'Mary Queen of Scots' trailer teases rivalry and war between two queens

The first trailer of the upcoming film “Mary Queen of Scots” has been released online, and the visuals look promising. At the heart of the story is the relationship between two queens that begins with friendship, but ends with war.

Mary Stuart (Saoirse Ronan) is back in Scotland to rule her kingdom, after her husband passes away while she was in France. In her native land she has to rule with her cousin Queen Elizabeth (Margot Robbie) of England.

The trailer begins with Mary writing a letter to her cousin, expressing her desire to work with Elizabeth to rule in harmony. Both the queens are young and find common ground in the fact that they have to maintain their power in a male dominated society.

Their friendship soon turns to rivalry. The courtiers of Elizabeth are especially cautious of Mary, and don’t want to give her the same status as their queen. The English queen manages to keep her courtiers in line, but things become a little intense when Mary is pregnant.

Mary is in line to claim the throne of England, which becomes a real possibility if Elizabeth can’t produce an heir. Mary’s son has the right to the thrones of both Scotland and England, which is seen as a clear provocation by Elizabeth’s advisors.

Elizabeth is told to go to war against Scotland to protect her interests, and that war does happen eventually.

There is one last chance for peace when the two queens meet. The trailer shows Mary imploring Elizabeth not to give into her hatred, which is exactly what the men interested in a war want. But, Mary makes the fatal mistake of calling the English queen her inferior.

“Mary Queen of Scots” has been directed by Josie Rourke. The film is set to be released on Dec. 7 in the US.

Credit: Focus Features/ YouTube