The White Queen (TV series)
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''The White Queen'' is a British historical drama television drama serial developed for
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
. It is based on Philippa Gregory's historical novel series '' The Cousins' War'' ('' The White Queen'', '' The Red Queen'', and '' The Kingmaker's Daughter''). The first episode premiered on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
on 16 June 2013 in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. It was first broadcast in the United States on Starz on 9 August 2013. The drama is set against the backdrop of the
Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...
and presents the story of the women involved in the long conflict for the throne of England. It starts in 1464; the nation has been at war for nine years fighting over who is the rightful king as two sides of the same family, the House of York and the House of Lancaster, contest the throne. The story follows three women, Elizabeth Woodville,
Margaret Beaufort Lady Margaret Beaufort (usually pronounced: or ; 31 May 1441/43 – 29 June 1509) was a major figure in the Wars of the Roses of the late fifteenth century, and mother of King Henry VII of England, the first Tudor monarch. A descendant of ...
and
Anne Neville Anne Neville (11 June 1456 – 16 March 1485) was Queen of England as the wife of King Richard III. She was the younger of the two daughters and co-heiresses of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (the "Kingmaker"). Before her marriage to Ric ...
, who manipulate events behind the scenes of history to gain power. Elizabeth Woodville is the protagonist in the novel ''The White Queen'', and Margaret Beaufort and Anne Neville are the focus of the novels ''The Red Queen'' and ''The Kingmaker's Daughter''; the three characters appear in the three novels that make up the television drama. The final episode of ''The White Queen'' aired on 18 August 2013 and the drama was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc the following day. Two days later, it was confirmed that ''The White Queen'' would not be returning for a second series. In a statement to '' Broadcast'', the BBC stated that the show was always planned as a one-series serial miniseries. In October 2013, ''
The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'' reported that Starz planned to develop a sequel called ''
The White Princess ''The White Princess'' is a 2013 historical novel by Philippa Gregory, part of her series '' The Cousins' War''. It is the story of Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville, and later wife of Henry VII and ...
'', based on Gregory's 2013 novel of the same name. Gregory confirmed that the project was underway in August 2015. On 7 February 2016, Gregory announced on
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
that the sequel was officially confirmed to be in production, with the scripts being written. On 15 March 2018, Starz announced that it would create a continuation of ''The White Queen'' and ''The White Princess'' to be titled ''
The Spanish Princess ''The Spanish Princess'' is a historical drama television limited series developed by Emma Frost and Matthew Graham for Starz. Based on the novels ''The Constant Princess'' (2005) and ''The King's Curse'' (2014) by Philippa Gregory, it is a seque ...
'', which would be based on Gregory's novels '' The Constant Princess'' and '' The King's Curse'' and centre on Catherine of Aragon. ''The White Queen'' was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards and a
People's Choice Award The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the general public and fans. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls until ...
.


