Princess Anne plans to run away with Freddie Granton, the commoner secretary of her father, King Eric VIII, once her domineering mother, Queen Martha, has left for a vacation in America. Anne is therefore aghast when the Marquis of Birten brings news that he has negotiated her political marriage to Prince William of Grec, a man she has never even met. Dismissing Anne's vehement protests, the Queen is delighted, a feeling not shared by Anne's loving but ineffectual father. Meanwhile, the Premier and General Northrup warn that a revolution is brewing. He wishes to execute large numbers of political prisoners, but cannot without the King's signature. The Queen wholeheartedly approves of these stern measures. The King promises to attend to it, but after Northrup and the Queen leave, he orders his secretary to misplace the death warrants. Led by Laker, the rebels rise up after Northrup gets Parliament to grant him dictatorial powers. Anne seizes the opportunity to try to flee with Granton, with her father's approval. However, when she believes that the King is in real danger, she refuses to leave him. A moderate rebel leader named Doctor Fellman visits the King to demand his abdication, but he consents to halt the battle in favor of talks. When the King asserts that the populace is more powerful than Northrup's army and navy, Northrup laughs mockingly and says he is now in control. Prince William will follow. He acknowledges that he does not like Anne, but he is willing to fulfill his obligation and carry out the wedding. Then Laker and Fellman arrive. To Northrup's surprise, the King fires him from his position and installs Fellman in charge, giving him the directive to call for general elections as quickly as feasible. The Queen, having just returned from America with a much-needed loan, confides in her husband that she was aware that the entire revolution was a ploy to unseat Northrup. She is not aware of the final trick the King has prepared. He has Granton brought to him when she departs for the wedding. Anne and Granton are quickly married by him, and they are sent to "exile" in France.