''The Lion in Winter'' is set during Christmas 1183, at Henry II of England's château and primary residence in Chinon, Anjou, in the medieval Angevin Empire. Henry wants his youngest son, the future John, King of England, to inherit his throne, while his estranged and imprisoned wife, Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, temporarily released from prison for the holidays, favors their oldest surviving son, the future Richard I of England. Meanwhile, King Philip II of France, the son and successor of Louis VII of France, Eleanor's ex-husband, has given his half-sister Alys, Countess of the Vexin, who is currently Henry's mistress, to the future heir, and demands either a wedding or the return of her dowry.