Cast


Main

*
Juliet Aubrey Juliet Emma Aubrey (born 17 December 1966) is a British actress of theatre, film, and television. She won the 1995 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for playing Dorothea in the BBC serial ''Middlemarch'' (1994). She is also known for her role a ...
as Lady Anne Beauchamp, Countess of Warwick, wife of Warwick and mother to Lady Isabel and Lady Anne *
Veerle Baetens Veerle Baetens (born 24 January 1978) is a Belgian actress and singer probably best known for her role as Elise/Alabama in ''The Broken Circle Breakdown'' and as lead detective Hannah Maes in the crime drama ''Code 37''. She has also starred in ...
as Margaret of Anjou, queen consort to Henry VI of England * Aneurin Barnard as Richard III of England *
Leo Bill Leo Martin Bill (born 31 August 1980) is an English actor, best known for his role as James Brocklebank in the 2006 film '' The Living and the Dead'', as well as '' The Fall'', '' Alice in Wonderland'', and the FX/BBC One drama series ''Taboo'' ...
as Sir
Reginald Bray Sir Reginald Bray (c. 1440 – 5 August 1503) was an English administrator and statesman. He was the Chancellor of the Duchy and County Palatine of Lancaster under Henry VII, briefly Treasurer of the Exchequer, and one of the most influent ...
*
Emily Berrington Emily Berrington (born 7 December 1985) is an English actress who played Simone Al-Harazi in '' 24: Live Another Day'' (2014) and Niska in the Channel 4 and AMC TV series ''Humans'' (2015–2018). Early life Berrington's parents were social wor ...
as
Jane Shore Elizabeth "Jane" Shore (née Lambert) (c. 1445 – c. 1527) was one of the many mistresses of King Edward IV of England. She became the best-known to history through being later accused of conspiracy by the future King Richard III, and compelle ...
, Edward IV's mistress * Ashley Charles as Thomas Grey, the eldest son of Elizabeth Woodville and Sir
John Grey of Groby Sir John Grey, of Groby, Leicestershire (c. 1432Douglas Richardson. ''Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families,'' 2nd Edition, 2011. pg 161-164. – 17 February 1461) was a Lancastrian knight, the first husband of Elizab ...
*
Arthur Darvill Thomas Arthur Darvill (born 17 June 1982) is an English actor. He is known for portraying Rory Williams, a companion of the Eleventh Doctor in the television series ''Doctor Who'' (2010–2012), as well as Rip Hunter in ''Legends of Tomorrow'' ...
as Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham *
Shaun Dooley Shaun Dooley (born 29 March 1974) is an English actor, narrator and voice-over artist. Early life Dooley was born in Barnsley in Yorkshire. He studied at the Arden School of Theatre in Manchester between 1992 and 1995. Career Dooley's f ...
as Sir Robert Brackenbury *
Rebecca Ferguson Rebecca Louisa Ferguson Sundström (born 19 October 1983) is a Swedish actress. She began her acting career with the Swedish soap opera ''Nya tider'' (1999–2000) and went on to star in the slasher film ''Drowning Ghost'' (2004). She came to in ...
as Elizabeth Woodville, the "White Queen" and consort to Edward IV *
James Frain James Dominic Frain is an English stage and screen actor. His best known television roles include Thomas Cromwell in the Showtime/ CBC historical drama ''The Tudors'' (2007–2009), Franklin Mott in the HBO drama ''True Blood'' (2010), Warwi ...
as
Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
, "the Kingmaker" * Caroline Goodall as Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, mother of Edward, George, and Richard *
Andrew Gower Andrew Gower (born 8 November 1989) is an English actor. A staple in British television and theatre, he is best known for his recurring role as Cutler in '' Being Human'' and his turn as Prince Charles Stuart in ''Outlander''. Gower won the S ...
as Lord Strange, son of Lord Stanley *
Rupert Graves Rupert Simeon Graves (born 30 June 1963) is an English film, television, and theatre actor. He is known for his roles in ''A Room with a View'', '' Maurice'', '' The Madness of King George'' and '' The Forsyte Saga''. From 2010 to 2017 he star ...
as
Lord Stanley Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the en ...
, the fourth husband of Lady Margaret Beaufort *
Amanda Hale Amanda Hale (born 2 October 1982) is a British actress. Early life Hale is one of four children born to Irish immigrant parents in northwest London. Her cousin is scientist Martin Glennie. She had been due to go to Oxford University to study ...
as Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry Tudor, a great-granddaughter of John, Duke of Lancaster *
Max Irons Maximilian Paul Diarmuid Irons (born 17 October 1985) is an English-Irish actor and model. He is known for his roles in films such as ''Red Riding Hood'' (2011), '' The White Queen'' (2013), '' The Host'' (2013), '' Woman in Gold'' (2014), ''Th ...
as Edward IV of England * Michael Jenn as Dr Lewis * Ben Lamb as
Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers (c. 144025 June 1483), was an English nobleman, courtier, bibliophile and writer. He was the brother of Queen Elizabeth Woodville who married King Edward IV. He was one of the leading members of the Woodvi ...
* Michael Maloney as Sir Henry Stafford, third husband of Lady Margaret Beaufort * Michael Marcus as Henry Tudor, later
Henry VII of England Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henry's mother, Margaret Beauf ...
; son and heir of Lady Margaret Beaufort by Sir Edmund Tudor *
Faye Marsay Faye Elaine Marsay (born 30 December 1986) is an English actress. Her notable roles include Anne Neville in '' The White Queen'' (2013), the recurring character Candice in '' Fresh Meat'' (2013), Steph in the film ''Pride'' (2014), Amy in ''Need ...
as Lady Anne Neville, "the Kingmaker's Daughter" and queen consort to Richard III * Freya Mavor as
Elizabeth of York Elizabeth of York (11 February 1466 – 11 February 1503) was Queen of England from her marriage to King Henry VII on 18 January 1486 until her death in 1503. Elizabeth married Henry after his victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field, which mark ...
, eldest daughter and child to Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville * Lizzy McInnerny as Lady Sutcliffe * Tom McKay as
Jasper Tudor Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford (November 143121/26 December 1495), was the uncle of King Henry VII of England and a leading architect of his nephew's successful accession to the throne in 1485. He was from the noble Tudor family of Penmynydd i ...
, half-brother of Henry VI, brother-in-law to Lady Margaret Beaufort and uncle to Henry Tudor *
Janet McTeer Janet McTeer (born 5 August 1961"Ms Janet McTeer, OBE"
. ''Derbrett's P ...
as Jacquetta, Lady Rivers, Elizabeth Woodville's mother * David Oakes as George, Duke of Clarence, brother of Edward IV * Eve Ponsonby as
Mary Woodville Mary Woodville, Countess of Pembroke (c. 1456–1481) was a sister of Edward IV's Queen consort, Elizabeth Woodville, and of Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers. She later became the first wife of William Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, by whom ...
*
Robert Pugh Robert Pugh (born 11 October 1950) is a Welsh actor, known for his many television appearances, including the role of Craster in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones''. Life and career Pugh was born in the Tynte, Mountain Ash and grew up in Cilf ...
as
Baron Rivers Baron Rivers was a title that was created four times in British history, twice in the Peerage of England, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. History The first creation came in 1299 when John Riv ...
(later
Earl Rivers Earl Rivers was an English title, which has been created three times in the Peerage of England. It was held in succession by the families of Woodville (or Wydeville), Darcy and Savage. History The first creation was made for Richard Woodville, 1s ...
), father of Elizabeth Woodville *
Frances Tomelty Frances Tomelty (born 6 October 1948) is a Northern Irish actress whose numerous television credits include ''Strangers'' (1978–1979), '' Testament of Youth'' (1979), ''Inspector Morse'' (1988), ''Cracker'' (1993), '' The Amazing Mrs Pritchard ...
as Lady Beauchamp, mother of Lady Margaret Beaufort *
Eleanor Tomlinson Eleanor May Tomlinson (born 19 May 1992) is an English actress and singer. She has appeared in films including '' Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging'' (2008), ''Jack the Giant Slayer'' (2013), ''Colette'' (2018) and ''Love Wedding Repeat'' (20 ...
as Lady Isabel Neville, Duchess of Clarence, wife of George, Duke of Clarence and elder sister of Lady Anne Neville *
Rupert Young Rupert Francis Young (born 16 May 1978) is an English actor from Lambeth, London. He portrayed Sir Leon in the BBC drama series ''Merlin''. Young's television work includes episodes of '' Doc Martin'', ''Foyle's War'', '' Hotel Babylon'', '' The ...
as Sir William Herbert, Lord Pembroke


