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Come on.
You must be tired.
I'm quite well.
Your supper is being prepared.
We can have it brought up to your chambers, if you like.
Yes, thank you.
How long are you staying?
- At Holyrood? - In Scotland.
Are you already planning my departure?
Of course not. We've long awaited your return.
Kate will show you to your chambers.
This way, Madam.
Lord Bothwell, do you intend to stay as well?
I swore an oath to the Queen's mother to protect her.
She is well protected here.
I'll uphold my oath just the same.
And what reward does your loyalty command?
I'm driven by duty. Not ambition.
Madam, your cousin has returned from France.
Her protector is Lord Bothwell. An able soldier.
So, she comes ready for war?
She may well depart once married, but I cannot profess to know her purpose.
What says her brother?
Moray is only her half-brother, Madam.
I believe his allegiance is fully with us.
What proof?
He pledges to protect the Protestant Church from Mary.
Yet he has no power to make such a pledge if he is no longer Regent.
The nobles respect him.
But can he control her?
If she is anything like our Queen, then she does not yield to a bridle.
So says our Master of the Horse.
By "bridle," do you speak of matrimony?
You may tell Scotland that we wish to love the Stuarts as our kin.
But they must love us in return.
Madam, if I may speak?
While she's on this island, she must bow to you, not to Rome.
Our Catholics must know
that a papist will never again sit on the English throne.
What would you suggest?
Kill her hope.
And hopeless, she may return to the comfort of the continent.
Bravo, Rizzio.
Is your hand as good as your French?
My hand, Madam?
We are two sisters bound by womanhood.
Two princes on the same island.
Ruling side by side, we must do so in harmony.
And not through a treaty drafted by men lesser than ourselves.
I wish us to make a treaty of two queens.
I would acknowledge your rightful place on the English throne,
were you to name me your successor.
I hope we might meet in person.
That I might embrace you.
And we might resolve our destinies.
What do you see, Bess?
Charming.
Fair, if the painter does not lie.
Young.
Clever.
Confident.
She would have no trouble securing a husband,
even without her throne.
Nor would you, Madam.
Forgive me.
Elizabeth will not accept my hand in marriage.
- You cannot be certain. - I know because I know her heart.
The moment I betray it with ambition, I lose her heart.
Would you rather she lose her crown?
You exaggerate.
How much blood has been spilled in Rome's name?
If a Catholic queen bears a child before our own,
have no doubt, blood will spill again.
Muster your courage. Save us from her reticence.
She will not produce a child
because her council fears the Queen of Scots.
Aye.
Nor will she marry.
She suspects all suitors of wanting her throne.
She will not have me.
Nor would I have a commoner be king, were we not in need of an heir.
I have her trust, you have her affections.
You can succeed where I...
- Good morning, William. - Madam.
Robert.
Resplendent.
Would you?
That's William Maitland of Lethington, Secretary of State.
John Knox, Church of Scotland.
Uh, loose string, yeah.
Let us begin.
- Lord Lennox. - My Lord.
I would ask our mistress to beseech Queen Mary
that I be allowed to return to Scotland...
This is not the place.
It would be wise to have a Catholic servant there.
- My influence... - It is your influence
which emboldened papists here!
You humiliate yourself, Father.
But your Queen is in Scotland now.
When my beloved François passed to God,
I could've married any number of suitors.
Portugal, Denmark, Sweden.
I declined them all.
Just as I would not have a political marriage imposed upon me,
I will not impose an uncertain fate upon my subjects.
They remain free to worship however they so choose,
Catholic or Protestant.
Pastor, you look displeased with our tolerance.
Any realm that is ruled by the Pope is not tolerant, Madam.
- It is enslaved. - Stand when I address you.
There is one true God,
and therefore, one true religion.
Such rhetoric incites revolt.
If a prince strays from God's will,
it is not in doubt that they may be resisted.
And in your case, as with all women,
your sight is but blindness.
Your strength, weakness.
Your counsel, foolishness.
Your judgment, frenzy.
Are we to abide a papist and a woman both?
Well, then, I perceive that my subjects shall obey you, and not me.
- May I sit, Madam? - No.
You may remove yourself from this council and my court.
