England, late 1547. King Henry VIII Is dead. His fourteen-year-old
daughter Elizabeth is living with the king's widow, Catherine Parr, and
her new husband, Thomas Seymour. Seymour is the brother of Henry VIII's
third wife, the late Jane Seymour, who was the mother to the now-ailing
boy King.Ambitious and dangerous, Seymour begins and overt flirtation
with Elizabeth that ends with Catherine sending her away. When Catherine
dies a year later and Seymour is arrested for treason soon after, a
scandal explodes. Alone and in dreadful danger, Elizabeth is threatened
by supporters of her half-sister, Mary, who wishes to see England return
to Catholicism. She is also closely questioned by the king's regency
council due to her place in the line of succession. Was she still a
virgin? Was there a child? Had she promised to marry Seymour?Under
pressure, Elizabeth shows the shrewdness and spirit she would later be
famous for. She survives the scandal, but Thomas Seymour is not so
lucky. The "Seymour Scandal" led Elizabeth and her advisers to create of
the persona of the Virgin Queen.On hearing of Seymour's beheading,
Elizabeth observed, "This day died a man of much wit, and very little
judgment." His fate remained with her. She would never allow her heart
to rule her head again.