Recurring

* David Shelley as Henry VI of England * Hugh Mitchell as Richard Welles, half-brother of Lady Margaret Beaufort * Nicholas Fagg and Otto Farrant as Thomas Grey * Rudi Goodman and
Dean-Charles Chapman Dean-Charles Chapman (born 7 September 1997) is an English actor known for portraying Billy Elliot in the West End theatre production of ''Billy Elliot the Musical'', Tom Blake in Sam Mendes's film ''1917'', and Tommen Baratheon in the fourth ...
as
Richard Grey Sir Richard Grey (1457 – 25 June 1483) was an English knight and the half-brother of King Edward V of England. Early life Richard Grey was the younger son of Sir John Grey of Groby and Elizabeth Woodville. Richard was a 3-year-old child whe ...
, son of Elizabeth Woodville and Sir
John Grey of Groby Sir John Grey, of Groby, Leicestershire (c. 1432Douglas Richardson. ''Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families,'' 2nd Edition, 2011. pg 161-164. – 17 February 1461) was a Lancastrian knight, the first husband of Elizab ...
* Oscar Kennedy as young Henry Tudor *
Joey Batey Joey Batey (born 1989) is an English actor, musician, singer, and songwriter. He is known for portraying the bard Jaskier in the Netflix fantasy series ''The Witcher'', where he sang " Toss a Coin to Your Witcher", as well other songs featured in ...
as Edward of Lancaster, son of Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou, married to Lady Anne Neville * Elinor Crawley as
Cecily of York Cecily of York (20 March 1469 – 24 August 1507), was the third daughter of King Edward IV of England and his queen consort Elizabeth Woodville. Shortly after the death of her father and the usurpation of the throne by her uncle King Richard I ...
, daughter to Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville * Sonny Ashbourne Serkis as the
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
(later King Edward V), eldest son and heir to Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville; later one of the
Princes in the Tower The Princes in the Tower refers to the apparent murder in England in the 1480s of the deposed King Edward V of England and Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York. These two brothers were the only sons of King Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville sur ...
The large majority of the cast is British, but since the drama was shot in Belgium, several local actors are featured: Veerle Baetens, Jurgen Delnaet, Joren Seldeslachts, Elsa Houben, Ben Forceville and Ben Van den Heuvel all appear in the serial. Rebecca Ferguson who portrays Elizabeth Woodville, the White Queen, is from Sweden (her mother is originally from England).


