Factual error: In the beginning of the film, a variety of different suitors are presented to Elizabeth. Amongst them are Eric XIV of Sweden, reportedly "still madly in love [with her]". Even though he was born the same year as Elizabeth; when this film takes place, in 1585, he had already been dead for 8 years.
Factual error: When one of Mary Stuart's correspondents writes her a note, he uses a quill and ink. Immediately following, he folds it up without sanding the wet ink. The writing would have been smeared so badly that it would be unreadable.
Factual error: Mary, Queen of Scots is depicted with a Scottish accent. However, Mary was raised in France from a young age and thus would speak with a French accent instead.
Factual error: In Elizabeth the Golden Age there is a scene that depicted Sir Francis Walsingham's death in 1590. Whist lying on the bed in his last minutes, you can see the Rainbow Portrait of Elizabeth, which hadn't been painted until 1600, hanging on the wall behind him.
Factual error: In the film, during the battle against the Spanish, the queen Elizabeth is depicted in her nightie on the cliffs of Dover but we have knowledge that the queen was actually staying in London.
Factual error: The film's epilogue states that Elizabeth led England to an age of peace and prosperity. This might be true if people ignore the nine year insurrection in Ireland which consumed the final years of her reign and bankrupted her.
