Vulnerable and imperious, passionate and unreachable, from teenage princess to accomplished queen, forever torn between duty and personal longing, the reign of Elizabeth I is exposed in lavish and spectacular style.

Anne-Marie Duff stars as the enigmatic 'Virgin Queen' in a spellbinding drama about the life of one of Britain's greatest monarchs, Elizabeth I. Her femininity baffled and threatened the male order of Renaissance England for more than 40 years. The role is as challenging and complex as anything history offers.

Paula Milne's powerful script about the long and eventful life of England's iconic Queen was filmed against a backdrop of some of Great Britain's most beautiful houses and landscapes. The Virgin Queen explores the full sweep of Elizabeth's life: from her days of fear as a potential victim of her sister's terror, through her great love affair with Robert Dudley, into her years of triumph over the Spanish Armada, and finally her old age and her last, enigmatic relationship with her young protégé, the Earl of Essex.