My council is among the faithful disciples I serve.
We have as little need of this court as it has of us.
I pray for your soul, Madam.
I beg you to reconsider. He has the trust of the people.
Did I not give deference to his faith?
Yes. But we must be delicate.
Allegiance does not happen by proclamation...
Where is his delicacy?
That he should speak to a monarch so? Would he challenge Elizabeth thus?
With what cause? He would welcome a Protestant queen.
Which is precisely why we must not push him into her arms.
Show him love.
You are wise, brother.
There are times for wisdom and there are times for love,
but there also times for strength.
Your Queen asks for approval.
But how am I to grant her wish when she offers no suitors?
She would prefer an English nobleman.
And a Protestant.
If it pleases Your Grace.
As long as what pleases me pleases Elizabeth.
Perhaps I should wed you. Then I would have my English nobleman.
I do not think God wills it.
If it be God's will for Mary to marry, then Mary will marry,
and only who God intends for Mary to marry.
I pray he wills Elizabeth marry, too.
No, no. No, no, no.
You share good company.
Maitland dotes on Mistress Fleming.
The only difference being that he does not have a wife as you do.
We have a scourge upon our land.
'Tis worse than pestilence and famine.
'Tis a woman with a crown
who only pretends to worship Christ, when in truth, she kneels before the Pope.
We do not take instruction from Rome.
We resist those who would tempt us with indulgences.
Deny those who worship luxury.
Respect not those who flaunt their excesses,
and whore themselves to wealth
and the degradations of the flesh.
Madame...
Just be wary of these men.
Their love is not the same as their respect.
Might I ask? Since we've not known it ourselves.
What is it like?
To have a man?
Mmm-hmm.
I have only lain with François.
He shook terribly from fright. The poor boy did his best.
But it was over before it began.
- So, you never... - No.
We tried but once.
Beauty's fading flower
Grows ever fresh with her in heavenly wise
Suffice that Love hath built his bower
Between my lady's lively shining eyes
I cannot, Robert. You know that.
I should like to marry again.
To know how it feels to have a man fully.
But not if I am owned.
You're early.
Mary will seek a marriage
that strengthens her claim to your throne
and makes her children Catholics.
What say'st our ambassador?
She feigns disinterest, Madam,
and informs me that the matter of choice in marriage
is perhaps a matter best left to God.
She is formidable, Madam.
We should marry her to someone loyal to our Queen,
someone you control.
Do not ask this of me.
If you wed her, she is ours.
- And what of us? - What "us"?
You, Elizabeth, and I, your Robert.
Marry the beautiful Queen of Scots and we can control her.
With Mary, you too become a prince.
If I am noble enough for one queen, I am noble enough for another.
Elizabeth...
England is not Scotland.
We would delight in holding our sister's hand in ours.
Let us settle on a meeting place before the summer brings discomfort.
Let our nations cherish each other as we would.
Two kingdoms, united.
Meanwhile, accept this portrait as a sign of gratitude for yours.
And please accept this suitor
who presents both his love and mine.
The Earl of Leicester...
Lord Robert Dudley.
Do you think it might stand with my honor to marry my sister's subject?
It is true that an earl is not a prince.
Surely, there can be no greater honor than to match yourself with a nobleman,
by whom you inherit such a kingdom as England.
I have such inheritance by blood,
regardless of who I marry or do not marry.
Hmm.
We must discuss succession before marriage, not the other way around.
We hope we do not vex the Earl.
Not in the least, Madam. I appreciate your honesty.
We see why our cousin is so fond of the Earl.
I shall respect Elizabeth's crown as soon as she names me its successor.
Madam, my Queen will not...
If she has any concerns about this proposal,
she may express them to me directly.
Plans proceed for us to meet next month.
Aye, Madam, in York.
We shall accomplish far more without envoys between us.
How like is it unto your mistress's face?
Halt! Halt!
Why can't she meet me in York?
Could her council not wait till her return?
Their business was urgent, Madam.
The Huguenots sent an envoy.
And she receives them?
England wishes no more bloodshed.
Being from France yourself, you must understand.
You may tell my sister that we pray for swift peace,
that we may meet soon.
