Sibling rivalry, adultery, and dungeons The Lion in Winter, by James Goldman, is a modern-day classic. Comedic in tone, dramatic in action the play tells the story of the Plantagenet family, who are locked in a free-for-all of competing ambitions to inherit a kingdom. The queen, and wealthiest woman in the world, Eleanor of Aquitaine, has been kept in prison since raising an army against her husband, King Henry II. Let out only for holidays, the play centers around the inner conflicts of the royal family as they fight over both a kingdom and King Henrys paramour during the Christmas of 1183. As Eleanor says, Every family has its ups and downs, and this royal family is no exception.