In 1554, after Beauty queen Mary’s (Kathy Burke) eradication, Princess Elizabeth (Cate Blanchett)
is crowned Empress of England. The country is racked by financial and religious instability
and her advisor Sir William Cecil (Richard Attenborough) says she be compelled marry with
political astuteness in order to secure her leaning. She is urged to wife either the
French Duke of Anjou (Vincent Cassel) or her dead sister’s husband Sovereign Philip of
Spain, although her heart lies with her youth sweetheart, Robert Dudley (Joseph
Fiennes). Elizabeth puts her reliance in her confidante, Sir Francis Walsingham (Geoffrey
Rush), in her quest to overcome conspiracy and assassination attempts. But in the process,
her heart pays a high price for her loyalty to her country and crown.