I will tell her at once.
Stay with us the night at Holyrood.
I'm certain Mistress Beaton would welcome your company.
Thank you, Madam.
She hides behind her council.
You do not think she postpones...
I don't think she intends to meet until you recognize her legitimacy.
A false promise then.
Retaliation perhaps for refusing the treaty.
For refusing Dudley.
This is a matter of the heart, not the state.
They don't mix well.
Wouldn't you say, Mistress Fleming?
I'm afraid I don't understand.
Your mistress mocks our affections.
Not so.
They sometimes have value.
It's late.
I must attend to my mistress.
No. Don't attend. Don't attend.
Mmm.
Think of your wife.
Yeah.
Nothing we spoke of.
Of course not.
The pox, Madame. There is no envoy.
She has the pox.
How grave?
Quite grave.
Go rouse my brother.
Dress me.
Do you think me sinful?
He has his plan.
It will please you to know that I have warmed
to the prospect of wedding Lord Dudley.
We shall do so upon one condition.
While we wish you a long and healthy life and that no injury or illness befall you,
we shall only do you the favor of betrothing your special friend,
Lord Robert Dudley,
once you name us heir.
She knows.
My "special friend"?
She wants him. She wants him for her.
My Robert.
My crown!
Quickly.
Out! Out! Quickly out!
Out! Out! Out!
Out! Out! Out! Out!
Robert!
Out! Out! Out! Get out!
Look away! Look away!
Look away! Out!
Enough!
I am yours.
Forever yours.
But how?
Am I to refuse her what I myself suggested?
You look exquisite, mademoiselle.
Is it a sin that I feel more a sister to you than a brother?
Forgive me.
I forget myself in your company.
Be whoever you wish with us.
You make for a lovely sister.
Enter.
We have...
We have visitors.
They are Stuarts?
I shall talk, you say nothing.
- What, not even to... - Silence.
The fourth Earl of Lennox.
His son, Henry, Lord Darnley.
Forgive me.
I do not know my Queen's visage.
Let me, Father.
I give you verse.
Unsheathing my quick wit
to see who among you it quickens.
But, should I fail to choose correctly,
'tis my soul that shall be sickened.
For shame,
returning to our native land
only to be deprived of kissing...
My Queen's perfect...
Hand.
Elizabeth was kind enough to grant us passage,
so here we're free to worship as we choose.
I doubt it's faith that brings you.
Rather the lands your father seeks.
Or even the throne.
The throne?
Why leave Elizabeth's court if not to regain your influence here?
And by laying suit to me
does not the House of Lennox lay suit to all of Scotland?
I amuse you?
Yes.
Madam, you must not be Elizabeth.
How so?
The woman lives in fright.
She's always suspecting intrigue, always fearing revolt.
Her fears are wise.
We both have nobles who would have us deposed.
Have I vexed you?
You dare touch a sovereign without her permission?
I can speak for neither my father nor Elizabeth.
Only for myself.
And speaking for myself,
you have a loyal subject in your Henry
who would rather worship at your feet than at a Catholic mass.
I shall just keep walking with you until you object.
You remain?
The Queen scarcely knows Your Grace.
But I shall play, and hear nothing.
We cannot.
We won't. This is not that.
I promise.
Have faith in me.
Do you need to...
No.
No, don't worry about me.
Without a treaty signed, this union strengthens her claim.
You need not condescend. We are well-informed.
Forgive us. We merely seek to protect your crown.
You cannot wed him, Madam.
I do not wed him blindly.
He has promised no ambition.
He understands he will only be your consort?
A husband to a queen, not a king in his own right?
He does.
I find it difficult to believe that any man would settle for as much.
Two Catholics wed. Two Stuarts, Madam.
He has a claim of his own, even without betrothal.
Together, they make a union of two claims.
She has chosen an Englishman, as I asked.
What recourse do I have?
Implore her to marry Lord Dudley.
I will not offer my Lord if it means naming her successor.
She will not accept him otherwise.
Then let her refuse him.
On succession, I agree.
But Darnley imperils us more.
Dudley is her puppet. He offers no advantage.
Unless she promises to make you heir.
Where is this promise?
