Mary Queen of Scots star Saoirse Ronan has explained why her character's oral sex scene is "so important".
The new film, which stars Ronan as the titular historical figure and Margot Robbie as Elizabeth Tudor, features an oral sex scene in which Henry (Jack Lowden) pleasures Mary in a way that cannot result in pregnancy and ruin her chances of taking the throne.
Saoirse told Refinery29 of the scene: "That's a sexual revelation purely for her. It's not to perform her duty, it's not to give anything back to anyone else or to the state. It's for her.
"It was so important to see this young girl experience this pleasure, probably for the first time, and have that be a real sort of revelation."
Speaking about the decision to focus the camera on Mary's face rather than downstairs, director Josie Rourke explained that it was more to do with the female gaze than keeping the rating down.
She told Metro: "I thought very carefully about that scene and it was nothing to do with the rating. It was to do with wanting to see the pleasure she is receiving and wanting to show that from a female gaze point of view.
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"And she acts it brilliantly, to get what feels like an authentic female orgasm on screen? We need to see her face to do that."
Also starring in Mary Queen of Scots are David Tennant, Joe Alwyn, Brendan Coyle, Guy Pearce and Gemma Chan.
Mary Queen of Scots is in US cinemas now. It will be released on January 18 in the UK.
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