As Elizabeth settled into her reign as queen, she quickly learned to master the art of traversing the treacherous world of courtly politics at home in England as well as France and Spain. Despite this carefully crafted persona, her throne was never completely safe. As religious strife escalated across Europe between Catholics and Protestants, the conflict hit closer to home when a certain Scottish Queen stumbled onto English shores amidst scandal and rebellion. And now it’s up to Elizabeth to strategically navigate the dangerous fallout that followed.

In this episode, Elizabeth is excommunicated (again) by the Pope, teasing marriage with a new round of suitors (and some old ones as well) and throwing her ever present feet-dragging slippers at poor William Cecil whenever he annoys her (which is all the time).

But Gloriana triumphs every step of the way, proving she is no easy woman to be trifled with.