husband.

I know Your Majesty is ill disposed towards me.

But I beg you, tell me what it is I have done to offend you so that I may...

Your pleas are as insincere as they are tiresome, sister.

And it is God you offend with your charade of purity.

I was not raised in the Catholic doctrine as you, but I am trying to learn its ways.

With your help, with your good guidance... Do you think I don't know hypocrisy when I see it?

That you can fool me as you do others!

Not enough that my mother was left to die alone in exile while yours stole her place in our father's favor... That I was forced to wait upon her as a mere servant!

Must I now endure the deceit of her daughter, too?

It is I who now bestow the favors.

And where I see fit, the punishment.

The punishment must fit the crime, and I have committed none.

If you claim otherwise, then in justice, you must prove it.

That is still the law of the land, is it not?

I had hoped my marriage would bring me comfort, companionship.

But thanks to you, it has imprisoned me.

We cannot walk outside the palace walls without fear for our lives.

My husband must sleep alone for his protection, while I...

I must sleep... with this beside me!

( sword crashes to floor ) It's in your mind, is it not?

Seize your chance.

That ambition exists only in your mind, sister, not mine.

Must there always be this enmity between us?

Surely it is not beyond us to put the past to rest, to reconcile.

My council is preparing an act of Parliament to return the country to the church in Rome.

In time, the Protestant heresy of our father will be a ghost in the people's memory.

Until then, your confinement will continue... somewhere less public than the Tower... out of their sight and out of mine.

( ringing handbell ) GUARD: Make way!

KAT: Child, where do they take you?

Where do you take her?

The Tower again?

ELIZABETH: Kat, help me!

Kat!

KAT: Child!

POLE: Why not simply cut the wretched girl from the succession and have done with it?

No matter.

When the queen is with child, the lady Elizabeth will be as irrelevant as she is now inconvenient.

( door opening ) MAN: Forgive me, Your Majesty.

I, um... ( door closes ) That one says too little, sees too much.

What if there is no child and I outlive the queen?

All our efforts here will be wasted.

No, if the country is to remain Catholic, the lady Elizabeth must convert.

She must be seen to publicly submit to the authority of Rome.

If, like her father, she refuses to submit?

As a wife, she must submit to the authority of her husband.

It was England I married, my lord.

One sister will do as well as another.

( door opens, then shuts ) ( crowd yelling ) MAN: Oh, Lord!

My lord, he is a martyr!

( screaming ) MARTYR: Take comfort, my lord Ridley.

Play the man.

For this day we light a Protestant torch that will never be extinguished!

May the Lord save us!

God save them!

( crowd yelling ) Quench the fire!

It's a sacrilege!

It's a sacrilege.

Jesus Christ, have mercy upon us.

Jesus Christ.

Oh, oh, oh, Jesus.

( crowd screaming ) MAN: My precautions against the release of the lady Elizabeth continues, Your Majesty, but I must confess the duty of it is demanding.

Her... her ill temper towards her custody is relentless.

( groaning in frustration ) MAN: I am daily challenged by her tempestuous moods, her incessant demands to extract a new concession from me.

I need books, Sir Henry!

The Psalms of David!

The English Bible!

Cicero!

And I ask for my tutor, Roger Ascham, to attend me, so I can continue my studies.

How can I endure this purgatory without stimulation?

Without conversation?

Without the rigor of debate?

( groans loudly ) When will my ladies be returned to me?

Is it not sufficient that your guards watch me noon and night?

Must I suffer it from the queen's witches, too?

If she forbids me to write to her, I will raise my demands with the privy council.

Even the most wretched prisoners in the Tower have that right, do they not?

( scratching ) ( pronouncing blessing quietly in Latin ) ELIZABETH: Amen.

( coughs weakly ) ( scratching on glass ) ( huffs ) ( sighs ) Forgive me, Sir William.

The queen is scrupulous in matters of security.

Accounts for the lady Elizabeth's attention, relating to her Hatfield property.

( sniffing ) The expenditure for your grooms, my lady, seems excessive.

Can you account for it?

( softly ): It was the only pretext I could find for coming without arousing suspicion.

It began over a year ago.

She reinstated the Burning of the Heretics Act.

Nearly 300 Protestants burned at the stake in as many days.

( sighs ): The council is divided, the economy is decimated because of this wretched war in France.

The people are near to insurgence.

Every time your name is shouted in the street, her malice towards you becomes more fixed.

Even now she's devising new... new ways of disposing of you.

Your marriage to Don Carlos of Spain is her latest notion.

Don Carlos is but ten years old.

It achieves her end: your exile from the country.

And if I refuse her?

