Mary, Queen of Scots discredited as "almost complete fantasy". Mary's courage at her execution helped establish her popular image as the heroic victim in a dramatic tragedy. Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, reigned over Scotland from 14 December 1542 to 24 July 1567. Mary, the only surviving legitimate child of King James V, was six days old when her father died and she acceded to the throne. She spent most of her childhood in France while Scotland was ruled by regents, and in 1558,
Mary Queen of Scots (2013 film) and Bothwell flees from Scotland while Mary travels to England in the hopes of getting protection from Elizabeth. Instead, Elizabeth has Mary incarcerated, and decades later Mary is executed by order of the cousin she has never met. "Mary Queen of Scots rises well above its roots as a historical drama, for it is an extremely well-directed and imaginatively conceived piece of filmmaking. (…) What consistently impresses is the absolute ,rightness’ of everything in this film. It is amongst the most thrilling treatments of a historical subject I have ever seen". "Mary Queen of Scots features an appealing reworking of