Matt Ford

Could have been their nicknames.

The two ambitious women, both after the crown.

There's a menage a trois.

We've got murders, explosions, love, family betrayal, and more importantly, and just for you, Alice, slutty men and massive penises.

This scandal is the one that tore the entire country apart and almost brought down the English crown.

This is episode one.

26 years earlier, August 1561, Edinburgh, Scotland.

18-year-old Mary sits astride her horse.

She clutches its reins as Holyrood Palace looms ahead.

The young queen gasps at its 100-foot tower house with its circular turrets.

It's 13 years since she last saw it, and she feels a swell of pride at the crowd lining her approach.

She lifts her hand to check her auburn curls, then prepares to meet her subjects.

But as Mary nears the palace gates, her smile freezes.

Her pulse quickens as she takes in the expressions of twisted rage.

She digs in her heels, cracks her whip and gallops through the crowds and into the palace to safety.

Mary catches her breath as she dismounts.

The palace steward approaches.

Your Majesty, welcome to Holyrood.

Mary eyes him furiously.

What is the meaning of this vile populace?