A mother will go to any lengths to protect her child, the more so if it is heir to the throne.

She is with child?

A queen, a mother and a wife-- her own holy trinity.

The day her child draws its first breath could prove to be your last.

You are a symbol to the people of hope, of a future without fear, without repression.

But that is as much a curse as it is a blessing.

Every Protestant hothead who swears allegiance to you increases the danger you are in.

If you are to survive, you must remain invisible to your allies and your enemies.

Let his reports speak not of your defiance but of your compliance, of your newfound devotion to Rome.

That way all our survival lies.

I have one life, Sir William.

Must I waste another year in this godforsaken place?

God has not forsaken us.

He is testing us.

Robert Dudley-- is there any word of him?

He struck a deal with the king.

He's fighting alongside him in France in exchange for a pardon.

Sir Robert knows the trick of survival, if nothing else.

( women laughing and talking in background ) The king grows impatient for word when he should return.

The doctor said she was due a month past.

GARDINER: It seems his wait is over.

No, not now, not yet.

POLE: You spoke too soon, my lord.

It is but another false alarm.

( thunder rolling ) ( rain pouring ) ( thunder crashes ) ( speaking Spanish ) ( loud thunder ) ( woman moaning inside ) ( moaning tormentedly ) ( thunder rolling ) ( men whispering ) ( loud moaning ) ( screaming ) ( sighing moan ) ( screaming in her dream ) ( hooves thundering ) I have come for her.

( door opens ) You are to come to London, to court, my lady.

How so, sir?

The queen is no longer.

She died this morning.

And her child?

It seems there is no child, nor ever was.

Her symptoms were of a tumor.

Preparations are in hand to transfer the realm in your name, Your Majesty.

A delegation of privy councilors is on the way to pronounce you queen.

If she is dead, prove it to me, sir.

( gasping ) ( wind howling outside ) How does the weather, Sir Henry?

The wind is harsh today, my lady...

Your Majesty.

I have braved worse, I fancy.

I hope you know that I only ever acted out of duty.

Then your duty is done, sir.

"This is the work of the Lord..." "And it is marvelous in our eyes."

Your Majesty.

( crowd shouting approval ) WOMAN: Your Majesty!

The queen of our hearts!

MAN: We need you!

You were always in our thoughts!

( crowd shouting and clapping ) Out with the old, Sir William.

Let us hope the new was worth the wait.

( music playing, loud festival preparations ) BOY: "We welcome you, O mighty queen "Our love in you is sure "For unto England's sandy shores you will the truth restore Your years of exile are now over..." TUTOR: No, no, no.

BOY: "Your years of exile are now done For in our midst..." ( door opens ) MAN: See how the four degrees of Gemini are rising with Mercury ruling the ascendant?

Mercury, as you know, is the winged messenger of the gods.

He's also strengthened by being in the tenth house of kings.

Now, see, in the 12th house, the moon and Jupiter are together...

But the date, Dr. Dee, what day does it decree?

By my calculations and the lunar longitudes, the 15th day of the month is the most propitious for your coronation.

( door opens ) Your cousin, the Duke of Norfolk, is waiting outside.

He is most insistent upon an audience.

He must wait his turn, like the others.

See how the buzzards descend.

Be on hand, Dr. Dee.

SIR WILLIAM: Your Majesty, the Earl of Sussex.

Your Majesty.

Dear cousin.

My lord Norfolk.

I come to serve you.

You have but to name it.

I see your impatience has not lessened over the years, Thomas.

Nor your wit, cousin.

As ever, we are all diminished by it... as by your beauty.

I shall take your offer under advice, cousin.

If it is advice you seek, if the post of Secretary of State is not yet taken, then I will... ELIZABETH: As you know, I was tutored by the finest scholars in the land.

I am fluent in five languages and conversant in the principles of economics and philosophy, both ancient and modern.

I am also an expert in literature, music and poetry.

And my horsemanship, they say, is unparalleled.

But should I ever require... advice, you shall be the first to know it.

Your Majesty.

They were cleaning and, uh... there it was.

ELIZABETH: How many more?

They litter the palace like mouse holes.

This is not the work of mice, Sir William, but rats.

Seal them up, all of them.

( whispering ) He is here?

Your shawl, Lettice.

If anyone asks, I am at prayer.

Robbie?

( chuckling ) Look at you... And how do I look, pray?

Ah, you want me to worship at the altar of your beauty, like all the others who court your favor?

Mm-hmm.

Is that a frown line I see?

Oh, yes, the hands of a queen.

They look the same to me as always.

I've been waiting for you to summon me, Bess.

I couldn't wait any longer.

I trust your wife is well.

