History Theatre / TheLionInWinter

** Eleanor balks when [[spoiler:Geoffrey and Richard suggest secretly killing Henry]].

* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Henry and Eleanor's love for each other seeps through occasionally... usually in the form of them hurting each other. It's very telling that Henry planning to annul his marriage to Eleanor is the thing that ''really'' hurts her, even after everything else.

-->'''Henry'': Isn't being Chancellor power enough?
-->''Geoffrey''': It's not the power I feel deprived of. It's the mention I miss. There's no affection for me here; you wouldn't think I'd want that, would you?

-->'''Geoffrey''': No one ever talks of crowns and kings and mentions Geoffrey.

* BatmanGambit: In a brilliant moment of TheChessmaster, Geoffrey proposes an alliance with Philip to make Geoffrey King of England in exchange for all French terrirtories. An angry John decries his betrayal, only for an annoyed and exasperated Geoffrey to explain to John that he knew that Philip is an ObviousTraitor and would immediately tell Henry of Geoffrey's plot, making John the ideal heir for Henry again. [[DidNotThinkThisThrough John admits he acted rashly.]]

Henry's three sons, [[UsefulNotes/KingJohnOfEngland John]], Geoffrey and [[UsefulNotes/RichardTheLionheart Richard]], all aspire to succeed him as king. (A fourth son, Henry the Young King, is recently deceased.) Both he and his wife favour a different son; since she once instigated rebellion against him before, Henry has kept her locked up for ten years, but this experience hasn't dampened her spirit. The power play begins in earnest in 1183, when this lovely family goes to celebrate Christmas in their palace at Chinon along with King Philip II of France, whose older sister Alais is Henry's mistress.

* TheGhost: Young Henry, the eldest son of Henry and Eleanor is alluded to several times in the play. Most references are to his untimely death. But Richard angrily describes him as being horrendous, a sentiment that Henry agrees with. When a shocked Eleanor points out that Young Henry was supposedly Henry's favorite son, [[DamnedByFaintPraise he says he was.]]

The play's original Broadway run featured Robert Preston as Henry, Creator/RosemaryHarris as Eleanor, and Creator/ChristopherWalken in his Broadway debut as Philip. A [[TheFilmOfThePlay film version]], featuring a screenplay adaptation by Goldman, was made in 1968, directed by Anthony Harvey and starring Creator/PeterOToole as Henry[[note]]It was actually O'Toole's second appearance in the role; he'd also played Henry in ''Film/{{Becket}}'', released four years earlier.[[/note]] and Creator/KatharineHepburn as Eleanor. It also marked the feature debuts of Creator/AnthonyHopkins, as Richard, and Creator/TimothyDalton, as Philip. The film received seven UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nominations, winning for Best Actress (Hepburn), Adapted Screenplay (Goldman), and Original Score (Music/JohnBarry).

Henry's three sons, John, Geoffrey and UsefulNotes/{{Richard|the Lionheart}}, all aspire to succeed him as king. (A fourth son, Henry the Young King, is recently deceased.) Both he and his wife favour a different son; since she once instigated rebellion against him before, Henry has kept her locked up for ten years, but this experience hasn't dampened her spirit. The power play begins in earnest in 1183, when this lovely family goes to celebrate Christmas in their palace at Chinon with Philip II, the Capetian King of France, whose older sister Alais is Henry's mistress.

Henry's three sons, John, Geoffrey and Richard, all aspire to succeed him as king. (A fourth son, Henry the Young King, is recently deceased.) Both he and his wife favour a different son; since she once instigated rebellion against him before, Henry has kept her locked up for ten years, but this experience hasn't dampened her spirit. The power play begins in earnest in 1183, when this lovely family goes to celebrate Christmas in their palace at Chinon with Philip II, the Capetian King of France, whose older sister Alais is Henry's mistress.

The play's original Broadway run featured Robert Preston as Henry, Creator/RosemaryHarris as Eleanor, and Creator/ChristopherWalken in his Broadway debut as Philip. A [[TheFilmOfThePlay film version]], featuring a screenplay adaptation by Goldman, was made in 1968, directed by Anthony Harvey and starring Creator/PeterOToole as Henry[[note]]It was actually O'Toole's second appearance in the role; he'd also played Henry in ''Film/{{Becket}}'', released four years earlier.[[/note]] and Creator/KatharineHepburn as Eleanor. It was also the film debut of Creator/TimothyDalton, as Philip II of France, and Creator/AnthonyHopkins, as Richard. The film received seven UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nominations, winning for Best Actress (Hepburn), Adapted Screenplay (Goldman), and Original Score (Music/JohnBarry).

Henry's three sons, John, Geoffrey and Richard, all aspire to be king. (A fourth son, Henry the Young King, is recently deceased.) Both he and his wife favour a different son; since she once instigated rebellion against him before, Henry has kept her locked up for ten years, but this experience hasn't dampened her spirit. The power play begins in earnest in 1183, when this lovely family goes to celebrate Christmas in their palace at Chinon with Philip Capet, King of France, whose older sister Alais is Henry's mistress.

The play's original Broadway run featured Robert Preston as Henry, Creator/RosemaryHarris as Eleanor, and Creator/ChristopherWalken in his Broadway debut as Philip. A [[TheFilmOfThePlay film version]], featuring a screenplay adaptation by Goldman, was made in 1968, directed by Anthony Harvey and starring Creator/PeterOToole as Henry[[note]]It was actually O'Toole's second appearance in the role; he'd also played Henry in ''Film/{{Becket}}'', released four years earlier.[[/note]] and Creator/KatharineHepburn as Eleanor. It was also the film debut of Creator/TimothyDalton (as Philip II of France) and Creator/AnthonyHopkins (as Richard). The film received seven UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nominations, winning for Best Actress (Hepburn), Adapted Screenplay (Goldman), and Original Score (Music/JohnBarry).

