The One About Reign

For about the past month, I have been sick almost every week, which has meant a lot of sleeping and resting for me. With all this resting and a nice television in my dorm, I have been able to start a couple of shows, which I think are super cool. One of these shows is about Mary Queen of Scots, and though she is not my namesake, I have found myself slowly becoming a fan of the young queen. This would all be amazing, fun news if my mother was not a history major with a particular love for European history. So, in tribute to her, for this week’s article, I have decided to pick apart a couple of the historical inaccuracies in Reign. Be wary as there may be a couple of spoilers ahead, but if you do not plan to watch the show, stay around for a little bit of a history lesson.

The first and most entertaining historical inaccuracy in Reign is the existence of Sebastian. In the show, Sebastian is the Dauphin of France’s half-brother and the illegitimate son of King Henry II. Historically, King Henry II’s mistress, Diane de Poitiers, never had a son named Sebastian. Without Sebastian, a lot of the drama in Reign would have been avoided, which calls for the inspection of many of the events in the show. But what would a CW show be without drama?

The next discrepancy involves Mary’s ladies-in-waiting. In a historical context, all of Mary’s ladies were named Mary as well, none of them had an affair with King Henry II, and none of them had a son with Mary’s first husband. However, in the show, they are named Aylee, Lola, Greer, and Kenna. When Queen Mary was ruling Scotland, Mary was a very common name amongst women. To avoid confusion, the show changed the names of the girls.

My personal favorite inaccuracy in Reign is the show’s handling of Mary’s execution. In the show, Mary elegantly takes her death. She is seen being graceful about the situation. It is said that during the real execution of Queen Mary, she made a fuss. She was angry with the people and refused the consolation of a Protestant priest.

Now, this show may not be particularly accurate, but it is very entertaining. It’s easy to watch and understand what’s going on even if you miss something. It is definitely a show I would recommend as long as you remain wary and do not take the show as fact. I hope you have a nice weekend!