Your court is stuffed full of married men.

Am I to be the exception?

Exiled and excluded with no explanation, no reprieve?

My father was not a man to defy, Bess-- on the subject of marriage or any other.

Am I to be punished for my obedience to him?

Since you ask, my wife has been sickly of late or I would have come to you sooner-- invited or not.

If she is unwell, your duty lies with her.

Do you think it's duty that brings me here?

Ride with me, Bess, hmm?

Ride with me like you used to.

( laughs ) I am needed in court.

( laughing ) The post of Secretary of State, Sir William.

I can think of no better man to serve me.

But there is a condition: Whatever my personal will or preference, you shall always give me the counsel I need, not what I want to hear-- no matter how much I rail against you.

I will hold you to that, Your Majesty.

I would first counsel caution, if I may, that you become familiar with the functions of state, your new responsibilities, before you embark...

I have endured the cautious life too long.

You of all people know that.

You saw how my people greeted me.

If I am to keep their hearts, surely I act decisively with confidence and purpose.

Then we must start by addressing the issue of your marriage before rumor and speculation undermine their fervor.

The king of Denmark's son has been mooted as has King Eric of Sweden.

God's breath, Sir William.

Let us get my coronation ceremony out of the way before you plan another for my nuptials.

The people need to know the succession is secure, the realm is safe.

You cannot rule alone, can you?

Is that the list of councilors?

The first are those that served under your sister.

The second are those I recommend.

Pembroke is such a swaggerer.

But he can raise an army of knights at your command.

Norfolk?

You saw how puffed up he is.

And as my cousin, he has a claim to the throne, so he boasts.

All the more reason to keep him close to the throne, where we can see him.

( quill scratches ) Robert Dudley?

The man's the son of a traitor.

A rank opportunist.

None of us are responsible for the sins of our fathers, Sir William.

And opportunism is no sin when it's for survival.

Or in his case, advancement.

By that token, half the men in my court could be found wanting.

Will you be inviting his wife to court also?

A wife's place is at home.

Indulge me in this one thing, William.

I shall forever be amenable to your demands.

As you say, we must act decisively.

( conversing quietly ) ( quiet conversation continues ) ( quiet conversation continues ) ( conversation stops ) ELIZABETH: My lords, I bid you welcome.

I require of you nothing more than faithful hearts in your preservation of me and this commonwealth.

Let I with my ruling and you with your service make a good account to God and leave on this earth some legacy of comfort in our posterity.

Here are my wishes and intentions.

I dislike waste and profligacy in all its forms.

I intend to oversee the national budget with the same rigor as with my households and estates.

My foreign policy shall be directed by the same principles.

I will always defend England's shores, but I will not decimate our resources trying to expand on them.

You shall find me resolute on this.

As for religion... henceforth all services will be conducted not in Latin, but English, starting with my coronation.

How can my people understand the power of prayer unless they first understand its meaning?

If they are to accept the Protestant faith, it must be through persuasion, not purges.

Let the Catholics keep their crucifixes and robes, if they wish.

There is but one Jesus Christ.

The rest is trifles.

She thinks to make herself legitimate by legitimizing her faith.

We should live so long.

( crowd cheering ) She's her father's daughter, no matter what they say.

The hair proves it.

Look closely, sir, her eyes are her mother's.

MAN: Long live Elizabeth, our blessed queen!

ALL: Long live Elizabeth, our blessed queen!

Long live Elizabeth, our blessed queen!

Long live Elizabeth, our blessed queen!

Who's winning?

( whispering ) Bravo!

ELIZABETH: You were a most worthy loser, cousin.

I commend you.

But a loser nonetheless.

Your familiarity with the queen is as offensive as it is disrespectful, sir.

Your need is greater than mine, I fancy.

It is damp but is still serviceable.

Next time it will be your swollen head I aim for!

Judging by your performance your aim is nothing to boast of.

ELIZABETH: My lord Norfolk, I will not tolerate threats of violence in my presence.

God's blood, it is but a game!

Now, shake hands.

Be done with it.

If you think such behavior finds favor with me, gentlemen, you are very much mistaken.

That one is not destined to die in his bed, my lord... if indeed it is his own bed that he sleeps in.

ELIZABETH: Robbie!

Your familiarity borders on contempt.

One of mine own by recompense.

No, no, no.

You must open it.

It's a family heirloom-- my late mother's favorite piece.

Then by rights your wife should have it.

Hmm... Rubies are not her color.

So... will the Spanish ambassador be impressed?

Your efforts are wasted, Bess.

He's old, nearsighted and has an abhorrence of red hair.

ELIZABETH: See the insolence I must endure, Letty?