Production

The budget was £25 million and took 120 days to shoot, consisting of 250 sets including: dungeons, palaces, castles, 12 state banquets and at least two coronations. Filming began in September 2012 and lasted until March 2013. Two versions were made, one for the BBC and a more sexually explicit version for the US. A companion two-part documentary series, ''The Real White Queen and Her Rivals'', presented by Philippa Gregory, was made to accompany the series. It was broadcast on BBC Two on 17 and 24 July 2013.


Credits

* Executive producers: John Griffin, George Faber, Charles Pattinson for
Company Pictures Company Pictures is an independent British television production company which has produced drama programming for many broadcasters. It was set up in 1998 by Charles Pattinson and George Faber, colleagues at BBC Films. Their first film was '' ...
, Eurydice Gysel for Czar Television, Polly Hill for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, Philippa Gregory and Colin Callender. * Series lead writer:
Emma Frost Emma Grace Frost is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. The character first appeared in ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #129 (Jan. 1980), and was ...
and produced by
Company Pictures Company Pictures is an independent British television production company which has produced drama programming for many broadcasters. It was set up in 1998 by Charles Pattinson and George Faber, colleagues at BBC Films. Their first film was '' ...
.
Lisa McGee Elizabeth "Lisa" McGee (born 1980) is an Irish playwright and screenwriter. McGee is the creator and writer of '' Derry Girls'', a comedy series that began airing on Channel 4 in the UK in January 2018. In 2018, she was listed as one of BBC's 10 ...
and Nicole Taylor are also writers. * James Kent directed the first three episodes. * Other episodes were directed by Jamie Payne and
Colin Teague Colin Teague is a British film and television director. Born 1970 He grew up in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire and studied at Redroofs Theatre School
. * Cinematographer: Jean Philippe Gossart. and David Luther. * Music: John Lunn.


Locations

''The White Queen'' was filmed on location in Belgium, where several landmarks in
Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the country by population. The area of the whole city a ...
and
Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...
represent locations in London and elsewhere: * The Gothic Hall in Bruges City Hall represents
Westminster Hall The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank ...
* The Church of Our Lady in Bruges represents St Stephen's Chapel in the old Palace of Westminster * Heilige Geeststraat in Bruges represents a medieval London street * The Basilica of the Holy Blood in Bruges represents the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...
* In Ghent filming took place in the Castle of the Counts (
Gravensteen The Gravensteen ( Dutch; literally "Castle of the Counts") is a medieval castle at Ghent, East Flanders in Belgium. The current castle dates from 1180 and was the residence of the Counts of Flanders until 1353. It was subsequently re-purposed as a ...
), Saint Peter's Abbey (Sint-Pietersabdij), Saint Bavo's Abbey (Sint-Baafsabdij), Cloth hall (Lakenhalle), Castle of Gerald the Devil ( Geeraard de Duivelsteen),
Saint Bavo Cathedral Saint Bavo's Cathedral, also known as Sint-Baafs Cathedral ( nl, Sint Baafskathedraal), is a cathedral of the Catholic Church in Ghent, Belgium. The 89-meter-tall Gothic building is the seat of the Diocese of Ghent and is named for Saint Bavo of ...
(Sint-Baafskathedraal), and Agustijnklooster (Academiestraat). * Additional filming took place at
Rumbeke Rumbeke is a town in the Belgian municipality of Roeselare in the province of West Flanders. It is most known as the location of Rumbeke Castle Rumbeke Castle ( nl, Kasteel van Rumbeke) is a historical building in Rumbeke in West Flanders, Be ...
, in Damme, and at Ursel Airfield – 23 locations for the first three episodes. The rest of the set was constructed at a nearby Philips factory.


