Filming Locations: Where was Mary Queen of Scots filmed?

The 2018 biopic about Mary I of Scotland is based on the book Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart, by author John Guy. The film primarily covers Mary's attempt to overthrow the Queen of England, her cousin Elizabeth I.

Mary Queen of Scots was filmed largely on location in England for the scenes with Elizabeth I, and in Scotland for the parts of the movie featuring Mary Stuart.

Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird, The Grand Budapest Hotel), plays the Scottish monarch, and Margot Robbie (known for her role as Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad), is almost unrecognisable after transforming into Queen Elizabeth.

The two actresses didn't see each other during all the production before the sole scene together, with the idea of making their encounter truly special and authentic.

Pinewood Studios near London was the main base of operations for the movie. Here are some of the most relevant filming locations where Mary Queen of Scots was shot:

We start with the locations in Scotland, following the unit with actress Margot Robbie.

The scene with a horse-drawn carriage was filmed in Glencoe. Some more scenes were shot in GlenFeshie and Strathdon in the Cairngorms National Park (pictured).
(You can open all the locations on Google Maps by clicking on the links below in the captions ↴)
Image courtesy of Focus Features - Map

It was easy to recognise the walls and the interior courtyard of Blackness Castle, a fortress that also served as a shooting location for the recently released Netflix movie Outlaw King, entirely filmed in Scotland.
Image courtesy of Focus Features and Dr. John Wells - Map

Also, it wasn't hard to distinguish the shapes of the rocks of Oxroad Bay from Seacliff Beach and the ruins of Tantallon Castle in the distance (North Berwick, East Lothian), that apparently had 'collapsed' during the days of the shoot.

Some of the castles seen from afar in the film were generated with CGI.
Image courtesy of Focus Features and Kjbax - Google Maps

The next locations are based in England, where the section of the movie with Margot Robbie takes place.

Several exteriors were shot at Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire.

This 16th-century period house is one of the best surviving examples of Elizabethan style, the English version of Renaissance architecture.
Image courtesy of Focus Features - Map

Interiors were shot at the Haddon Hall Manor, also in Derbyshire, in the heart of the Peak District.

The bright Queen's lounge pictured is the Long Gallery, built in the 16th-century.

This magnificent country house was also used to film many historical productions like the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice, The Other Boleyn Girl series, or BBC's Gunpowder.
Image courtesy of Focus Features and The JR James Archive - Map

Some scenes were filmed at the Divinity School, next to the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

This Gothic masterpiece is one of the oldest surviving Oxford University buildings, known in the world of cinema for having hosted Hogwarts Infirmary in some of Harry Potter's saga movies.
Image courtesy of Focus Features and Diliff - Map

The last scene was filmed in the cloisters of Gloucester Cathedral, featuring a heavily ornate vaulted ceiling.

It was also used to shoot the Harry Potter movies. The scene with the two actresses together was filmed in Arborfield barn at Chiltern Open Air Museum in Buckinghamshire.
Image courtesy of Focus Features - Map

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