The White Princess (2017)

The White Princess – a miniseries in eight parts – is a historical drama (based on a true story), which premiered in 2017. It is a sequel to The White Queen - a miniseries in ten parts - which premiered in 2013. Here is some basic information about it:

** Available on DVD and Amazon Prime Video

** Run time: ca 460 minutes

The topic is the War of the Roses; a war between two powerful families, who both claimed the right to the throne of England: the House of York, whose logo was a white rose, and the House of Lancaster, whose logo was a red rose.

Most scenes are set in England; a few scenes are set in Burgundy, in the middle of France, and one scene is set in Spain.

The drama is based on a book by Philippa Gregory (born 1954), who is the author of several historical novels. Many historical novels focus on male characters, often on a king and the men around him. Philippa Gregory’s novels are different. They focus on female characters, often on a queen and the women around her.

The White Queen covers a period of 21 years: the time from 1464 to 1485. The main character is Elizabeth Woodville (1437-1492). When she marries King Edward IV, she becomes the Queen of England.

The White Princess covers a period of 14 years: the time from 1485 to 1499. The main character is Elizabeth of York (1466-1503), the oldest daughter of Elizabeth Woodville and Edward IV. When she marries King Henry VII, she becomes the Queen of England.

I do not wish to spoil the viewing for anyone. Therefore I am not going to say much about what happens in this drama, but I have to mention a few details in order to explain my rating.

What do reviewers say about this historical drama? Here are the results of two review aggregators:

** 77 per cent = IMDb

** 81 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes

On Amazon UK there are more than 60 reviews of this product. The average rating is 4.6 stars. If you ask me, all these ratings are too high. Why?

The characters are real historical persons, but the story in which they are placed is not based on real historical facts. It is to a large extent based on gossip and rumours and sometimes on pure inventions. Here are some examples:

# 1. The Princes in the Tower. Two princes were placed in the Tower: Edward and Richard. They were last seen in 1483. In The White Princess we are told that there was only one real prince in the Tower: Edward. The other boy was a replacement for Richard.

According to the drama, Richard survived. He would come back later to claim the throne of England. However, there is no evidence for this version of history. This part of the story is based on speculation or wishful thinking.

# 2. The death of Jasper Tudor. In The White Princess, Margaret Beaufort (the mother of Henry VII) kills Jasper Tudor (the uncle of Henry VII) in order to prevent him from revealing an unpleasant truth to the king. However, there is no evidence for this version of history. This part of the story is based on the director’s vivid imagination.

# 3. The alliance between England and Spain. In The White Princess, Henry and Elizabeth travel to Spain where they meet the Spanish king and queen at Alhambra in Granada. The meeting takes place in 1495. None of this is true. Henry and Elizabeth never travelled to Spain and they never met the Spanish king and queen.

English ambassadors travelled to Spain where they met the Spanish king and queen. The meeting took place in 1489 (not 1495). It did not take place at Alhambra. At the time this palace was still controlled by Arab Muslims aka the Moors. The meeting took place in Valladolid.

The story about Henry and Elizabeth’s journey to Spain is not based on gossip and rumour. It is pure fantasy. It is simply added for dramatic purposes.

There are positive and negative elements in this drama.

** On the positive side: the story is captivating, and the actors play their roles well.

** On the negative side: many details are based on gossip and rumours and occasionally on pure fantasy.

My conclusion: this drama is not great; it is not even good; it is average. Therefore it cannot get more than three stars.

*****

 

Philippa Gregory (born 1954)

*****