Category: Golden Age Diary

3.20 PM Priory Church of St. Bartholomew the Great, Smithfield, London. One of the pivotal moments in the film is being shot today in this beautiful 12th century church - the execution by beheading of Mary Queen of Scots. Mary was executed on the morning of 8th February, 1587 at the now ruined castle of [...]

10 AM Hatfield House. Out on location at Hatfield House but today however we're using this as the home of Mary Queen of Scots and Hatfield House has become Chartley Hall to introduce her to the story. By the time of our film Mary had already been in captivity in England for 18 years, being [...]

6 PM Priory Church of St. Bartholomew the Great, Smithfield, London. Finishing off coverage of the execution scene then down to the crypt for a scene from nearly four months previously, as Mary confronts her accusers at her trial at Fotheringhay. The outcome of Mary's trial was really a foregone conclusion. She had argued that [...]

11 AM Hatfield House, Hertfordshire. We're using the Long Gallery here as rooms in Walsingham's house. In today's scenes Sir Francis entertain his brother. This is one of those scenes that people will write to me about as there are a number of key differences from 'history'. Firstly in our film Walsingham has a brother [...]

1 PM Hatfield House, Hertfordshire. First scene with Elizabeth and Francis Walsingham today and, as is the nature of filming, this is Walsingham's last scene in the movie. Walsingham had not been a well man for much of his adult life - his already weak constitution weighed down by the pressures of work. These bouts [...]

1 AM Hatfield House, Hertfordshire. The last three scenes today with Mary Queen of Scots (Samantha Morton). In the first Paulet appears in Mary's rooms to tell her that she is to be executed on the following morning.

At the end of week 2 Hanging on, to the slim thread of instinct which is lost so easily if cut by arrogance for in this punishing schedule where there is not a moment to think like a soldier in the middle of battle dodging bullets and moving blindly forward Be one with the bullet [...]

For Mary one of the cruellest aspects of her confinement was her isolation from the outside world caused by the increasing restrictions placed on her correspondence. When Amyas Paulet took charge of her he was instructed to prevent all her correspondence save for that with the French ambassador in London, and even this he intercepted, [...]

10 AM 'J' Stage - Shepperton Studios. Back to day shooting - this time scenes with the Babington conspirators. The Babington Plot arose from a series of other conspiracies against Elizabeth which followed on from the publication by Pope Pius V of the 1570 bull Regnans in Excelsis in which he declared Elizabeth a heretic [...]

Friday, 28th April. 1 AM at 'J' Stage, Shepperton Studios. Another night shoot but now back in studio in King Philip's private quarters in the Escorial - or more properly the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. The palace was commissioned by Philip as a mausoleum for his family and a center for [...]