The White Princess is a historical drama television miniseries developed for Starz. It is based on Philippa Gregory'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 effectively ends the Wars of the Roses by uniting the houses of Lancaster and York. 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.
Contents
Cast and characters
Main
Jodie Comer as Elizabeth "Lizzie" of York, the Queen of England from 1486–1503
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 as Bishop (later Cardinal) John Morton, a confidant of the King's mother
Essie Davis as Elizabeth Woodville, the Queen dowager
Rossy de Palma as Isabella I of Castile, the Queen of Castile
Richard Dillane as Thomas Stanley, Margaret Beaufort's husband
Anthony Flanagan as Francis Lovell, a Yorkist supporter
Patrick Gibson as Perkin Warbeck, a pretender to the English crown who claims to be Richard of York.
Caroline Goodall 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
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, 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
Dorian Grover as Philip
Zazie Hayhurst as Rettie
Billy Barratt as Prince Arthur, the King's first son
Woody Norman as Prince Harry, the King's second son
Philip Arditti 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
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, the King of Aragon
Nicholas Gecks as the Wimborne Priest
Alex Sawyer as Kofi, Novice Monk
Mark Edel-Hunt as Thomas Wolsey
Alasdair McLaughlin as Noah Luff
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 in the United Kingdom and on Starz 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 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 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 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' Michele Buck.
Casting
Jodie Comer was cast in the title role of Elizabeth of York in April 2016, with Michelle Fairley added as Margaret Beaufort in May. In June 2016, Starz announced the casting of Essie Davis 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 Caroline Goodall as Duchess Cecily, Kenneth Cranham 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, Bristol, Berkeley Castle, Gloucester Cathedral, Lacock, Salisbury Cathedral, 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, 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, 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.
