A queen who lost three kingdoms. A wife who lost three husbands. A woman who lost her head. Mary Queen of Scots spends her childhood in France and is meant to become also Queen of France. However, her ailing husband dies and the young widow returns alone to Scotland, a country devastated by war. Elizabeth has just become Queen of England, for Mary she is like a twin sister to whom she can open her heart. Mary weds again and gives birth to an heir to the thrown. Her second husband, Lord Darnley, proves to be a weakling. When Mary finds the love of her life, the Earl of Bothwell, she has Darnley murdered and marries Bothwell. Horrified by this deed and the blind passion that motivated it, both the nobles and the people of Scotland spurn her. To avert a bloody battle, Mary is compelled to give up her beloved Bothwell. In desperate straits, she turns to Elizabeth for help. In response, the Queen of England imprisons her. After 19 years spent in a golden cage, Mary finds release at last: Elizabeth sends her to the block.

由约翰．凯尔编剧的本片描述英格兰女王伊利沙白一世因恐苏格兰女王玛丽威胁其王位，因此施加手段将她迫害，最后还将她斩首。本片集中描写两个性格相反的女王之间的斗争，题材在英宫历史片中是相当新鲜的。两位女主角凡妮莎蕾．格烈芙和格兰达．杰克逊都演得很出色，屈弗．霍华和白屈克．麦哥汉在片中也有不俗表现，导演查尔斯．贾洛特的手法亦条理分明。全片戏剧性相当浓厚，配乐亦很优美。