He would provoke revolt amongst our nobles.
Do you command so little respect you could not discourage them?
We must not delay. You must forbid this marriage.
- Is that the top? - Aye.
No subject should ride before his Queen.
Would he?
How it must feel ruling all that you see.
I am but its servant.
Are you prepared to be its servant?
It is right for the man to ask, no?
Then ask.
Uh...
Before God, before all of Scotland,
- before all the world... - Yes.
You'll be my Queen?
Yes.
And I your King?
Yes.
And your master?
My husband.
England does not consider
Lord Darnley a suitable husband.
He and his father are English subjects, Madam.
If my Queen orders their return, they must.
She asked that I marry an English nobleman,
and now she deprives me?
Her wish is that you not marry this particular nobleman.
You may tell your mistress I shall do so, with or without her blessing.
Madam, before you act rashly, please consider...
It is enough my own Lords treat me as though I'm but a girl.
I will not be treated as such by Elizabeth.
I will be the woman she is not.
I shall produce an heir, unlike her barren self.
Prepare the Ambassador's horse.
Reckless child!
I have worked too long and too hard with too much bloodshed
to secure peace in our land!
Do not let your cursed passion rule you!
'Tis your voice raised, sir.
And you would lower it in my presence.
If my counsel no longer has value then I am obliged to withdraw from court.
If you must.
You have neither husband nor children.
And you approach an age whereupon you cannot bear them.
You must confront the truth, Madam. Displeasing as it may be.
I have confronted this truth.
You understand that I cannot.
Will not.
And do I understand?
No more than I understand God.
It is my choice.
God would have a woman be a wife and a mother.
- So you defy his will. - No.
I choose to be a man.
And marriage is dangerous.
Such a man as I might marry,
finding himself disappointed...
He would conspire.
No prince's revenues be so great
that they satisfy the insatiable ambition of men.
This I understand.
Which is why you are the closest thing
I shall ever have to a wife.
I shan't mention your proposal to Lord Dudley.
This world is a brutal place.
We men must be wiser, mustn't we?
Tell me what to do.
We must make civil war in Scotland.
You would have me depose a sister monarch?
It is either civil war there, or civil war here.
I want to know nothing of it.
The arrangements shall be mine alone.
By the pleasure and will of God,
we proclaim complete the bond of marriage
between our sovereign, Mary, Queen of Scotland,
and the noble prince, Henry, Lord Darnley.
The authority of women,
which I call not true authority, but carnal bondage,
bringeth forth monsters.
By their crimes,
realms and nations which used to live free
are brought into bondage against the will of God!
Their cankered consciences must be called to account.
We must take up arms with our defender Lord Moray.
We must make civil war with this false queen!
We must make plain war
against all false professors of Christ's holy gospel!
Oh. Uh-uh.
Oh, no.
What will you do now?
Bravo, Rizzio!
Where do I sit? Where do I sit?
Where do I...
Rise and prepare yourself.
Elizabeth has funded a rebellion.
He is in your care.
Dress yourself.
Please! Please!
A word.
Let him approach.
To have betrayed you this way...
I have no excuse.
And I beg...
- I beg that... - Stand.
You have not betrayed your nature.
I cannot fault you for succumbing to his charms, as I did.
But we must be more careful now.
Moray is marching southwest, toward Dumfries.
The English can easily supply them there.
If we make good time, we'll cut them off before they reach the gates.
Why give chase? Let them come to us.
What would you have us do?
If we lose sight, they could flank us. I want to flank them first.
There's a bridge they must use to cross Annan.
We can ambush them there.
Give the order.
Mary, I was speaking to you.
Yes, I heard.
Are you afraid, Henry?
- No. - Good.
Because our swords are not just for show.
Whence come you?
The Highlands, Madam.
These two are from Inverness, and I'm from Thurso.
- Catholic? - No, Madam.
And you?
He doesn't know Scots, Madam. Only Gaelic.
Tell him I'm grateful for his service.
He says he's proud to serve his Queen.
And to give his life if he must.
Tell him if any of us should die today, we all go to the same heaven.
Walk like men, not boys!
March on! Good trail there!
With your feet like that, march on!
