''The White Princess'' is a

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

television miniseries developed for

Starz Starz (stylized in all caps as STARZ; pronounced "stars") is an American pay television network owned by Starz Entertainment, and is the flagship property of Starz Inc. Launched in 1994 as a multiplex service of what is now Starz Encore, ...

. It is based on

Philippa Gregory Philippa Gregory (born 9 January 1954) is an English historical novelist who has been publishing since 1987. The best known of her works is ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2001), which in 2002 won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award from the Roman ...

's 2013 novel of the same name and, to a lesser extent, its 2014 sequel '' The King's Curse''. It is a sequel to the 2013 miniseries '' The White Queen'', which adapted three of Gregory's previous novels, and begins immediately where ''The White Queen'' finished. In the series, the marriage of Henry VII and

Elizabeth of York Elizabeth of York (11 February 1466 – 11 February 1503) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from her marriage to King Henry VII of England, Henry VII on 18 January 1486 until her death in 1503. She was the daughter of King E ...

effectively ends the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...

by uniting the houses of Lancaster and

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

. However, their mutual enmity and distrust, as well as the political plots of their mothers, threaten to tear both the marriage and the kingdom apart.

Cast and characters

Main

Jodie Comer Jodie Marie Comer ( ; born 11 March 1993) is an English actress of screen and stage. She began her career in an episode of '' The Royal Today'' in 2008. Comer gained recognition for appearing in the series ''My Mad Fat Diary'' (2013–2015) an ...

as Elizabeth "Lizzie" of York, the Queen of England * Jacob Collins-Levy as Henry VII, the King of England, Elizabeth's husband * Michelle Fairley as Margaret Beaufort, the King's mother * Rebecca Benson as Margaret "Maggie" Plantagenet, the Queen's paternal cousin, sister of Teddy *

Kenneth Cranham Kenneth Cranham (born 12 December 1944) is a British film, television, radio and stage actor. His most notable screen roles were in '' Oliver!'' (1968), '' Up Pompeii'' (1971), '' Hellbound: Hellraiser II'' (1988), '' Chocolat'' (1988), '' Layer ...

as Bishop (later Cardinal) John Morton, a confidant of the King's mother *

Essie Davis Esther "Essie" Davis is an Australian actress and singer, best known for her roles as Phryne Fisher in '' Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries'' and its film adaptation, '' Miss Fisher & the Crypt of Tears'', and as Amelia Vanek in '' The Babadook''. ...

as Dowager Queen Elizabeth Woodville, the Queen's mother * Rossy de Palma as

Isabella I of Castile Isabella I (; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''Isabel la Católica''), was Queen of Castile and List of Leonese monarchs, León from 1474 until her death in 1504. She was also Queen of Aragon ...

, the Queen of Castile * Richard Dillane as Thomas Stanley, Margaret Beaufort's husband *

Anthony Flanagan Anthony Flanagan (born 11 April 1972 as Tony Bonello) is an English actor most widely known for his portrayal of policeman Tony in Channel 4's comedy-drama series '' Shameless''. Biography Flanagan was born in Stockport, Cheshire. At school he ...

as Francis Lovell, a Yorkist supporter * Patrick Gibson as

Perkin Warbeck Perkin Warbeck ( – 23 November 1499) was a pretender to the English throne claiming to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, who was the second son of Edward IV and one of the so-called "Princes in the Tower". Richard, were he alive, would ...

, a pretender to the English crown who claims to be Richard of York. *

Caroline Goodall Caroline Goodall Pecorini (born 13 November 1959) is an English–Australian actress, screenwriter and producer. Awards and nominations include Best Actress nominations AFI Awards for her roles in the 1989 miniseries '' Cassidy'' and the 199 ...

as Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, the Queen's paternal grandmother. Goodall was the only actor to appear in both ''The White Queen'' and ''The White Princess''. * Amy Manson as Catherine "Cathy" Gordon, wife of Perkin Warbeck * Adrian Rawlins as John de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, husband of Eliza de la Pole * Vincent Regan as Jasper Tudor, the King's uncle * Suki Waterhouse as Cecily of York, the Queen's sister * Joanne Whalley as Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy, the Queen's paternal aunt * Andrew Whipp as Sir Richard Pole, husband of Maggie Plantagenet File:Jodie comer 2023 4 (cropped).jpg, Jodie Comer (Queen Elizabeth "The White Princess") File:Коллинс-Леви Джейкоб.jpg, Jacob Collins-Levy (Henry VII) File:Michelle_Fairley_by_Gage_Skidmore_2_(cropped).jpg, Michelle Fairley (Margaret) File:Patrick_Gibson_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg, Patrick Gibson (Perkin) File:Suki_Waterhouse_(35450919821)_(cropped_-_head_shot).jpg, Suki Waterhouse (Cecily)

Recurring

* Nicholas Audsley as Lord Strange * Rhys Connah (child) and Albert de Jongh (teen) as Edward "Teddy" Plantagenet, Earl of Warwick, the Queen's cousin, brother of Maggie * Heidi Ely as Princess Bridget, the Queen's sister * Oliver Hembrough as John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln, the Duke of Suffolk's son * Rosie Knightley as

Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950) is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of King ...

, the Queen's sister * Ava Masters as Princess Catherine, the Queen's sister * Rollo Skinner as Ned, a stable boy * Susie Trayling as Elizabeth "Eliza" de la Pole, Duchess of Suffolk, the Queen's paternal aunt * Guy Williams as William Stanley, Lord Thomas's brother * Iain Batchelor as

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death in 1519. He was never crowned by the Pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed hi ...