The Spanish ambassador.

( speaking Spanish ) He sends this gift as a little token of his esteem.

ELIZABETH: A ruby no less, and quite a magnificent specimen, too, is it not?

As you know, the word "ruby" stems from the Latin word for "red," Your Grace, symbolizing both heat and fire and thus passion.

Some might think such a gift from the husband of my late sister a little... inappropriate.

Please allow me, Your Majesty, please.

SIR WILLIAM: Your Majesty, if I may... the Earl of Pembroke.

From Spain.

Let us hope she runs out of suitors before we do space.

DUDLEY: It was but a fond gesture from a friend, Bess!

You make too much of it.

Your fondness exceeds propriety!

I will not be made to look like a concubine before my own court!

You go too far, Robbie!

Bess, wait!

Your Majesty?!

( door opens, then slams ) COUNCILOR: Do we deal with her English suitors first or the foreign?

SIR WILLIAM: We are not all assembled yet, sir.

We proceed without Dudley.

Hear, hear.

Oh, the Earl of Arran asks that his name be added to the list of those for the queen's hand.

As does the Earl of Arundel and Rutland.

And the Earl of Shaftsbury.

Likewise Sir William Pickering.

His bastard children litter every parish.

Well, the queen seemed most taken with him when they met.

This is about state policy, not the whims of a woman.

Her judgment cannot be relied upon.

Is not her ill-chosen attachment to Robert Dudley proof of that?

NORFOLK: What advantage is there in a domestic union?

Any Englishman we choose could cause dissent and division in the country.

No, a foreign match is the one.

The Spanish ambassador's been sniffing round the palace like a dog on heat.

Is King Philip a contender?

After his bloody purges when married to her sister, the queen would never contemplate such a union.

In terms of a foreign match, we currently have the Habsburg proposal... and the king of Sweden, of course, weather permitting.

( councilors chuckle ) NORFOLK: The Habsburg suite-- which son does the emperor propose?

His two youngest, either Ferdinand or Charles.

Charles is the more manly.

The French will be implacably opposed.

As will Spain.

As will someone closer to home, I fancy.

NORFOLK: Then it's Austria.

Shall we make it official?

Our remit is to recommend our preference to the queen, my lord.

And her remit is to accept our recommendation, Sir William.

To do otherwise flouts our authority.

We have the chance to end this wretched petticoat government, my lords.

Let us seize it.

Subject to negotiation, the queen will marry the archduke Charles.

Agreed?

( Dudley sputtering and grunting ) Is this your doing?

Then you are a fool indeed.

It was never my intention for you to witness such craven indulgence, Your Majesty.

My shame is already too much to bear.

Tread carefully, Robbie.

One day you may strain my patience too far.

( chuckles ) ( woman laughing ) It's uplifting to hear her laugh again, is it not?

WOMAN: A joy indeed, my lord.

Now... you are to stay with Mrs. Odingsells until your health is restored, my love.

She will ensure your every need is met.

You are all that I need, husband.

Can you not stay with me?

( sighs ) You know the snake pit of duplicity the court is, Amy.

If I am absent too long, there are plenty who will fill the void.

And the queen's favor can be capricious.

When it shines on you, her generosity knows no bounds, and aren't we already reaping the rewards of that?

The house in Kew is but a start, and she speaks of another in Surrey and an estate in Warwickshire.

Is it only for that you seek her favor?

Power is not always visible, Amy.

If you have a voice, you can shape not just how that power is used, but your own destiny.

Now, I have risked the Tower and the scaffold for such a chance.

Do not ask me to forgo that now.

Your physician will attend her daily.

And if the pain... if she weakens...

I will summon you, sir, as I promised.

Be vigilant in your care for her, madam.

She might well be the best part of me.

Bid me go, Bess.

Say it.

No, we mustn't!

We cannot!

( panting ) Another one of your bad dreams, child.

Oh... ELIZABETH: Stay close, Kat.

SIR WILLIAM: Your Majesty, Your Grace...

Your Grace...

Your Grace, Your Maj...

Your Grace...

Your Majesty...

Your Britannic Maj... no.

Your Grace, I am delighted to tell you that the council has reached a decision on the issue of... Now there is another matter we must attend to, that of your marriage.

We feel that a match with the archduke Charles of Austria is the most propitious.

The negotiating terms I have drafted.

A union with the Habsburg empire will not only assure your future prosperity, but will deter any act of aggression from France or Spain.

And the archduke has no principality of his own, so he's free to reside here and relieve you of the burdens of state.

If sharing the sovereignty deters you, then let him be your consort.

That, too, can be negotiated.

