Stars to attend Mary Queen of Scots premiere at Edinburgh Castle

ACTING royalty will be in town next week for the premiere of Hollywood blockbuster Mary Queen of Scots.

Atonement star Saoirse Ronan, who plays the title role, will be at Edinburgh Castle from 5pm next Monday along with Dunkirk actor Jack Lowden.

Scots star of the stage James McArdle and comedian Karen Dunbar will join them before a screening at the Cameo Picturehouse on Home Street.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is also expected to join director Josie Rourke and producer Tim Bevan. With a £19.5m budget, the movie also boasts Margot Robbie, Gemma Chan, Martin Compston, David Tennant and Guy Pearce.

Saoirse Ronan as Mary Stuart and James McArdle as Earl of Moray in a scene from "Mary Queen of Scots." Pic Liam Daniel/Focus Features via AP

Filming began in the summer of August 2017 on location across Scotland and the UK, including the Capital. It tells the story of charismatic Mary Stuart’s turbulent early life – Queen of France at 16 and widowed at 18.

The movie recounts her defiance of pressure to remarry and instead returns to Scotland to claim her rightful throne. The 
film is based on the biography My Heart is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scotland by John Guy. It will be released to cinemas on Friday, January 18.