The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein (2001)

The Duchy of Gerolstein is in some financial trouble because its extravagant Grand Duchess is obsessed with all things military, and has exhausted the treasury by frivolously sprucing up the look of her army. For this reason, her chamberlain, Puck, is anxious for her to marry Paul, a prince from a neighboring principality who is rich enough to pay for all their losses.

But the Grand Duchess, who has a roving eye, is interested at the moment in a young army private named Fritz. Fritz, however, is engaged to Wanda, with whom he is desperately in love. To win him over, the Grand Duchess promotes him to the rank of General and gives him the leadership of the army. General Bourn, the current commander-in-chief, is quite naturally incensed.

Fritz comes back from battle victorious, having outwitted the enemy not by force but through a clever tactic. The Grand Duchess makes a romantic move on him, which scares him enough to make him sneak off and marry Wanda immediately.

Meanwhile, General Bourn, Puck, and Prince Paul form an alliance, plotting to murder Fritz and so rid the country of this ridiculous military leader. When the Grand Duchess hears the news of Fritz and Wanda’s wedding, she joins them in the conspiracy.

Baron Grog is sent from Paul’s principality to urge the Duchess to wed the Prince without further delay. Her Grace is instantly smitten with Grog and, anticipating having an affair with him once she is married to Paul, agrees to the wedding.

Now that she has a crush on somebody new, she calls off the plot on Fritz but allows the conspirators to play a prank on him to teach him a lesson. Fritz is dragged away from his nuptial bed on the pretext that a new battle is in the offing.

He returns, properly humiliated, in the midst of the wedding celebration for Paul and the Grand Duchess, and is stripped of his military rank. He and Wanda are now free to lead the simple life they had always dreamed of, and the Grand Duchess’s love life takes an interesting new turn as well.