The trailer for the new Mary, Queen of Scots movie dropped yesterday. There are some glaring errors that you’d need to know if you’re going to watch to get through Droughtlander.
Outlander has likely brought out a love for Scottish history, making other shows based on the life of Scotsmen and women must-sees. Mary, Queen of Scots is the latest movie about the last Scottish monarch from the House of Stewart, and the only queen by birth to be executed on English soil. Before you delve into the movie, there are some glaring errors in the trailer that you need to know.
These errors aren’t to take away from the excitement and the drama for the new movie. I don’t want you to feel like I’m being picky. However, with how well-researched the Outlander novels are, I do believe certain elements of historical accuracy are important.
1. Elizabeth and Mary didn’t meet in person
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Of course, we have no idea what happened in the privacy of homes, but it’s easy to tell if there was a chance Queen Elizabeth I of England and Mary, Queen of Scots ever met in person. Historians all agree that a meeting never happened, despite plenty of letters between them. They may have been cousins and both queens in a time when women had no rights at all, but they didn’t venture out to meet in person.
It’s one of the sad things about Mary’s execution. Elizabeth made the decision without ever seeing her cousin. She wasn’t even there for Mary’s final moments.
However, in the trailer for the new Mary, Queen of Scots movie, the two queens face off. Mary offends Elizabeth deeply–yes, Elizabeth was an extremely vain woman, especially by the end of her life. They meet in secret, presumably with the movie’s view that it could have happened. However, considering the number of people they would have had around them, it almost 100% likely didn’t. So, it’s fabrication for the sake of drama.
2. The meeting is important for the film
Despite the scene being completely inaccurate, I would actually say it’s important for the film. After all, the scene will help the movie meet the Bechdel test. Putting the two women opposite each other and making them share screen time offers the chance for these two powerful women to talk strategy, the fate of their two nations, and how men consistently rule. Sure, they would have had ladies in waiting, but it would have been the men they would have had to strategize with at the time.
Plus, we get two strong, talented, and beautiful actresses sharing screen time. This will be one of the moments many see the film for–they want to see both hold their own together. While it may be inaccurate, it’s a powerful move in a world of the #MeToo campaign and the fight for more equality in Hollywood.
And it’s because of this that I can accept the change to history. It’s not like the writers will have just decided to overlook a commonly known fact in history. It’s that they want to show something that many other movies fail to do.
3. Mary’s accent probably isn’t right
This is more of a nitpick, but something to point out. I mainly point it out because when The CW’s Reign first dropped a trailer, the accents were something to talk about. Also, accents are a thing the Outlander fans like to pick up on!
Mary, Queen to Scots wouldn’t have had a local accent. She left Scotland as a baby and grew up in France. If anything, she would have had a French accent. That would have given the English another thing to hate about her since she would have been viewed as French. After all, she remained in the country until she was 18 when her first husband died.
If Mary did have a Scottish accent, it would have been more localized to Edinburgh. Not the Irish one that Saoirse (pronounced Ser-sha) Ronan has–there are times that she attempts the Scottish accent, but too often slips into her native one, which you can hear in the above interview.
As a history fan, I am looking forward to this. I’ll watch anything about Mary, Queen of Scots as she’s my favorite Scottish monarch in history–and one of my top 3 favorite British monarchs. Hopefully, the rest of the history is inaccurate, as Mary’s life was full of drama enough!
Are you looking forward to Mary, Queen of Scots? What did you spot in the trailer that irked or irritated you? Share in the comments below.
Mary, Queen of Scots will be released nationwide in December 7, 2018.