The novel takes place in the middle of the XVI century. Madame de Chartres, long years after the death of her husband, lived far from the yard, and her daughter come to Paris. Mademoiselle de Chartres goes to a jeweler to choose jewelry. There, she is accidentally met by Prince of Cleves, the second son of the Duke of Nevers, and falls in love with her at first sight. He really wants to know who this young lady is, and the sister of King Henry II, thanks to the friendship of one of his maids of honor with Madame de Chartres the next day, introduces him to a young beauty who first appeared at court and aroused general admiration. Having found out that the nobility of her lover is not inferior to her beauty, Prince Cleves wants to marry her, but is afraid that the proud Madame de Chartres will consider him unworthy of her daughter because he is not the eldest son of the duke. The Duke of Nevers does not want his son to marry Mademoiselle de Chartres, which harms Madame de Chartres, who considers her daughter an enviable party. The family of another pretender to the young person’s hand - Chevalier de Giza - also does not want to intermarry with her, and Madame de Chartres is trying to find a party for her daughter, "which would elevate her over those who considered themselves superior to her." She opts for the eldest son of the Duke de Montpensier, but because of the intrigues of the long-time lover of the King Duchess de Valantinois, her plans are wrecked. The Duke of Nevers suddenly dies, and the Prince of Cleves soon asks for the hands of Mademoiselle de Chartres. Madame de Chartres, having asked her daughter's opinion and hearing that she does not have a special inclination towards Prince Cleves, but respects his dignity and would marry him less reluctantly than anyone else, accepts the prince's offer, and soon Mademoiselle de Chartres becomes Princess of Cleves. Brought up in strict rules, she behaves impeccably, and virtue provides her with peace and universal respect. Prince Cleves adores his wife, but feels that she does not respond to his passionate love. This overshadows his happiness.

Henry II sends Count de Randan to England to Queen Elizabeth to congratulate her on her accession to the throne. Elizabeth of England, having heard about the glory of the Duke of Nemur, asks the Count about him with such fervor that the king after his report advises the Duke of Nemur to ask for the hand of the Queen of England. The duke sends his close Lignerol to England to find out the mood of the queen, and, encouraged by the information received from Lignolol, prepares to appear before Elizabeth. Arriving at the court of Henry II to attend the wedding of the Duke of Lorraine, the Duke of Nemours at the ball meets Princess Cleves and is imbued with love for her. She notices his feeling and, upon returning home, tells her mother about the Duke with such enthusiasm that Madame de Chartres immediately realizes that her daughter is in love, although she herself does not realize it. Protecting her daughter, Madame de Chartres tells her that the Duke of Nemours is rumored to be in love with the Dauphin’s wife, Mary Stuart, and advises her to visit the Dauphin Queen less often so as not to be involved in love affairs. Princess Klevskaya is ashamed of her penchant for the Duke of Nemursky: she should be tempted to feel for a worthy spouse, and not for a person who wants to use her to hide her relationship with the Dauphin Queen. Madame de Chartres is seriously ill. Having lost hope of recovery, she gives her daughter orders: to move away from the yard and sacredly remain faithful to her husband. She assures that leading a virtuous life is not as difficult as it seems - it is much more difficult to endure the misfortunes that a love adventure entails. Madame de Chartres is dying. Princess Cleves mournes her and decides to avoid the company of the Duke of Nemours. The husband takes her to the village. The duke comes to visit Prince Cleves in the hope of meeting the princess, but she does not accept him.

Princess Cleves returns to Paris. It seems to her that her feeling for the Duke of Nemursky has faded. The Dauphin Queen informs her that the Duke of Nemours abandoned his plans to ask for the hands of the Queen of England. Everyone believes that only love for another woman could push him to this. When Princess Cleves suggests that the duke is in love with the dauphin queen, she replies: the duke never showed any feelings for her except secular respect. Apparently, the duke's chosen one does not reciprocate, for his closest friend to the species de Chartres - the uncle of the Princess of Cleves - does not notice any signs of a secret connection. Princess Cleves realizes that his behavior is dictated by love for her, and her heart is filled with gratitude and tenderness for the duke, who neglected for her love for the English crown. Words, as if accidentally dropped by the duke in a conversation, confirm her hunch.

In order not to betray her feelings, Princess Cleves carefully avoids the duke. Mourning gives her reason to lead a secluded life, her sadness also does not surprise anyone: everyone knows how much she was attached to Madame de Chartres.

The Duke of Nemours steals a miniature portrait of Princess Cleves. The princess sees this and does not know what to do: if you demand to publicly return the portrait, then everyone will learn about his passion, and if you do it face to face, he can make love to her. The princess decides to remain silent and pretend that she did not notice anything.

In the hands of the Dauphin Queen, a letter is allegedly lost by the Duke of Nemours. She gives it to the Princess Cleves to read it and try to determine by hand who wrote it. In the letter, an unknown lady accuses her lover of infidelity. Princess Cleves is tormented by jealousy. But an error occurred: in fact, the letter was not lost by the Duke of Nemours, but by the species de Chartres. Fearing to lose the position of the reigning Queen Maria de Medici, who requires him to completely surrender, de Chartres asks the Duke of Nemours to recognize himself as the addressee of a love letter. In order not to draw the reproaches of his beloved on the duke of Nemursky, he gives him an accompanying note, which shows who wrote the message and to whom it is intended. The Duke of Nemours agrees to bail out Vidam de Chartres, but goes to Prince Cleves to consult with him on how best to do this. When the king urgently calls for the prince, the duke is left alone with the Princess Cleves and shows her a note testifying to his involvement in the lost love letter.

