The Lion in Winter

1183. Fifty year old King Henry II of England is holding Christmas court in dealing with the issue of who will succeed him on the throne after his ultimate death, he outwardly wanting England to be left in the best hands possible. Arguably the person he has summoned who is the most important in this court is his estranged wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, who he had imprisoned ten years ago in her attempts to overthrow him. While love was questionably never in the picture between husband and wife, there is a fine line in their emotions toward the other of hate and admiration in their sheer tenacity to come out on top. While Henry favors youngest son, now sixteen year old privileged John, to ascend to the throne, Eleanor, who admittedly does not like any of her children, favors oldest surviving son (following the death of Henry "Jr.") Richard, the determined one to who she had signed temporary stewardship of Aquitaine in her imprisonment. Her choice is largely because he is the least favored by Henry in being the one tied to Eleanor's apron strings in childhood. Lost in the fray is middle son Geoffrey, the scheming one who, like his two brothers, wants to be king one day, sooner than later. Each, behind the scenes, plots to achieve his/her end goals at any cost, especially the downfall of the others in the picture. Thrown into the mix is seventeen year old King Philip II of France, who ascended to the throne following the death of his father, King Louis VII. Outwardly, Philip solely wants Henry to honor the agreement made with Louis for Louis' daughter Alais to become Queen of England - by marrying whoever Henry's heir - or return the sizable dowry that came with that agreement. Philip is well aware that Alais is Henry's latest in a long line of mistresses - Eleanor who throws the most beloved but long deceased mistress Rosamund in Henry's face more often than not - and thus a pawn in the negotiations, she who does not want to leave Henry to marry any of his sons. While he does not really care what happens to Alais, Philip has the end goal of wanting control of both France and England.