God's breath, what worm of a man would accept such a meager status?

If he does, he will never grace my bed!

In the months since my accession, Sir William, have I been negligent in my duties of state?

The Religious Acts before Parliament in my name, the legislation for the relief of the poor-- was I not instrumental in their construction?

Your diligence is not in dispute, Your Grace.

But it is not fitting for a woman to bear such weighty responsibility on her own.

Your duty is now to secure succession, providing England with an heir.

As my duty lies in giving you advice without fear or favor.

By all means offer your advice, my lord.

But I am under no obligation to act upon it!

( screams ) ( door opens ) I fear I was precipitous in my response to the issue of my marriage, Sir William.

If you will furnish me with the details of the archduke's suit, I shall consider his proposal most carefully.

( door opens, then shuts ) So, the sharks have chosen a minnow to share your throne-- the better to do their bidding.

The archduke Charles is but a puny boy, barely weaned from his mother's breast.

As always, you exaggerate, Robbie.

He is my age, more or less.

And well endowed, so they say.

Mmm, in wealth and power perhaps.

In other respects... ( chuckles ) Had anyone bothered to consult me, I would have forewarned them... how even as a child, you vowed never to take a husband.

Dear God, after what happened to your mother, who can blame you?

Would you forgo the chance of motherhood, Bess, for the sake of a childish vow?

It's not only men who can be corrupted by power.

An heir can be as much a threat as a comfort in that.

But the love of a man is hardly that of a child.

It can be as fickle.

As can a woman's.

But a woman ruler is not as other women, is she?

Like the coin that bears her image, there are two sides to her.

On the one, she embodies the feminine frailty of her sex, and on the other, she is the body politic, ordained by God.

Ah, well, then, it is to the frail and feminine one I must appeal.

Oh, but she listens only to the counsel of the other.

And how can a woman be sure if a man truly loves her for herself or for her power as queen?

Cannot a man love them both?

Do you think so little of my honor that I might endanger yours?

If you thought more of your wife, your honor would not be in doubt.

Your wit is your protection, Bess, but I fear it makes for a lonely bed.

( door opens, then shuts ) AMY: The doctor has ordered that I must spend my days resting now, my love, but a visit from you, no matter how brief, will do me more good than all his potions.

I know that duty to a queen must come before a wife, but I keep hearing rumors from court about how the queen is apt to flirt with her courtiers, how young men mortgage their estates to buy outfits to catch her eye, how she plays one off against the other.

Take care, Robert, for such games are about power.

It could be your soul you mortgage, for women are not so well versed in its rules, so make them up.

Therein danger lies.

The favors she bestows can be withdrawn as surely as the clouds obscure the sun.

I see now if my life has a purpose, it is to protect you from your vanity and the price you will pay if you fall prey to hers.

SIR WILLIAM: Your Majesty, may I present Sir Francis Walsingham?

He has come from France with news for us.

I hope your news is worthy of rousing me from my slumber, Sir Francis.

Two weeks ago, the king of France fell ill with an ear infection.

He died on Friday in Orleans.

SIR WILLIAM: As a widow, your cousin, the queen of Scots, will now be competing in the marriage market, to forge her own political alliance against us.

WALSINGHAM: I fear her youth and beauty are such she will be a magnet for every Catholic prince in Europe.

It is for this I was so rudely summoned from my bed?

WALSINGHAM: My agents inform me she plans to return to Scotland, Your Majesty, to rally her Catholic followers there.

They boast she is the one true queen of England.

Only assassination can end your heretic rule.

SIR WILLIAM: A view encouraged by the French, who've pledged to support that cause.

Henceforth, you must be guarded at all times.

All your food must be tasted, all gifts and tokens examined for poison.

Your progress amongst the people must be curtailed...

Curtailed?!

My best defense lies in the love of my people.

How can they do that if they cannot see me?

With respect, Your Majesty, your best defense lies in marrying someone the French will fear.

I am not so bereft of logic I don't know common sense when I hear it, Sir William.

Have I not said I will consider the archduke Charles's proposal most carefully?

Now I bid you good night, gentlemen, lest my own beauty suffer from my interrupted rest!

( door opens, then shuts ) MAN: I come to the point, Majesty.

King Philip has asked...

He asked me to ascertain if you would do him the honor of considering a proposal of marriage from him.

Of course, the enmity such an alliance will cause could be costly for Spain.

Military conflict with France cannot be ruled out.

And does he ask for nothing in return for his sacrifice?

Converting to the faith of Rome is not such a sacrifice on your part, is it?

Think of the reward-- our two nations bound by the sacred bond of marriage.

Europe will be on its knees before us.

