Tom Canty is a poor English boy who bears a remarkable resemblance to Edward, Prince of Wales and son of King Henry VIII. The two boys meet and decide to play a joke on the court by dressing in each other's clothes, but the plan goes awry when they are separated and each must live the other's life.

Tom is a poor young English man who looks very much like Prince Edward, son of the reigning King Henry VIII and the heir to the throne. When Tom and the prince meet, they note the resemblance and decide to change places for fun, just for a little while. But they are separated before they can reveal the prank, and Tom, now living in the castle, learns just how corrupt a place it is. .