The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex

Elizabeth is an aging queen in love with the Earl, but when he sinks the Spanish Armada and squanders ships and loot needed by England, she replaces him with his rival, Sir Walter Raleigh (Vincent Price). Essex is furious and retreats to his family's estate, and the Queen must coax him back to court. Their relationship is fraught by sabotage from all sides, and through the intervention of Essex's enemies the two are turned against one another. In the end the Queen is forced to choose between her country and her love for a man whose ambition could be the ruin of a nation. (official distributor synopsis)