We are but a small kingdom compared to the might of Spain, my lord.

Such an alliance could threaten our nation-state.

My people will never sanction it.

The people will take their cue from you, Your Majesty.

Such is their love for you.

Please inform the king that I shall consider his proposal... most carefully.

Child, you must rise.

Prepare!

Baron Breuner, the archduke Charles's envoy, has arrived.

And the gifts he brings-- damask, caskets and a white horse fit only for a king.

If it's to be a courtship by proxy, let us sweep him off his feet.

I'm sorry to have to do this to you.

Now, see how attentive she is, how she leans towards him?

The archduke chose well in his envoy.

No woman can resist such a man.

Let's hope he has the wit to let her win.

If he doesn't, God help him.

NORFOLK: Ah, the acid test-- the archduke's portrait.

MAN: Is she smiling?

I cannot tell.

We are nudging towards a result, my lords.

I feel it in my bones.

As we were!

Quickly!

SIR WILLIAM: Ah, Baron... come and join us.

I hope your suit progresses well.

Yes, thank you, it progresses, though in what direction, I'm not so certain.

SUSSEX: Was she not amenable to the archduke's picture?

Oh, yes, she said she found his features most pleasing.

She also said how she never trusts the portrait, how an artist can use his skills to disguise the faults of his subject.

Well, I trust that His Lordship is faultless in the flesh.

( chuckles ) She insists on meeting the archduke personally before considering a commitment to him.

She's adamant on that point.

Then we will issue a formal invitation that he may come to England and... And if he comes and she rejects him?

The archduke will never expose himself to such humiliation.

I've learned from experience, Baron, that, like others of her sex, the queen can tend to frivolity and prevarication when faced with a decision.

But time will mellow her.

Sir Robert Dudley's name was constantly on her lips.

Is there anything there I should be aware of?

A friend from childhood, my lord.

Her fondness for him is nothing more than that of a sister-- nothing more.

I see.

If she has been neglectful of her honor, the archduke will never countenance a match with her, nor I collude with it.

My lords.

Thank you.

He has duties at court.

He cannot come.

Will you leave me, please?

( door opens, then shuts ) The pearl ones.

( lively music playing ) ( music stops, court applauds ) ( milder music resumes ) ( music continues ) He has a wife!

You cavort with him as though he were a suitor!

I treat him as he deserves-- as a loyal and trusted friend!

He is my only joy, Kat!

When I am with him, the burden I must carry is lifted.

I am the child I was never allowed to be.

You, of all people, know the dark days of that!

And the talk he plans to poison his wife so he can marry you-- does that bring you joy, too?

The poison lies with those saying such vile things!

Who are they?

Name them!

KAT: If you prove yourself unworthy as a queen, the love of your people can as easily turn to contempt.

Your enemies will seize that, seek to take the throne away from you!

Is any man worth that price?

The tracts of land you've given him?

The money, the titles?

Will your next gift be your virtue or the realm itself?

Or is one the reward for the other?

( gasps ) I'm sorry!

Oh, forgive me.

Say you forgive me.

There has been no impropriety between us!

God's wounds, when has there been an opportunity?

Do not my ladies sleep beside me?

Are there not guards on my door?

Am I not watched by a thousand eyes day and night?

And a thousand eyes see how you look at him, child.

Admit your love for him.

Only then can you find the courage to do what you must and discard him.

We are guilty of nothing immoral, by thought or deed.

But if I choose so to dishonor myself, no one shall forbid me.

No one!

Are you not going to the fair today?

I was going to send the servants in my place, my lady.

Oh, do go, Mrs. Odingsells.

I shall be sleeping.

What harm can come to me?

For an hour-- no longer.

Wait for me!

Come.

( all giggle ) AMY: I see now if my life has a purpose, it is to protect you from your vanity and the price you will pay if you fall prey to hers.

( thunder rolling ) SIR WILLIAM: She has rejected King Philip of Spain's proposal.

Response to the archduke Charles is the same.

"I am not minded at this time to relinquish my single life."

SUSSEX: She doesn't know her mind.

That's the problem.

She knows it well enough.

Dudley has cleared the decks by disposing of his wife.

She is doing the same.

The coroner has not yet determined the cause of death.

WALSINGHAM: I fear every court in Europe is rife with such talk, Sir William.

My agents report even the queen of Scots saying how the queen's favorite has killed his wife to make room for her in his bed.

Sir Robert was here in court that day, sir.

I can vouch for it.

Death by design requires only a willing mercenary to service it, my lord.

Thanks to the queen, Dudley is not without funds.

I will not tolerate such talk of Her Majesty in my presence, sir!

Do not let your loyalty blind you, Sir William.

