Mary Queen of Scots

In 1561, Mary, Catholic Queen of Scotland, returns from France following her husband‘s death to take up her throne, where she is received by her half brother, the Earl of Moray. In neighbouring England, her cousin, Elizabeth is Protestant Queen of England — unmarried, childless, and threatened by Mary’s potential claim to her throne. Upon returning, she dismisses John Knox, a cleric who perceives her as a danger to the kingdom’s Protestant supremacy, from her court.

In an attempt to weaken her cousin’s threat to her sovereignty, Elizabeth arranges for Mary, whom the English Catholics recognize as their rightful Queen, to be married to an Englishman. She chooses Robert Dudley, whom she secretly loves, to propose to Mary. Both are unwilling to be married to each other, but the news of Elizabeth’s smallpox convinces her to take the offer – once she is named her heir apparent. Reluctant to let go of Dudley, Elizabeth secretly sends Lord Darnley to Scotland under the pretense of living under their religious freedom. Despite initially sensing an ulterior motive on Darnley’s part, Mary gradually grows to get fond of him and eventually accepts his marriage proposal.

Mary’s impending marriage to Darnley has caused a constitutional crisis within the both realms: In England, Elizabeth is advised by her court to oppose the marriage for fear of Darnley, an English noble, will elevate Mary’s claim to the Crown. In Scotland, Mary’s council is suspicious of Darnley out of their fear of an English takeover. Both kingdoms demand for him to return to England, but Mary refuses, thus enraging Moray to furiously leave her court and mount a rebellion against her. Darnley marries Mary, only for her to discover him to be in bed with her friend David Rizzio the following morning. Faced with insurgency and infidelity, Mary decides to quash the rebel forces but spares both Rizzio and Moray. She demands Darnley to give her a child, whom she declares as the “heir to Scotland and England” — which deeply offends the English.

Moray colludes with Darnley’s father Matthew to undermine Mary, spreading rumuors about Mary’s adultery and her child was illegitimately fathered by Rizzio. Upon hearing those, Knox vehemently preaches to the Scottish that Mary is an adulteress. Fearing for the accusations against Mary and the possible discovery of his homosexuality, Darnley is coerced by the under-miners to join them in executing Rizzio and reluctantly delivers the final blow. Mary discovers the plot and agrees the pardon the men involved provided that she was presented evidence that Darnley had taken part of it. She ultimately forgives Moray and asks Elizabeth to be her child’s godmother. Together, they agree on the child to be a heir presumptive, much the chagrin of the English court. Mary banishes Darnley, but refuses to divorce him despite the appeals of her council, which then approaches her adviser and protector, the Earl of Bothwell, to have him killed. In the ensuing melee after Darnley’s death, Mary is forced to flee and leave her child behind. The following morning, Bothwell advises that her council have decided for her to marry a Scotsman immediately, which she hesitantly agrees to. This compels Knox to zealously preach to the Scots that Mary is a “harlot” who had her husband killed, leading Moray and the rest of her court to demand her abdication. Despite furiously objecting to it, Mary ultimately abdicates her throne and flees to England.

Elizabeth arranges for a clandestine meeting with Mary, who intercedes for help in taking back her throne. Elizabeth repudiates to go to war in behalf of a Catholic, but instead promises a safe exile to England, and as long as Mary does not aid her enemies. Mary indignantly responds that if she does, it will only be because she forced her to do so, and threatens that should she murder her, she should remember that she “murder her own sister and queen”. Elizabeth orders Mary to be imprisoned away in England, but eventually receives compelling evidence that indicates Mary had conspired with her enemies to have her assassinated. Pressured with no other choice, she ultimately orders her execution. A remorseful Elizabeth cries for Mary, as Mary is walked to the scaffold and reveals a bright red dress. In her final thoughts, she wishes her son James well and hopes for peace upon his reign.

Post-script reveals that upon Elizabeth’s death in 1603, James became the first monarch to rule both England and Scotland.

Classification: 15