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Mary Stuart (Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato), Queen/119982/">Queen of Scots, is forced to abdicate her throne and flee her kingdom after the rebellion of her Scottish nobles. A Catholic, she was crowned at the age of nine months. Raised at the French court, she was betrothed to the Dauphin of France. At 18, she returned to her native land following the sudden death of her husband Francis II, having reigned as Queen/119982/">Queen of France for just over a year.

She seeks asylum in England with her cousin, Queen/119982/">Queen Elizabeth (Elza van den Heever). But her presence complicates matters. As a descendant of the Tudor line, the English Catholics see Mary as the rightful heir to Henry VIII's crown (Elizabeth having been declared illegitimate following the execution for adultery of her mother, Anne Boleyn).