Deception, betrayal, adultery: it's a typical Christmas among the British royal family in 1183. In honour of the newly crowned French king Philip II, Henry II hosts a banquet. Invited are his three tactical sons, who fancy their chances of the throne, and his wife, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. After Eleanor's failed coup attempt against her husband, the richest woman in the world is condemned to a life in captivity and is only allowed out on holidays. In the marital struggle for kingdom and crown jewels, they instrumentalize their children as pawns in the royal game. Is the royal family in the end just another normal family with ups and downs?
Betrayal, treachery, adultery: it's just another normal Christmas for the royal Plantagenet family of Britain. It's 1183 and King Henry II throws a Christmas feast for the newly crowned King Phillip II of France. Also in attendance for the holiday celebrations are Henry's three plotting sons, each eager to take the throne, and wealthiest woman in the world, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, who has been kept in prison since raising an army against her husband. Let out only for holidays, manipulative Eleanor and Henry use their offspring as pawns against each other in a battle of royal wits over both a kingdom and King Henry's courtesan. As Eleanor says, "Every family has its ups and downs," and this royal family is no exception.
Text source and more information about this event: https://www.english-theatre.de/the-lion-in-winter/
