The trailer for the forthcoming historical epic Mary Queen of Scots has been released today, and there is already one big historical inaccuracy in it: Mary’s accent.
The queen is played by the Irish-American actress Saoirse Ronan, who portrays Mary with a Scottish accent. However, Mary really should have a French accent. She was engaged to the country’s dauphin at a young age and between the ages of 5-18 she grew up in the French royal court.
This isn’t the first time cinema has made this mistake. The 2007 film Elizabeth: The Golden Age also portrays Mary with an incorrect Scottish accent, where she was played by English actress Samantha Morton. Elizabeth: The Golden Age is particularly noteworthy for its historical inaccuracies. For example, it portrays Sir Walter Raleigh as the victor against the Spanish Armada, when actually the victor was Sir Francis Drake, who doesn’t even appear in the film. Despite this, the film was still praised at the time by future education secretary Michael Gove.
Mary Queen of Scots also stars Australian actress Margot Robbie as Elizabeth I. The film is scheduled to be released in the UK on 18th January.
