In the film, when Elizabeth arrives at St. Paul's Cathedral, construction is going on. In real life, St. Paul's actually needed repair work. Director Shekhar Kapur decided to improvise, and gave the workers costumes and period tools to cut real stone that was being installed in the cathedral. The workers in the scene are real-life stonemasons and construction workers.
To save money, only one ship replica was built. It was Raleigh's English vessel on one side and a Spanish galleon on the other. When filming wide shots of the deck, smoke was used to cover up any separation in design.
With her Oscar nomination for Best Actress, Cate Blanchett became the first female to receive multiple Academy Award nominations for playing the same character.
Director Shekhar Kapur felt that color should reveal a character's internal life. Costume designer Alexandra Byrne did not want to use blue on Elizabeth because it was not a period color. Shekhar felt that blue was the color of yearning and aspiring, and he wanted to portray Elizabeth as yearning to be divine and immortal. Likewise, he conveyed Elizabeth's close relationship with Bess by showing them in similar colors and gown styles. As their relationship deteriorates, their colors contrast or clash.