Most scenes together: Elizabeth & Dudley (6), Elizabeth & Walsingham (3), Elizabeth & Cecil (3)
It matters nothing to me. I can live without her most happily. Better than I could live with her. I have no need of her love. Have I not suffered enough already for loving her and showing it?
I envy you, my Lord. To love a woman so deeply.
Monseigneur... envy no man for that. Such love is hateful. It tears the soul apart. Envy a man who has never known such love.
When you are Queen...
I am not... I am not Queen yet.
You will be. Elizabeth, Queen of England. A court to worship you. A country to obey you. Poems written celebrating your beauty. Music composed in your honour, and they will be nothing to you. I will mean nothing to you.
All that I am it is you.
You are in the greatest danger. You must believe me. But you have a friend. Someone who can guarantee your safety and your throne.
A friend?
The King of Spain.
He would marry you.
Only to make an alliance. Nothing more. He would not expect to...
He would live in Spain.
Why do you do this, Robert?
Because I love you. And though you will not see me, I am the only one who would care for you.
You love me so much you would have me be your whore?
For God's sake, I do this for us. I ask you to save some part of us!
Lord Robert, you may make whores of my Ladies but you shall not make one of me.
Your Majesty...
They are all gone to the Tower. Your friends. Tell me, how should I serve thee, Robert?
My course is run.
Just tell me why.
Why? Madam, is it not plain enough to you? It is no easy thing to be loved by the Queen. It would corrupt the soul of any man. Now, for God's sake, kill me.
No...I think rather to let you live.
Madam, that is not wise. Lord Robert has committed treason. He must be made example of.
And I will make an example of him. He shall be kept alive to always remind me of how close I came to danger.
He then said that this King would marry me but would not expect to share my bed more than two or three times a year.
As much as that?
Well, he...he is enraptured.
Naturally.
But... his affairs would otherwise keep him in Spain.
Then the King is a fool. What could ever be important enough to keep him from your bed?
Robert, you should not say such things.
Then I shall only think them.
I have rid England of her enemies. What do I do now? Am I to be made of stone? Must I be touched by nothing?
Aye, Madam, to reign supreme. All men need something greater than themselves to look up to and worship. They must be able to touch the divine here on earth.
I narrowly escaped with my life, sir. I cannot now discuss marriage.
Forgive me...the one cannot be separated from the other.
Such piercing eyes! And very indiscreet!
My true love has my heart and I have hers. My heart in me keeps her and me in one. My heart in her, her thoughts and senses guide. She loves my heart for once it was her own. I cherish hers because in me it bides. My true love has my heart and I have hers. Marry me.
On a night such as this, could any woman say "no"?
On a night such as this could a Queen say "no"?
Does not a Queen sit under the same stars as any other woman?
We all believe in God, my Lords.
No, Madam, there is only one true belief; the other, heresy.
Mary of Guise I hear you are a wise man, Sir Francis, and a creature of the world like me.
Yes. I have no illusions. I know it is only a matter of time before my Queen is overthrown. Her Majesty rules with the heart, not with the head.
Mary of Guise I understand. It is hard for a woman to forget her heart. But, er...what of you, Walsingham?
A wise man would be careful not to put himself in the way of harm.
Mary of Guise And how would a wise man do that?
He would, as I said, change allegiance.
Mary of Guise Allegiance?
There are but two choices. He would get into bed with either Spain or France.
Mary of Guise And whose bed would you prefer?
Mary When I look at you I see nothing of the King. Only that whore, your mother. My father never did anything so well as to cut off her head.
Your Majesty forgets he was also my father.
Mary Why will you not confess your crimes against me?
Because, Your Majesty, I have committed none.
Mary You speak with such sincerity! I see you are still a consummate actress. My husband is gone. They have poisoned my child. They say it is a tumour.
Madam, you are not well.
Mary They say this cancer will make you Queen, but they are wrong! Look there! It is your death warrant. All I need do is sign it.
Mary, if you sign that paper, you will be murdering your own sister.
Mary You will promise me something? When I am gone, you will do everything in your power to uphold the Catholic faith. Do not take away from the people the consolations of the Blessed Virgin.
When I am Queen...I promise...to act as my conscience dictates.
Mary Well, do not think to be Queen at all, then. You may return to your own house at Hatfield, but you will remain there under arrest until I am recovered.
Your Grace, Protestants are already returning from abroad.
Yes. And have made plans to massacre every Catholic in England. There would be butchery indeed if such a plan were even conceivable.
They say Walsingham will return from France.
Walsingham is nothing! (to servant) Be sure he does not.
I regret to inform Your Majesty of our miserable defeat in Scotland. The Bishops still demand Your Majesty's removal. They find support in every quarter. Alas, Madam, we are come already to catastrophe.
How dare you come into my presence! Why do you follow me here?
It is my business to protect Your Majesty, against all things.
I do not need protection. I need to be left alone!
Majesty...
They should never have been sent to Scotland. My father would not have made such a mistake. I have been proved unfit to rule. That is what you all think, is it not, Walsingham?
It is not for me to judge you.
Why did they send children? Why did they not send proper reinforcements?
The Bishops would not let them. They spoke against it in the pulpits.
Then...they are speaking against their Queen.
Madam, the Bishops are against you and have no fear of you. They do not expect you to survive.
There is so little beauty in this world, and so much suffering. Do you suppose that is what God had in mind? That is to say if there is a god at all. Perhaps there is nothing in this universe but ourselves. And our thoughts.
Think before you do this. If you must do it, do it now and without regret. But first think, and be certain why it needs to be done.
Come here. Look out there. There is a whole world waiting for you. Innocence is the most precious thing you possess. Lose that and you lose your soul.
[Walsingham slits the servant's throat]
Your Grace is arrested. You must go with these men to the Tower.
I must do nothing by your orders. I am Norfolk.
You were Norfolk. The dead have no titles. You were the most powerful man in England and could have been greater still but you had not the courage to be loyal. Only the conviction of your own vanity.
I think, Walsingham, a man's courage is in the manner of his death. I am content to die for my beliefs. So cut off my head and make me a martyr. The people will always remember it.
No...they will forget.
