Alais Capet

Alais (pronounced "Alice") Capet is the mistress of King Henry II of England and the sister of King Philip II of France. Alais is a beautiful twenty-three-year-old woman who has been Henry's mistress since she was sixteen years old. In a treaty between France and England that was made when she was a young girl, Alais was promised in marriage to whichever of Henry's sons he names as his successor. But Alais is deeply in love with Henry and does not want to marry any of his sons. However, she has no power whatsoever to determine her own future and is merely subject to the political wrangling of the other characters in the play. She describes herself as a "pawn" in the political maneuvering between Henry, Eleanor, Philip, and the three sons. Alais's only source of power lies in Henry's emotional attachment to her, although he makes...