ORF-E
English
1 x 52 min / 1 x 45 min
Worldwide except for Germany and France

England, February 1587: It takes the executioner three powerful blows to put an end to the life of Mary Stuart, queen of both Scotland and France. This ignominious end is brought about by Mary Stuart’s cousin, the English queen Elizabeth I, who accuses her Scottish counterpart of high treason and murder. Mary, Queen of Scots, goes down in history as a Catholic martyr and as a passionate woman punished for loving the wrong man. Her cousin and greatest rival, Queen Elizabeth I, is remembered as a jealous, vindictive spinster – yet neither of these perceptions is entirely true. For more than 30 years, Mary used intrigue and planned murder in an attempt to ascend to the English throne. The documentary examines the “fake news” and “hate speech” that shaped 16th-century England and Scotland, revealing the bitter rivalry between the competing queens using a compelling storytelling approach: Queen Elizabeth I, played by the celebrated actor Marie-Christine Friedrich, reveals the intimate knowledge she has of her rival’s life, providing a highly personal yet historically accurate account of the tragedy of Mary Stuart.