No, you're too slow. This is too slow!
Halt!
Stand aside and let my men pass.
I charge thee, give way!
Drive them back!
Form up!
Man the guns! Man the guns!
Stand and fight!
Hyah, hyah!
You summoned?
How much have you had?
I'm celebrating our victory, my love.
What are you doing?
Mary.
- Close your eyes. - I've...
You're almost there.
No, I can't.
I can't. I've had too much to drink.
- Mary. - Think of Rizzio.
Yes, yes.
That's it, that's it.
Yeah? That's it.
Pray for me.
He'll make a fine stallion.
If you have wondered where your Queen was these past few months...
Now there are no secrets.
The whisperings can end.
Spring comes bearing fruit.
My husband and I give thanks.
With heaven's blessing, we bring another Stuart into this world,
heir to Scotland and to England.
Heir to England?
She speaks for herself.
Do her councilors fail to advise her?
We advise her endlessly, sir.
Not that she heeds it.
You must do better.
Better than your own Queen's council?
How did the world come to this?
Wise men servicing the whims of women?
Aye.
That man's power dies with the birth of his grandchild.
It is a clear provocation.
She knew well Lord Randolph would report.
What would you have us do?
Go to war over some reckless words?
Not us. Her brother.
He hopes to raise a second army.
If we were to assist him...
As we did his first?
I shall not fail you twice.
Madam, we cannot let her name your successor. She has no right.
When I am dead and you are dead and she is dead,
it matters not what names we did or did not say.
The world will decide for itself.
Now is not the time to soften.
It's a fine day, isn't it?
I shall see you inside.
James.
Oh, look.
He likes it, too.
So, Mary's power grows with her pregnancy.
Your letter said you had a proposal.
Once Mary bears a child...
Darnley will never be king.
There is no need for your son.
An infant cannot grant you pardon.
It is right that you should return from exile.
And it is right my son should be king.
Now, we can rule through him if we weaken Mary's power.
Mary, we must speak. Can you open the door?
- Mary? - Let him in.
Open the door, so we can speak!
Mary?
Mary, open the...
What are you doing here?
Come, Henry.
You would have David here, and bar your own husband?
When I am anointed king, you will afford me the respect of a wife.
After all, that is what you promised.
Would you have his father be nothing but a consort?
We know not if it's a he.
I am more than a sire to a mare, Mary.
Please, I am tired.
Do you love me?
You've given me an heir to two thrones.
That matters more than love.
The Queen is servant of Satan.
She is a fornicator with a monstrous lust.
This pleasuring woman is not fit to rule us.
Would we kneel before a polecat,
who has bedded an Italian?
David Rizzio,
a Catholic who never leaves her bed chamber.
How do we know her child is not a bastard?
David Rizzio.
He is an impediment to your rightful place as king.
Enough.
We speak of Rizzio's relations with your wife.
With Mary?
You're mistaken.
Does he not spend more time with the Queen than Your Grace?
Why else would she make a common minstrel her private secretary?
No, it cannot be.
What matter if it be true?
Because I am not a cuckold.
Would you rather the honest truth be told?
That you are a sodomite?
We must erase your sins...
And either you are the adulterer, or it is she.
The other Lords have signed.
Ah...
You have been saving that.
You! Come with me, sir!
You dare charge into my chamber unannounced?
- David Rizzio! - David?
I am with child!
- No! - Take her!
All that is done is in Lord Darnley's name.
- Henry? - Let go! No!
What have you done?
- It is done. - Look at me!
- It is done, Mary!
Do not interfere.
Adulterer!
No!
Enough!
No!
Stand aside.
No.
Come on, Mary!
Please.
Please, no.
Please don't... No!
No!
- William! - Do not interfere.
No!
- No! - No!
No!
You must make the final blow.
I can't.
Go on.
No.
Adulterer!
He beguiled us, Mary.
Both of us.
He brought us dishonor.
Did he not?
You are trying to usurp my crown.
Have I not brought you a child?
One minute makes not a man.
Beg forgiveness. For your insult.
- Beg forgiveness now. - I shall not.
Bothwell has escaped.
This is your fault.
All of this, this chaos.
Your fault.
