The King and most of the House of Windsor have just gone up in smoke - literally - and next in line for the throne is seventeen-year-old Bess, whose future plans did not include ruling the country. Nevertheless she follows her duty and a new Queen is crowned: Elizabeth III. But Bess soon finds that the role of Queen means being a puppet whose strings are pulled by too many people: power-hungry Simon Millward, Prime Minister of the not-so-New Labour government; Roman, the corrupt Russian prince selected to father a royal heir; Selene, Bess's debauched mother - not to mention the gentlemen of the Press and the Civil Service. So, to the shock of Millward and his minions, Bess decides to take matters firmly into her own hands...
