The real tragedy is that these two amazing women fought each other
Writer Liz Lochhead expains our enduring fascination with the most famous Queen of Scots as movie retells her tragic story
Writer Liz Lochhead on Mary and Elizabeth as stars of new movie about the Queen of Scots hit the red carpet
Astrong woman fighting for her place in the world, Mary Queen of Scots remains an iconic figure more than 400 years after her death.
She remains one of most fascinating and controversial figures in British history and her life and turbulent times are, once again, to be framed on the big screen.
Acclaimed actress Saoirse Ronan plays Mary in a new big-budget drama released on Friday charting her torturous relationship with her cousin Queen Elizabeth I, played by Margot Robbie, and the web of power and politics entwining Scotland and England in the last half of the 16th Century.
Along with Oscar-tipped The Favourite, another historical drama, it’s part of a recent trend of films starring powerful women.
But was Mary Queen of Scots ever a feminist?
Liz Lochhead wrote the multipleaward winning play Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off in 1987 and remains fascinated by Mary’s enduring appeal.
She said: “It’s such an interesting story because it’s not just about one woman. It’s about Mary and Elizabeth.
“It was an interesting accident of history that there were two queens on the one green island at the same time.
“They were strong female characters, but each did things in their own way.
“One of them had one way of trying to keep her power – Elizabeth pretended she was going to marry and have children.
“Meanwhile Mary tried to have the normal romantic life of a woman and have children. That was her approach.
“You have to consider Mary and Elizabeth both knew that, if either had a male heir, then their life was in danger because someone could seize that child.
“It’s fascinating to think of how these women approached a problem men didn’t face in their own different ways.
“And of course the irony of history is that Elizabeth wanted to produce a male heir but it was Mary’s son who ended up on the throne of England and Scotland.
“The real tragedy for me is that the beautiful red-haired women are fighting each other! They were the Bette Davis and Joan Crawford of their day.”
To Liz, Scotland’s former Makar, the national poet, Mary Queen of Scots, who was beheaded in 1589, is part of a trend for showing more complicated, powerful women on screen.
“It’s interesting there’s a trend for movies with strong female characters like this and The Favourite,” she said. “These films were already in production before things like #Metoo happened so we were moving towards this anyway.
“There is a swing towards these stories about women being told, but it’s interesting in the way powerful women are shown now.
“There used to always be a sense that strong female leads – especially characters like queens – are wicked women. I’ve not seen it but in this film I think Elizabeth will be demonised, which is easy to do – she was quite mad but also quite clever.
“Mary Queen of Scots meanwhile is such a timeless character, I’m not surprised they’ve made a film about her.
For a real-life historical figure, Mary has almost gained mythical status
It is easy to demonise Elizabeth, She was quite mad but also quite clever