* Dorian Grover as Philip * Zazie Hayhurst as Rettie * Billy Barratt as Prince Arthur, the King's first son * Woody Norman as

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. As the younger son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales, he is fifth in the line of succession to ...

, the King's second son *

Philip Arditti Philip Ishak Arditti is a British-Swiss theatre and television actor famous for his role as Uday Hussein in the four episode ''House of Saddam'' television docudrama. He also appeared in the film '' Red 2'', a sequel to 2010's '' Red''. He was p ...

as Rodrigo de Puebla, the Spanish ambassador

Guest

* Ned Elliott as Prince Richard, the Queen's brother * Luc Webb as Prince Edward, the Queen's brother * Derek Frood as the Mayor of York * Kitty Smith as Ruth * Emmanuelle Bouaziz as

Mary of Burgundy Mary of Burgundy (; ; 13 February 1457 – 27 March 1482), nicknamed the Rich, was a member of the House of Valois-Burgundy who ruled the Burgundian lands, comprising the Duchy of Burgundy, Duchy and Free County of Burgundy, County of Burgundy a ...

* Max True as Lambert Simnel * Nia Roberts as Catherine "Kate" Woodville, Duchess of Buckingham * Norman Arthur Eshley as the Abbot * Marc Danbury as the Priest * Juan Echenique as

Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II, also known as Ferdinand I, Ferdinand III, and Ferdinand V (10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), called Ferdinand the Catholic, was King of Aragon from 1479 until his death in 1516. As the husband and co-ruler of Queen Isabella I of ...

, the King of Aragon * Nicholas Gecks as the Wimborne Priest * Alex Sawyer as Kofi, Novice Monk * Mark Edel-Hunt as

Thomas Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( ; – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic cardinal (catholic), cardinal. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's Lord High Almoner, almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and ...

* Alasdair McLaughlin as Noah Luff

Episodes

Production

Development

The 10-part 2013 television series ''The White Queen'' adapted Gregory's previous novels '' The White Queen'' (2009), '' The Red Queen'' (2010) and '' The Kingmaker's Daughter'' (2012). The series was broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

in the United Kingdom and on

in the United States, and features Freya Mavor as a young Elizabeth of York. Despite initial plans for a second series, on 20 August 2013 the BBC announced they were not commissioning one, possibly because of the lukewarm reception the series received. However, in October 2013, ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

'' reported that Starz was planning to develop a sequel miniseries called ''The White Princess'', based on Gregory's novel. Starz CEO Chris Albrecht announced in January 2014 that the network was working with ''White Queen'' screenwriter

Emma Frost Emma Grace Frost is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne (comics), John Byrne, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''The Uncanny ...

on the project. Starz would produce the ''White Princess'' miniseries without involvement from the BBC. Gregory confirmed that the project was underway in August 2015. On 7 February 2016, Gregory announced on

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

that the sequel was officially confirmed to be in production, with the scripts being written. The series was confirmed to be eight episodes in May 2016. Jamie Payne, who directed three episodes of ''The White Queen'', directed episodes 1, 2, 3, 7, and 8. Frost was the showrunner and executive producer. Lachlan MacKinnon is served as producer, with Gregory as executive producer. Playground's Colin Callender and Scott Huff also executive produced with

Company Pictures Company Pictures is a British television production company which has produced drama programming for many broadcasters. It was set up in 1998 by Charles Pattinson and George S. J. Faber, George Faber, colleagues at BBC Films. Their first film wa ...

' Michele Buck.

Casting

was cast in the title role of

in April 2016, with Michelle Fairley added as Margaret Beaufort in May. In June 2016, Starz announced the casting of

as Dowager Queen Elizabeth, Jacob Collins-Levy as Henry VII, Suki Waterhouse as Cecily of York, Rebecca Benson as Margaret Plantagenet, and Joanne Whalley as Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy. The remaining cast includes

as Duchess Cecily,

as Bishop Morton, Vincent Regan as Jasper Tudor and Rhys Connah as Teddy Plantagenet.

Filming

Principal photography began in June 2016, with locations including

Bradford on Avon Bradford-on-Avon (sometimes Bradford on Avon) is a town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England, near the border with Somerset. The town's canal, historic buildings, shops, pubs and restaurants make it popular with tourists. The parish had ...

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, Berkeley Castle,

Gloucester Cathedral Gloucester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity and formerly St Peter's Abbey, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the River Severn. It originated with the establishme ...

Lacock Lacock is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England, about 3 miles (5 km) south of the town of Chippenham, and about outside the Cotswolds area. The village is owned almost in its enti ...

Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Salisbury, England. The cathedral is regarded as one of the leading examples of Early English architecture, ...

, and Wells.

Release

In early January 2017, the producers released a video clip from the series as a teaser trailer. In February 2017, Starz announced that ''The White Princess'' would premiere on 16 April 2017. In the UK the series began its satellite and terrestrial broadcasts on the U&Drama channel on 18 November 2017.

Reception

The miniseries received generally favorable reviews. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, it has an approval rating of 76% based on reviews from 17 critics, with an average rating of 6.95/10. The website's critics consensus indicated the series was "well-acted and enlivened by its fresh perspective" and "delivers more than enough intrigue to satisfy fans of period British royal court drama." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the show has a weighted average score of 71 based on reviews from 9 critics.

Continuation

On 15 March 2018, Starz announced that it will create a continuation of ''The White Queen'' and ''The White Princess'' to be titled '' The Spanish Princess'', which will be based on Gregory's novels '' The Constant Princess'' and '' The King's Curse'' and center on

Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, historical Spanish: , now: ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England as the Wives of Henry VIII, first wife of King Henry VIII from their marr ...

References

External links