Mary Queen Of Scots: Ending Explained + Real Life Events After The Film

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Mary Queen Of Scots is slowly hitting cinemas and the movie beautifully depicts the life of Queen Elizabeth and Mary Queen Of Scots.

Throughout this article I will be breaking down everything that you need to know about the movie as well as some of the real life events that happened after the credits roll.

There will of course be heavy spoilers so if you haven’t seen the film yet then I highly recommend that you turn off now.

For everyone else, I’m Deffinition and welcome to the channel where I ruin it so you don’t have to!

Mary Queen Of Scots: Ending Explained

The year is 1561 and we follow Mary Stuart as she returns to reclaim her throne in Scotland. Mary, the only surviving legitimate child of King James V, was six days old when her father died and she became a Queen. At the tender age of 16 she married the King Of France and was widowed at 18 before deciding to return to France to take back her birth right.

Stopping this is Queen Elizabeth, who currently rules over the country. In real life Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn and after her mother was beheaded, she spent the majority of her Childhood in the tower of London. Elizabeth rightfully so is protective over her throne and this throws her into conflict with Mary.

There is a lot to admire from the two as they are very fiercly driven by one another and the two women both admire the competitiveness of their opposition even though they are their rivals. The film is filled with treachery and manipulation as the two battle it out for the throne and both the leads deliver Oscar worthy performances throughout.

The Real Life Story

Historical buffs that know the backstory will know that in real life Queen Elizabeth never married and throughout her life did not produce any heirs. This is beautifully depicted in the film and Elizabeth gives the reasoning that she wishes to remain alone as she will not be beholden to another man. Juxtaposing this, Mary sees marriage as a way to move up the ranks of society and those who are informed on the subject know that in real life she ended up marrying Lord Darnley.

Unfortunately, Elizabeth’s paranoia and jealousy gets the better of her and she eventually frames Mary and implicates her in the Babington Plot. The Babington Plot was a conspiracy that planned to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I and put Mary, Queen of Scots, in her place. This is because at the time, Britain was warring over what was the correct way to worship God between Protestants and Catholics and as Elizabeth was the former and Mary, the latter, it held grand implications.

Mary is offered the chance to absolve herself by giving a public apology but she refuses which leads to her trial and execution. Mary dies safe in the knowledge that her son, James The 6th and Later First, would take the throne upon Elizabeth’s death.

The Madness Of Queen Liz

What makes this film so tragic and endearing is that you feel like Elizabeth is slowly driven insane over the course of it. After a bout of smallpox, Elizabeth is left scarred and due to vanity covers herself with toxic makeup that leads to her balding prematurely. The reason for her ghostly white appearance is because during Medieval times, being white and pale was seen as a symbol of wealth whereas being tanned meant that you spent time in the son, most likely working all day.

In the end, Elizabeth loses someone that she could share a true kinship with. Her court, which is made up mostly of men, do not respect her leadership and Mary is an empowering woman that she could have had a friendship with had she not been driven mad with jealousy.

What Happened After The Film?

Elizabeth tragically died alone and depressed in 1602 at the age of 69 which back then was the equivalent of two life times. Prior to this several of her friends died which sent her into a severe depression that she did not really recover from. Elizabeth was praised as a heroine of the Protestant cause and the ruler of a golden age.

King James, her sucessor, did not fair as highly and there were two conspiracies in the first year of his reign to overthrow him. There existed several plans to oust him, with the Gunpowder plot being the most famous of these. Even today in England we celebrate this assassination attempt by Guy Fawkes which showcases just how unpopular James was.

At the age of fifty, James suffered increasingly from arthritis, gout and kidney stones. He also lost his teeth and drank heavily. This lead to him having a stroke and James died at the age of 58.