Princess Cleves leaves for Kolomye Castle. The duke, finding no place for longing, sets off for his sister, the Duchess de Merquerot, whose estate is located next to Kolomier. During a walk, he wanders in Kolomye and accidentally overhears the conversation of the princess with her husband. The princess confesses to the prince that she is in love and asks permission to live far from the light. She has not done anything reprehensible, but does not want to be tempted. The prince recalls the loss of the portrait of the princess and suggests that she gave it to him. She explains that she did not give it at all, but she was a witness to the theft and said nothing so as not to cause a declaration of love. She does not name the person who awakened such a strong feeling in her, but the duke understands that it is about him. He feels immensely happy and immensely unhappy at the same time.

Prince of Cleves is eager to find out who owns the thoughts of his wife. By cunning, he manages to find out that she loves the Duke of Nemours.

Amazed by the princess's act, the Duke of Nemours tells Vidam de Chartres about him without naming names. Species realizes that the duke is related to this story. He, in turn, tells his mistress Madame de Martigles “about the extraordinary act of a certain person who confessed to her husband the passion she had for another” and assures her that the subject of this ardent passion is the Duke of Nemursky. Madame de Martigus retells this story to the Dauphin Queen, and she tells the Princess of Cleves, who begins to suspect her husband that he entrusted her secret to one of his friends. She accuses the prince of having divulged her secret, and now she is known to everyone, including the duke. The prince swears that he kept the secret sacred, and the couple cannot understand how their conversation became known.

At the court, two weddings are celebrated at once: the daughters of the King Princess Elizabeth with the King of Spain and the sisters of King Margaret of France - with the Duke of Savoy. The king arranges a tournament for this occasion. In the evening, when the tournament is almost over and everyone is going to disperse, Henry II challenges the count of Montgomery to a duel. During the duel, a piece of the spear of Earl of Montgomery hits the king in the eye. The wound is so serious that the king soon dies. The coronation of Francis II is due to take place in Reims, and the entire court goes there. Upon learning that the Princess of Cleves will not follow the court, the Duke of Nemur goes to her to see her before leaving. In the doorway he encounters the Duchess of Nevers and Madame de Martigues, emerging from the princess. He asks the princess to accept him, but she passes through the maid that she felt ill and cannot accept him. Prince Klewski becomes aware that the Duke of Nemours came to his wife. He asks her to list everyone who visited her that day, and, not hearing the name of the Duke of Nemursky, asks her a direct question. The princess explains that she did not see the duke. The prince suffers from jealousy and says that she made him the most unhappy person in the world. The next day he leaves, not seeing his wife, but nevertheless sends her a letter full of sorrow, tenderness and nobility. She answers him with assurances that her behavior was and will be impeccable.

Princess Cleves is leaving for Kolomye. The duke of Nemursky, on some pretext, asking the king for leave to travel to Paris, goes to Kolomye. Prince of Cleves is aware of the plans of the Duke and sends a young nobleman from his retinue to follow him. Having made his way into the garden and going to the window of the pavilion, the duke sees how the princess is tying bows on a cane that previously belonged to him. Then she admires the picture, where he is depicted among other soldiers who took part in the siege of Metz. The duke takes a few steps, but touches the window frame. The princess turns around on the noise and, noticing it, immediately disappears. The next night, the duke comes again under the window of the pavilion, but she does not appear. He visits his sister, Madame de Merquer, who lives in the neighborhood, and cleverly leads the conversation to the fact that the sister herself offers him to accompany her to Princess Cleves. The princess makes every effort not to be alone for a minute with the duke.

The duke returns to Chambord, where the king and court are. The prince’s envoy arrives in Chambord even earlier than he and reports to the prince that the duke spent two nights in a row in the garden, and then was in Colomier with Madame de Merker. The prince is unable to bear the misfortune that befell him; he begins a fever. Upon learning of this, the princess hurries to her husband. He meets her with reproaches, because he thinks that she spent two nights with the duke. The princess swears to him that in her thoughts there was no way to change him. The prince is glad that his wife is worthy of the respect that he had for her, but cannot recover from the blow and dies in a few days. Realizing that she is the culprit of the death of her husband, Princess Cleves feels a burning hatred for herself and for the Duke of Nemursky. She bitterly mournes her husband and for the rest of her life intends to act only as it would be nice to him if he were alive. Mindful of the fact that he expressed concern that she would not marry the Duke of Nemursky after his death, she firmly decides never to do this.

The Duke of Nemours reveals to Vidam de Chartres his feelings for his niece and asks for help to see her. Vidam eagerly agrees, for the duke seems to him the most worthy contender for the hand of the Princess of Cleves. The duke declares his love to the princess and tells how he found out about her feelings for him, having witnessed her conversation with the prince. Princess Cleves does not hide the fact that she loves the duke, but resolutely refuses to marry him. She considers the duke to be guilty of the death of her husband and is firmly convinced that marriage with him is contrary to her duty.

Princess Klevskaya leaves for her distant possessions, where she is ill ailments. Having recovered from the illness, she moves to the holy monastery, and neither the queen nor the vidam succeeds in convincing her to return to the court. The Duke of Nemours goes to her himself, but the Princess refuses to accept him. Part of the year she lives in the monastery, the rest of the time - in her possessions, where she indulges in activities even more pious than in the most strict monasteries. "And her short life will remain an example of unique virtue."