You swore obedience to me, Mary, on the day of our marriage.
You swore obedience to me!
I am King!
You are a traitor.
As are you.
And until I am killed and forever after, God will see you as such.
You will not be killed, Madam.
Let us go. We have much business.
Lord Moray will arrive soon.
My brother conspired?
Your brother returns to assist your husband.
I want a drink.
Am I to be imprisoned here alone?
Or may I have the company of my gentlewomen?
You may not, Madam.
You are to remain in this chamber.
Then at least let my husband remain.
Or would you have a drunkard for a king?
Come, Henry.
I do not feel well.
They forced me into the room, Mary.
I swear.
And I didn't know that...
Until they arrived, I promise.
Maitland is very persuasive.
Yes.
My brother even more so.
Hmm.
They will take your crown as well as mine.
We should leave here.
It's best.
For all three of us.
Yes.
It is important that the people
do not accuse those who participated as traitors.
They must be pardoned, so there is no doubt of their loyalty to the crown.
When she pardons all involved, you may go.
Am I to be told what I may and may not do?
And by who?
Hmm?
A mere Lord?
And the bastard half-brother?
Am I not the King to whom you promised fealty,
before you carried out your violence?
Let me remind you that this King shall go where he pleases with his wife,
when it pleases him.
The Queen!
What is this?
The Queen's army.
Your chambers are ready.
Do not make them use force.
They have at least 500.
More are on the way.
Then we shall raise our own army.
There is no appetite for war.
Then let us stir an appetite.
When last we raised an army,
it was but half the size of hers with England's help.
Without England, we will be crushed.
She has outmaneuvered us.
My husband claims he knew nothing of your plot
- until the day itself. - That is not true.
He signed a bond. With his own hand.
If you wish it destroyed, however...
Not destroyed.
We shall sign this pardon as soon as you produce the bond.
Aye, Madam.
The flowers are all of one color.
Poppies are red.
I know of no other color that they...
In the light, they are many colors.
Red and others.
Nature is more subtle.
The council is met.
There is news from Scotland.
What do you think?
Lovely.
The flower's not too plain?
The news is urgent.
What news do I want from Scotland?
Bloodshed?
Go conspire among yourselves.
Very well.
Burn it.
I shall begin again.
Burn it, I say!
You visited Mother and me here, before we left for France.
- Do you remember? - Yes.
Those were tumultuous times.
It was here, in this glen.
You lifted me high when I said I wished to be a bird.
If you say so.
I understand why you wouldn't remember a trifling thing like that.
Of what consequence are the fancies of a little girl?
Not all little girls are born to be queens.
I should like you to hold my child up one day.
Make him fly as you made me.
He will be born a prince.
And one day king.
I want him to love his uncle and to be born into a peaceful land.
I wish the same.
Then will you love your sister as you would love her child?
For she still loves you...
And if it is a son, she will call him James,
for both his grandfather and his uncle.
I do not deserve your kindness.
James.
My dearest cousin Elizabeth.
We have had our differences, and what sorrow it has brought my heart.
But before I bring a child into this world,
I wish to reconcile.
I would our child have two mothers.
"A mother who bears him...
"And you, his chosen godmother.
"No child would be more blessed."
I am told the labor was long,
but only with suffering do we knowjoy.
What greaterjoy than to have a son to call your own.
Humbly do I accept your invitation to be his godmother,
that I might share in your happiness.
What is more, we should return to the issue of inheritance,
now that a new generation is upon us.
Your terms are most agreeable.
It is only right that your heirs succeed you,
if you marry and bear children of your own.
And should you not,
it is my son's great honor to rule by your sublime example.
If you grant her succession,
we are rewarding her disobedience.
What disobedience?
She is not our subject!
And yet you would make us hers.
What have you produced in all your travels between our kingdoms?
Discord.
War. Death.
And now you have the boldness to doubt my judgment?
You had better question yours.
I regret that you perceive me as a failure.
We serve you fully...
With all our hearts.
Any one of us would gladly die for you.
But Mary is our foe, and a Catholic.
She is only your Queen if I should not produce an heir.
And will you, Madam?
For you have given us little hope so far.
Despite your every effort, she has prevailed.
