König für einen Tag

For 10 years Prince Sigismund has been incarcerated in a tower by order of his father, the king, so as to protect the royal household from his volatile moods. His soliloquies and fantasies constantly circle around his beloved Julia, the discoverer Amerigo Vespucci and a free and better world without a king and without exploitation. The king and Julia arrive at the tower and the king gives in to her demand to free Sigismund. Meanwhile, the empire is in danger and the people threaten unrest. The counsellors confer, no-one is sure how to deal with the situation.
Amidst the confusion, the king informs the Privy Council of his decision that Sigismund should be the new king. Sigismund is rather unsure at first, not knowing whether he is being tricked and mocked, but all too soon his volatility takes over. He tortures the counsellors, announces the victory of the riotous rebels and wants to fraternize with the crowd. Soon the situation escalates; the crowd turns on the counsellors and is about to string Sigismund, "the last bloodsucker" up. At the last moment the king intervenes and calms the situation with a few words. The king reveals that everything was a game, to show Sigismund that "An empire isn’t a cue ball for fantasies." Sigismund is distraught and of his own will returns to the tower, refusing to leave ever again.