George Arliiss plays accidental monarch King Philip, ruler of an unnamed kingdom. He got the throne by a premature childless death here, an accident there, and 18 years prior he was called upon to be king when he was not even close enough in the the royal lineage to be prepared from childhood for the role. He had to give up not only his simple life but also his wife and child since they were not of royal blood. But in the 18 years since he has become dissatisfied. He has full days of meeting people he does not care to know and dedicating statues to nothingness while in full dress uniform. He has a marriage in name only to his second wife, Margaret, although they are cordial to one another. The kingdom is actually ruled by a congress of sorts, so the king has no power other than signing bills passed by that congress.
But the people are beginning to revolt, and Philip is on their side. Not just because he feels powerless and useless in his role, but he truly believes they are just in feeling that the legislature is picking the pockets of the people with taxes and providing nothing in return. Thus he signs an unjust law just because he knows it will precipitate revolution freeing both himself and his people.
So he abdicates his throne. But then a surprise. Queen Margaret wants to give him his freedom because she has a "Mr. X" from her time before their marriage, just as Philip wants to return to his first wife.
At home Philip finds another surprise. His first wife has become quite the elitist. Gone is the vine covered cottage of their youth, and he is back in the same kind of mansion and is bogged down in stiff appointments with stiff people (her friends) he was trying to get away from, with someone always waiting to open a door for him. His daughter is salvageable, but she is in love with an inventor (Dick Powell) that mom does not approve of because of his breeding!
So Philip manages to escape one day for a walking trip to the town auction and who does he meet but his former queen! Without her crown Margaret is quite a bit of fun, and has even taken to smoking! There are some other twists and turns, but I'll let you watch and find out how this all turns out.
I wish George Arliss had made more films. They are usually a delight even if they have a few ham fisted moments, probably courtesy of the times in which they were made. Arliss always tried to help young acting talent by asking for specific young players to be in his films, and he likewise (usually) played a champion of the underdog with an air of mischief. Highly recommended.
