Thomson was closely identified with the Patriot Whigs opposed to the government of Robert Walpole. His play, ostensibly about Edward I and his wife Eleanor during the Ninth Crusade, was viewed as an attack on Walpole's policies and personal corruption. Because the play begins with Edward as a patriotic Prince of Wales compared favourably to his father Henry III, similarities were drawn with the strained relationship between George II and his son Frederick, Prince of Wales who was a backer of the Patriot Whigs. Thomson dedicated the published version of the play to Frederick's wife Augusta.