Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)

In 1585, Catholic Spain, ruled by King Philip of Spain, is the most powerful country in the world. Seeing Protestant England as a threat, and in retaliation for English piracy of Spanish ships, Philip plots to take over England and make his daughter, Isabella, the Queen of England in Elizabeth’s place. Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth I of England is pressured by her advisor, Francis Walsingham, to marry – if she dies childless, the throne will pass to her first cousin, once removed, Mary, Queen of Scots, who is Catholic. English explorer Walter Raleigh is presented at Queen Elizabeth’s English court, having returned from the New World. Queen Elizabeth is attracted to Raleigh, enthralled by his tales of exploration, and asks Bess Throckmorton, her most favored lady-in-waiting, to observe him. Bess also finds Raleigh attractive and they begin a secret affair.

With tensions strained between England and Spain, Elizabeth seeks guidance from her astrologer, Dr. John Dee. Jesuits in London conspire with Philip to assassinate Queen Elizabeth and replace her with Queen Mary, in what King Philip calls “The English Enterprise”, historically known as the Babington Plot. From her imprisonment, Queen Mary sends secret correspondence to the Jesuits, who recruit Anthony Babington to assassinate Elizabeth. Walsingham continues to warn Queen Elizabeth of Spain’s rising power and of the Catholics’ plots against her, but unlike her predecessor and half-sister Mary I of England, Elizabeth refuses to force her people to share her religious beliefs. Walsingham’s Catholic brother, who knows of the plot against Elizabeth, is jailed, leading Walsingham to reveal Spain’s plan to Queen Elizabeth, who angrily confronts the Spanish diplomats. The Spanish ambassador feigns ignorance, accuses Queen Elizabeth of receiving Spanish gold from pirates, and insinuates that she has a sexual relationship with Raleigh.