She has proven herself, in fact, far more capable than my own Privy Council!
Should I die before my time,
we could do worse than to place her on the throne of England.
Is this not your name?
It's forged.
- Henry... - I swear. This is an outrage.
It is your hand.
You must believe me.
Am I not to see my own son?
I'm not to see him?
He's not to know his father?
For your child's sake, be contented with a pardon and your life.
We have procured a house for you.
We are to live apart.
Bothwell will see you there.
You're moving.
- You must divorce him, Madam. - It is forbidden.
Not in the Church of Scotland.
He is the father of my child.
I will not do him such an indignity.
Darnley is cursed.
- He is harmless. - Not so.
He's still plotting to take your crown.
My men heard him. He spoke of regicide.
You have commanded armies against armies.
Now you fear a single man?
I did not claim to fear him.
Then why advocate divorce?
My oath is to defend your safety.
So you do fear him.
Just as you vowed to protect me,
I vowed loyalty to my husband.
Any man who marries me will try to make himself king.
I owe him neither comfort nor title,
but I will not become a lady Henry VIII,
dispensing with husbands as he did wives.
Damn.
Ow!
My Lord, you argued well in council.
May we borrow your wisdom for a moment?
The Queen should not cast aside your protection.
Mama!
It's Lord Darnley.
Attempt on his life.
Is he dead?
I'll take you to my estates. It's not safe for you here.
James should stay with one of your ladies for his safety.
It's okay. It's okay.
As soon as the women are loaded, get us moved.
Come on!
- It's okay. - Madam.
Madam, we have to go.
Mama! Mama!
Mama!
Mama! Mama!
Pardon.
No need.
May we speak in private?
What brings you?
The Parliament will ratify a proclamation demanding you wed a Scottish subject
now that you are widowed.
It has only been a day.
They meet tomorrow.
It is your council's advice that you should marry me.
What have you done?
Murderer.
Did I not come to your aid when your Lords rebelled?
Did I not? I was loyal!
Me!
Refuse, and I will not come to your aid when they rebel again.
Please.
Come.
Undress your lady.
She has consented to be my wife.
A whore of Babylon who defies the sanctity of marriage.
What's worse,
she has broken the most solemn commandment,
"Thou shalt not kill."
She had her husband murdered
so that she could wed his rival.
Would we worship a murderous harlot?
Queen Strumpet marries another man
whom she bedded out of wedlock!
Our kingdom has become a disgrace,
to God and all the world!
Death to the whore! Death to the whore!
Death to the whore!
Death to the whore! Death to the whore!
You promised I would be king.
If your betrothed does abdicate, you are abdicated also.
- This was your intention. - Events have overtaken all intentions.
Liar!
Liars!
Events, aye.
Events by your design. Is that not true?
Speak, damn you.
Be men and own your treachery.
Did you not deceive me?
As they have done their Queen since the day she returned.
Were you fool enough to trust these men?
Who took up arms against you?
You must abdicate, Madam.
When your son comes of age, he will assume the throne.
Until then, my Lord will be Regent.
- Brother? - We found Mistress Seton.
The boy is now in our custody at Holyrood.
You hold my son prisoner?
Not prisoner.
He's my ward, until he is old enough...
Your namesake, James.
Named for you.
If you wish him to be king one day,
you must abdicate.
- I will not do it. - You will, Madam.
- By force if we must. - I shall meet force with force.
People believe you are a traitor and a whore.
What army can defeat an entire nation turned against its Queen?
They would sooner parade your head on a pike than bow before a harlot.
I for one, would gladly hold high that pike.
Well, he is right. You cannot raise an army.
Many times you have said I cannot do what I have done.
Then we are finished here.
This is beyond my control. I ask you to reconsider.
All I have done is try to unify this land.
I know.
To relinquish the crown would be against God's will...
But God will not protect you.
I will protect you, as my kin.
I wish that we were kin.
But we are no longer so.
I would.
Are we to do nothing as my sister is deposed?
She is not your sister.
Nor can she be your successor.
Not a woman whose own subjects call her a harlot.
This is Cecil speaking.
I speak for myself.
Though all your council agrees.
How cruel men are.
