Elizabeth is a film based on the early reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England.

The film was written by Michael Hirst and directed by Shekhar Kapur.

It stars Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Joseph Fiennes, Christopher Eccleston  and Richard Attenborough.

The film tells about the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England.

In 1558, the Roman Catholic Mary I of England dies of a tumor in her uterus leaving her Protrestant half sister Elizabeth as Queen.

Elizabeth had previously been jailed for a supposed conspiracy to murder Mary, but has now been freed for her coronation.

Elizabeth was courted by suitors (including Henri, Duc d'Anjou, the future King Henry III of France, whom she rejects.)

Instead, she makes love with her childhood sweetheart, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.

Elizabeth deals with various threats to her reign, including The Duke of Norfolk and Mary of Guise, who allies with France to attack England's forces.

At the end of the film, Norfolk is executed for his conspiracy and Mary is assassinated by Elizabeth's advisor, Francis Walsingham.

Dudley is permanently banished by Elizabeth when she finds out that he is married.

The film ends with Elizabeth assuming the persona of 'The Virgin Queen'.