The play's original Broadway run featured Robert Preston as Henry, Creator/RosemaryHarris as Eleanor, and Creator/ChristopherWalken in his Broadway debut as Philip. A [[TheFilmOfThePlay film version]], featuring a screenplay adaptation by Goldman, was made in 1968, directed by Anthony Harvey and starring Creator/PeterOToole as Henry [[note]]It was actually O'Toole's second appearance in the role; he'd also played Henry in ''Film/{{Becket}}'', released four years earlier.[[/note]] and Creator/KatharineHepburn as Eleanor. It was also the film debut of Creator/TimothyDalton (as Philip II of France) and Creator/AnthonyHopkins (as Richard). The film received seven UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nominations, winning for Best Actress (Hepburn), Adapted Screenplay (Goldman), and Original Score (Music/JohnBarry).

The play's original Broadway run featured Robert Preston as Henry, Creator/RosemaryHarris as Eleanor, and Creator/ChristopherWalken in his Broadway debut as Philip. A [[TheFilmOfThePlay film version]], featuring a screenplay adaptation by Goldman, was made in 1968, directed by Anthony Harvey and starring Creator/PeterOToole as Henry[[note]]It was actually O'Toole's second appearance in the role; he'd also played Henry in ''Film/{{Becket}}'', released four years earlier.[[/note]] and Creator/KatharineHepburn as Eleanor. It was also the film debut of Creator/TimothyDalton (as Philip of France) and Creator/AnthonyHopkins (as Richard). The film received seven UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nominations, winning for Best Actress (Hepburn), Adapted Screenplay (Goldman), and Original Score (Music/JohnBarry).

* ButtMonkey: [[UsefulNotes/KingJohnOfEngland John.]] [[TruthInTelevision Historical in that as the youngest son]], he'd traditionally inherit the least (hence the real-life nickname of "Lackland", though ironically he ''did'' become king after all, since Richard outlived Geoffrey but died childless). Made painful in this telling because Henry's attempts to favor him over Richard and Geoff have turned John into a clueless spoiled brat.
-->'''John''': Who says poor John? Don't everybody sob at once! My God, if I went up in flames there's not a living soul who'd pee on me to put the fire out!
-->'''Richard''': Let's strike a flint and see!
** Also Geoffrey. John has Henry's support and Richard has Eleanor's, but:

* ManBehindTheMan: Geoffery wants to be the chancellor (since nobody's considering him in the tussle over the actual throne). Though it would be easier to be the true power with John as a king, he still wants the position if Richard wins out.
* ManipulativeBastard: Henry, Philip, Geoffery, and Eleanor are the most flagrantly manipulative. As Henry says, it's the only way to be alive, fifty, and a king all at once. As for Eleanor...
-->'''Richard:''' You're so deceitful you can't ask for water when you're thirsty.

* MedievalMorons: Utterly averted.
** Even John isn't wholly stupid--as he points out, he can read several languages (hell, he can read ''period'', and was the only person depicted in the story who ever learned English), he handcrafted a complicated mechanical Christmas gift for his father, and if nothing else, he's smart enough to realize that if he wants to be king, he's going to need help.

-->'''Eleanor''': Louis had a seizure and I damn near died of windburn. (smiles) But the troops were ''dazzled''...

* TheUnfavorite: How Geoffrey perceives himself among the royal sons. John is favored by Henry, Richard is favored by Eleanor, which leaves him with no one. While he is going to be the chancellor to whoever becomes king, the fact the nobody has even considered him as a candidate for the throne makes is a very sore point for him.

The play's original Broadway run featured Robert Preston as Henry, Creator/RosemaryHarris as Eleanor, and Creator/ChristopherWalken in his Broadway debut as Philip. A film version, featuring a screenplay adaptation by Goldman, was made in 1968, directed by Anthony Harvey and starring Creator/PeterOToole as Henry[[note]]It was actually O'Toole's second appearance in the role; he'd also played Henry in ''Film/{{Becket}}'', released four years earlier.[[/note]] and Creator/KatharineHepburn as Eleanor. It was also the film debut of Creator/TimothyDalton (as Philip of France) and Creator/AnthonyHopkins (as Richard). The film received seven UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nominations, winning for Best Actress (Hepburn), Adapted Screenplay (Goldman), and Original Score (Music/JohnBarry).

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: The drama in the House of Plantagenet at the time was very real. But it does play fast and loose with the historical facts in favor of telling a good story.

* TheGhost: Young Henry, the eldest son of Henry and Eleanor is alluded to several times in the play. Most references are to his untimely death. But Richard angrily describes him as being horrendous, a sentiment that Henry agrees with. When a shocked Eleanor points out that Young Henry was supposedly Henry's favorite son, [[DamnedByFeintPraise he says he was.]]

* TheGhost: Young Henry, the eldest son of Henry and Eleanor is alluded to several times in the play. Most references are to his untimely death. But Richard angrily describes him as being horrendous, a sentiment that Henry agrees with. When a shocked Eleanor points out that Young Henry was supposedly Henry's favorite son, [[DamningWithFeintPraise he says he was.]]