Her complicity is the talk of every pulpit and parish in the land.

If she chooses this corrupt union, she will go to bed a queen and wake up as Lady Elizabeth again... if she wakes at all.

ELIZABETH: Leave us.

The coroner's verdict.

No evidence or presumption of evil by any third party.

( sighs deeply ) Then I'm exonerated-- it's over.

Malicious tongues might take more convincing.

A few weeks, it'll be but a memory, Bess.

Have to ride it out, that's all.

It'll be worth the wait, I promise you.

You know we're destined to be together, Bess.

Marry me.

Do you not see your dishonor is mine, too?

I cannot let what started with such hope for my people end in shameful ignominy.

There is only dishonor... ( footsteps passing ) There is only dishonor where there is guilt.

Or must I swear my innocence to you, too?

You looking for a reason not to love me?

Careful, Bess, you might find one.

We must not, I cannot!

If you love me as you claim, you must leave court-- now, today.

If you love me, you would never ask me to do such a thing.

I do not ask it.

I demand it.

If I am exiled, it will seem as proof of my guilt.

I'm done for!

All these months you kept me close, you were using me... playing with me for your own callous ends, as you do all men.

So long as I was married, you were safe.

Now I am free, you spurn me.

If I leave, I won't return, Bess.

It will be the last time you ever see me.

I will have but one mistress here and no master!

Do you hear me?

( panting ) I will have no man rule over me!

Send for help.

( moaning ) MAN'S VOICE: Boleyn's little bastard.

DOCTOR: Keep the fire stoked, keep it stoked.

KAT: This water's cold, Isabella.

Bring more water.

Where's the water?

She is asking for you.

Her successor-- is there a name?

An ancient Arabic remedy for smallpox.

The patient is entirely wrapped in red to sweat the pox out.

SUSSEX: Can she... see?

Is it in her eyes yet?

Please God, it has not spread to her brain.

My lords, I... ( breathing with difficulty ) I fear death possesses me.

A successor, Majesty.

We must have a name.

( breathing raggedly ) We need a name, Your Grace.

The protector of the realm shall be... ( inhales raggedly ) Sir, I cannot hear-- was there a name?

Robert Dudley.

( inhales raspily ) ( lion roars ) ( screams ) DOCTOR: Where's the water?

Oh... oh.

KAT: The queen lives!

The queen lives!

We must thank God for our merciful deliverance, my lords.

( church bells pealing ) ( shouting excitedly ) ( opens door ) I know the timing is not propitious, Your Grace, but there is a matter of some urgency... Must you always indulge in these tiresome preambles, my lord?

If it's urgent, say it.

I am relieved your spirit is restored along with your health, Your Majesty.

A decree from Parliament.

It is their will that your marriage negotiations with the archduke Charles be reopened without delay.

An invitation to his envoy has been issued to that effect.

Issued without my consent?

Without even the meager courtesy of discussion?

Parliament have yet to approve your annual subsidy.

Now is not the moment to antagonize them.

Do they think to blackmail me, Sir William?

Your illness was a salutary reminder to us all of your mortality.

The question of succession can be detained no longer.

( ladies talking and laughing quietly ) Such fuss.

They're barely visible, child.

If I can see them, so can others.

( ladies giggling ) Henceforth, my ladies must only wear subdued colors, Kat.

There can be but one sun in the universe!

( ladies fall silent ) ( animated conversations and laughter ) ( court applauds ) Honorable members of Parliament, councilors-- I am told that some of you still take the view that I must take a husband.

It is monstrous that the feet should think to rule the head... that you presume I shall bend my will to yours on such a subject.

Was it not God's will that preserved me from my sickness for the life I must now lead?

And it shall be his will alone I obey on the matter of my marriage.

If he so works my heart to incline it towards that state, then I assure you the realm shall not go destitute of an heir.

But if it be his will I continue to live outside the state of marriage, I tell you, I would rather be turned out of the realm in my petticoats than defy him!

It is England I married, my lords.

It shall be sufficient for me when I die that a marble headstone declares that this queen, having lived for such and such a time, lived and died... a virgin!

( court murmuring ) ( panting ) ( court clamoring ) ( court continues clamoring ) ( Elizabeth laughing ) The queen of Scots' envoy is due.

She will see no one else.

You'll find I'm the exception, sir.

"No exceptions," she said.

( door opens ) ( playing energetic melody on harpsichord ) ( clears throat ) ( stops playing ) ( sighs ) You startled me, sir.

Sir James Melville.

I am honored indeed, Your Majesty.

I hope my cousin fared well in her journey back to Scotland.

Uncommonly well, Your Majesty.