England does not look so different from Scotland.
Aye, they are sisters.
Madam...
Come away.
I rode ahead.
She'll be here soon.
Remain here.
Your Majesty.
Cousin?
Aye.
Are you well?
Your voice is not what I expected.
What did you expect of it?
I do not know.
How I long to see your face.
No one can know we meet.
Yes, I have been instructed.
If you speak of it to anyone, I shall deny.
And I will regard your words as treason.
Am I your subject now?
No.
You are not my subject.
But you do seek my help.
I am grateful for your protection.
I am pleased to grant it.
How did it come to this?
May I see you, sister?
My eyes are weary from travel.
I should have stayed true to your love.
I should have followed your example and never married.
Then you would have no son.
Whose mother is without a crown.
Whose own throne is usurped by his uncle.
You must have faith.
Your brother will keep his word.
I have no faith in him.
I have only faith in you.
You would let them show the world
that a queen can so easily be forsworn?
Answer me, sister.
To war with Scotland
and betray my own clergy on a Catholic's behalf. No, I cannot.
You know I cannot.
Did you come so far at such great risk only to refuse me?
I came...
I came because...
If you refuse me an army...
Say it to my face.
Do not force me to beg to your back.
I will kneel before you if I must.
It would make no difference.
You are safe here in England.
That's all I can offer.
I have been abandoned by so many.
I am utterly alone.
As am I.
Alone.
Then be my sister.
Be my boy's Godmother.
Together we could conquer all of those who doubt us.
Do not play into their hands.
Our enmity is precisely what they hope for.
I know your heart has more within it than the men who counsel you.
I am more man than woman now.
The throne has made me so.
But I have no enmity with you.
Except to seed rebellion
and to deceive me, time and time again.
If you still seek my protection,
you would do well to watch your words.
I will not be scolded by my inferior.
Your inferior?
I am a Stuart,
which gives me greater claim to England than you possess.
I had this made
because I wanted to present the best version of myself.
I was jealous.
Your beauty.
Your bravery.
Your motherhood.
You seemed to surpass me in every way.
But now, I see there is no cause for envy.
Your gifts
are your downfall.
What now, sister?
You will still have my protection,
- under my terms. - Until you have me killed.
I will do no such thing.
Wouldn't you?
As Henry killed your mother?
I am not my father.
But you share his blood.
As long as you do not provoke my enemies,
you have nothing to fear.
Your fate rests in your own hands.
If I seek to help your enemies,
'tis only because you pushed me to their arms.
And should you murder me,
remember you murder your sister
and you murder your Queen.
Take her somewhere you can guard her well.
It's time.
Sister.
Evidence has been presented to me written in your hand.
It shows that you have conspired with Catholic forces against my life.
Whether these letters are in your hand or not,
I must act.
I wish I could speak these words to you directly.
But they exist only in my mind
as both a prayer
and a penance.
I hope that God will hear them.
Believe me when I tell you how it ages me to bear such a burden,
ordering to death the only other woman
who knows what it means to rule
as a queen in this land.
You were right when we spoke a half-lifetime ago.
You said the day would come,
and that day has come.
I regret not doing then what I do now,
so that I could have spared you so many years
of imprisonment and misery.
If you would lay eyes upon me now, you would not recognize me.
I have relinquished all sense of self to the throne,
which rules my every word and action.
But when I think of you,
I see not an aged woman,
but rather the young, resplendent Queen
whose portrait I first gazed upon five and 20 years ago,
and whose beauty shone so brightly when we met,
despite her despair.
I know God's arms will accept you in that likeness...
As the young, fierce Queen
who I have always loved and admired.
May your soul have pity on mine.
Your Grace.
By order of our sovereign Elizabeth,
Queen of England, Wales and Ireland,
Overlord of Scotland,
certified by her Privy Council and Parliament,
Mary Stuart is condemned to death
this day, February the eighth,
the year of our Lord 1587.
She thinks herself a martyr.
James,
my only son,
I pray that with your life
you will succeed where I could not,
and for which I am about to give my life.
In my end is my beginning.
I shall be watching you from heaven
as your crown, one day, unites two kingdoms.
And we shall have peace.
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