History Theatre / TheLionInWinter

* IWasQuiteALooker: Both Henry and Richard recall Eleanor's youthful beauty, and Eleanor looks back both fondly and bitterly on her glory days.

* SuccessionCrisis: Primogeniture was not the law in 1183, and Henry is worried that his sons might fight a civil war after he dies. It doesn't help that the parents can't agree about which son should inherit: Henry prefers John while Eleanor prefers Richard. Making it worse is Henry's idea of having ''more'' children with Alais. Even worse, Aquitaine has different rules than England. The muddled mess will result in the Hundred Years War, the War of the Baron, and ultimately the Magna Carta when John remains in charge.

* DramaticIrony: A good deal of the tension, squabbling and fighting during the story is over who will succeed Henry as king of England ''and'' get the Aquitaine, with Richard and John being championed by their mother and father respectively -- while Geoffrey is very much ignored. Most viewers will know that ultimately Richard did become king and was succeeded by John after he died without heirs, only for John to be primarily remembered as a villain whose reign effectively ended the Angevin Empire.[[note]]Historical opinion of John has become more tolerant over the centuries, and he's regarded as a generally capable ruler with a horrible, vindictive personality.[[/note]] Viewers might also know that Geoffrey would die only three years after the setting of this film, his son Arthur was possibly murdered on John's order, and that after Henry's death Eleanor acted as regent for Richard while he was fighting in the Crusades; in a bizarre reversal of events she actually tried to ''retire'' to an abbey when she was 72, only to have to keep coming out of retirement to help her sons.

* {{Foil}}: What would Richard, Geoffrey or John be like as King? Look at Philip. The young newly elevated King whose a master of deceit, betrayal and scheming, that underneath it all has massive insecurities and deep unresolved issues with his father.

* DramaticIrony: A good deal of the tension, squabbling and fighting during the story is over who will succeed Henry as king of England ''and'' get the Aquitaine, with Richard and John being championed by their mother and father respectively -- while Geoffrey is very much ignored. Most viewers will know that ultimately Richard did become king and was succeeded by John after he died without heirs, only for John to be primarily remembered as a villain whose reign effectively ended the Angevin Empire.[[note]]Historical opinion of John has become more tolerant over the centuries, and he's regarded as a generally capable ruler with a horrible, vindictive personality.[[/note]] Viewers might also know that Geoffrey would die only three years after the setting of this film, and his son Arthur was possibly murdered on John's order, and that after Henry's death Eleanor acted as regent for Richard while he was fighting in the Crusades; in a bizarre reversal of events she actually tried to ''retire'' to a abbey when she was 72, only to have to keep coming out of retirement to help her sons.

* DramaticIrony: A good deal of the tension, squabbling and fighting during the story is over who will succeed Henry as king of England ''and'' get the Aquitaine, with Richard and John being championed by their mother and father respectively -- while Geoffrey is very much ignored. Most viewers will know that ultimately Richard did become king and was succeeded by John after he died without heirs, only for John to be primarily remembered as a villain whose reign effectively ended the Angevin Empire.[[note]]Historical opinion of John has become more tolerant over the centuries, and he's regarded as a generally capable ruler with a horrible, vindictive personality.[[/note]] Viewers might also know that Geoffrey would die only three years after the setting of this film, and his son Arthur was possibly murdered on John's order.

** Christmas trees first appeared in Germany in the 1500s.

* HistoricalRelationshipOverhaul: The play presents Angelica Schuyler as only marrying her husband because she was expected to marry rich, while loving Alexander Hamilton instead, when in reality she ran away with him, suggesting she really did care for him at least at some point.

* TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask: Eleanor shows signs of it, though she's reluctant to admit it.

** While Richard's sexuality is still intensely debated, historians have ruled out Richard and Philip II's being lovers. A passage 12th-century chronicler Roger of Howden's ''Gesta Regis Henrici Secundi et Gesta Regis Ricardi Benedicti abbatis'' describes Richard and Philip's closeness and sharing a bed. However, sharing a bed was common in the Middle Ages (and indeed to varying degrees into the 19th century--bed-sharing saved on laundry ''and'' heating), and such ostentatious intimacy was a sign of royal favor. In this particular instance Richard, who feared being passed over for John, and Philip, who was eager to promote infighting within the Plantagenet dynasty, were emphasizing their alliance as a threat to Henry. Contemporaries and medieval historians understood this perfectly, and it was not until 1948 that ''architectural'' historian J. H. Harvey, failing to understand the medieval social norms behind and the context of event, anachronistically interpreted the bed sharing as an affair.

* CantLiveWithThemCantLiveWithoutThem: Henry and Eleanor in spades.

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: The [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfPlantagenet main characters]], including UsefulNotes/RichardTheLionHeart.
** Katherine Hepburn is a descendant of UsefulNotes/EleanorOfAquitaine — not only through Eleanor's marriage to Henry II, but also Eleanor's earlier marriage to the French King Louis VII.

* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Whilst everyone else goes with TheQueensLatin. Creator/KatharineHepburn goes with a flat Mid-Atlantic. Historically of course they should all be speaking french.

* ParentalFavoritism: They're very blatant about it and a major driving force in the plot.

* QueerRomance: Philip and Richard.

* StraightGay: Richard, arguably.

* {{Troll}}: Henry, Eleanor, Geoffrey, and Philip.

* WarriorPrince: Richard. He's first seen victorious in a tournament, prepared to strike his opponent dead.

** While Richard's sexuality is still intensely debated, historians have ruled out Richard and Philip II's being lovers. A passage 12th-century chronicler Roger of Howden's ''Gesta Regis Henrici Secundi et Gesta Regis Ricardi Benedicti abbatis'' describes Richard and Philip's closeness and sharing a bed. However, sharing a bed was common in the Middle Ages (and indeed to varying degrees into the 19th century), and such ostentatious intimacy was a sign of royal favor. In this particular instance Richard, who feared being passed over for John, and Philip, who was eager to promote infighting within the Plantagenet dynasty, were emphasizing their alliance as a threat to Henry. Contemporaries and medieval historians understood this perfectly, and it was not until 1948 that ''architectural'' historian J. H. Harvey, failing to understand the medieval social norms behind and the context of event, anachronistically interpreted the bed sharing as an affair.