She relishes being at home once again.

( resumes playing melody ) My father composed this ditty.

Charming, is it not?

Indeed so, Your Majesty.

My cousin, too, is musical, I hear.

She plays like an angel, Your Grace.

As dexterously as I?

There is no comparison.

( chord resonates ) I am told she also dances sublimely.

MELVILLE: Oh, she is indeed deft of foot.

"Sublime" is the word, Your Majesty.

I heard she is uncommon tall.

Is she not ungainly?

She is as graceful as a feather in the breeze, Your Grace.

So... she is taller than I or...?

Taller by a few inches, I'd say.

Then she is too tall.

For I am told I am the perfect height.

Your meeting with her has been delayed too long, Your Majesty.

Only then can you judge her true merits for yourself.

In that regard, she has sent you a gift.

I see now how she has so many suitors competing for her hand.

No doubt some foreign prince has caught her eye.

She favors an Englishman.

Her cousin Lord Darnley has been mooted in that regard.

Darnley?

That feckless, unstable youth?

And as a Stuart, he has a claim to my throne.

A union between them both could pose a serious threat to the security of my kingdom, sir.

Scotland is but a footfall away.

As your sister queen, she seeks only to strengthen the alliance between you.

Then I have the perfect gift in mind for her... to achieve that goal.

ROBBIE ( in background ): Oh!

I would prefer banishment to this-- a hundred times I would prefer it!

ELIZABETH: If she marries a Catholic prince, she will use their power to seize my throne.

Worse yet if it's Darnley she chooses!

( kindly ): Who else can I trust with such a mission, who I know will not betray me?

I...

I am a Protestant, I am a commoner.

She will never countenance such a match.

The earldom of Leicestershire has a heritage akin to royalty, does it not?

And there are surely worse duties than to be married to a queen.

You know, I hadn't yet forsaken all hope of that.

And there is no greater death than that of hope, Bess.

And no greater love than to sacrifice it.

Is this the frail, feminine side talking... or the divine virgin?

Hmm?

For queen and country.

So be it.

Robbie.

( quavers ): They say her beauty is unparalleled.

Perhaps it will not be such a sacrifice.

( door opens, then slams ) HERALD: Be it known to all those present that in recognition of his steadfast service and loyalty to the queen and to the realm, on this day we do confer upon Robert Dudley the dignity, splendor and title of Earl of Leicester.

WALSINGHAM: The queen of Scotland has defied you, Your Grace.

She has wed Lord Darnley.

WALSINGHAM: "His Holiness Pope Pius V calls upon all English Catholic subjects..." "to renounce the heretic rule of Elizabeth Tudor, usurper queen of England"-- to all intent and purposes, a warrant for your death.

It's not just renegade Catholics acting on the orders of the pope we must fear.

The queen of Scots has orchestrated yet another plot to depose you.

In her letters to me, she swears she has no knowledge of such a conspiracy!

Then her assurances are as threadbare as her honor.

Reckless she may be, she is still an anointed queen, as I am!

Your spies are either lax in their efficiency or in their loyalty, Sir Francis.

In the absence of a standing army, they're your best protection, Your Majesty.

Thanks to their diligence, her latest intrigue has been exposed.

It seems she has found a friend in court, someone close to you, who has elected to betray you.

I fear I shall soon have to sleep with a sword by my side, as my sister did, for fear of being murdered in my own bed.

The queen of Scots persists in her cause to seize my throne.

But unseating a monarch requires more than force.

Without the support of the council or Parliament, it could end in civil war.

So... who better to enlist to subvert their loyalty than someone whose ambitions for advancement have been thwarted in my court?

Who can conveniently dust off his Catholicism as proof of his new fidelity to Rome?

And do you have proof of such an intrigue?

Mmm.

Thanks to God and Walsingham.

The sweet talk in his letters to the queen of Scots speak volumes.

Of all qualities, I prize loyalty the most, but now I perceive mercy to be as worthy.

To err is human, to forgive divine, but the gateway to forgiveness must first be confession.

If loyalty be the issue, then it is Dudley who should be called to account.

You think it was mischance that she came to marry Darnley?

It was Dudley's backdoor machinations that he may remain here at court with you to further... Impugning my lord Leicester's integrity insults not just his good name but my intelligence, cousin!

And as your cousin, your blood kin, I tell you, your trust is fatally misplaced, and always has been!

Our royal blood is from birth, Thomas.

How we use its power thereafter is from choice.

You have made yours, as I have.

And you have chosen her.

( door shuts ) Take him to the Tower.

Dispose of him!

( door opens ) I had all but given up waiting for you, my sweet Lettice.