England’s Next Top Prince Consort turns Elizabethan politics into a chaotic reality competition as Queen Elizabeth I momentarily abandons statecraft to evaluate a lineup of suitors—Philip II of Spain, the Duke of Anjou, Charles II of Austria, and the ever-intrusive Robert Dudley—under the dubious guidance of judges Walsingham, Cecil, Dudley, and a confused Shakespeare. Confessionals function as court intrigue, alliances form and implode, and a cryptic lady-in-waiting named Balthazar quietly tracks every secret. Assassination rumors, theatrical entrances, and relentless scheming pile up as each contender fights for the queen’s hand and the power attached to it.
Queen Elizabeth I/Philip II of Spain
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
Francis, Duke of Anjou
William Shakespeare
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester:
Sir Francis Walsingham
Charles II of Austria
Lady-in-waiting “Balthazar”