Episodes


Historical accuracy

A number of anachronisms and historical inaccuracies received attention, especially in the costumes and locations used. Pat Stacey of the Irish ''
Evening Herald ''The Herald'' is a nationwide mid-market tabloid newspaper headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and published by Independent News & Media who are a subsidiary of Mediahuis. It is published Monday–Saturday. The newspaper was known as the ''Even ...
'', said that "the historical howlers are piling up like bodies on a battlefield, week after week", comparing it to the "flaws" spotted by "nitpickers" in ''
Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States o ...
'' and ''
Foyle's War ''Foyle's War'' is a British detective drama television series set during and shortly after the Second World War, created by '' Midsomer Murders'' screenwriter and author Anthony Horowitz and commissioned by ITV after the long-running series ...
''. Bernadette McNulty, of ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...
'', commented that in the final episode, the Battle of Bosworth Field appears to take place in a forest rather than a field. Mary McNamara, of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'', states that in order to fit thirty years of history into ten episodes, "years collapse into minutes, intricate policy is condensed into cardboard personalities, and the characters are swiftly categorized as good or evil". Others questioned the depiction of the major characters. Amy Licence, Cecily's biographer, states that Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, is portrayed in the first episode as "straight from the pages of a novel rather than the actual proud aristocrat who asserted her own right to rule". Historian Michael Hicks commented, "They've fiddled with the chronology" but added, "I can see why they decided to restrict the cast of characters, and play up the rivalry between Elizabeth and the Earl of Warwick", and also said "As with Philippa Gregory's source novels, they've done their research". In response to criticisms of the series being "ahistorical", Gregory stated that
What
BC One and Starz BC most often refers to: * Before Christ, a calendar era based on the traditionally reckoned year of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth * British Columbia, the westernmost province of Canada * Baja California, a state of Mexico BC may also refer to: ...
wanted was not a historical series based on the documents from the War of the Roses. They wanted ''my'' take on it, so that's what they got.
Aneurin Barnard (who played Richard) stated, with regard to inaccuracies,
...the truth can be pretty boring. You have to up the stakes and make something up or twist it to make it a little bit more exciting


Reception

On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
the show has a score of 70 based on reviews from 14 critics.


Reception in the UK

In the UK the critical reception was described as “mixed at best” and 'mostly scathing'. Sam Wollaston of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' praised the characters, suggesting
Janet McTeer Janet McTeer (born 5 August 1961"Ms Janet McTeer, OBE"
. ''Derbrett's P ...
(Jacquetta) stole the show. He also praised the romantic elements, commenting "Mmmm, steamy". Gerard O'Donovan of ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...
'' praised the casting of the supporting characters and the exciting "lust and vengeance" fuelling the drama, but objected to the prettified portrayal of 15th century England. ''The Independents Tom Sutcliffe found it "less historically plausible than ''Game of Thrones''", but concluded that "I’m sure it will give innocent pleasure to many". Barbara Ellen in ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...
'', compared the show to "a strange Timotei advert, featuring fornication, shouting, horses, armour", whilst commenting that the sex scenes, toned down in the British version, "were so vanilla, I ended up fancying an ice cream". Reviewing the final episode for ''The Daily Telegraph'', Bernadette McNulty stated that the series, "fell between two stools—not serious enough for the scholars nor glitzy enough for the ''Game of Thrones'' fans".''The Telegraph'', "The White Queen, final episode, review", 18 August 2013
Accessed 11 September 2013 The ratings were however good. The first episode received 6 million viewers, stabilising at around the 4–4.5 million mark from the second episode, although occasionally it dipped below this on first broadcast figures.


Reception in the US

''The White Queen'' received generally positive reviews after airing on the Starz network on 10 August 2013. Joanne Ostrow of ''
The Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...
'' described the drama as "Sexy, empowering and violent". Linda Stasi of the ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...
'' agreed that the programme was a hit, saying "''The White Queen'' sa royal winner". It was again unfavourably compared to HBO's high budget and fast-paced '' Game of Thrones''. In comparison to ''Game of Thrones'' Neil Genzlinger speculated that "even if dragons were allowed, they’d mostly be lounging around and, between bouts of relatively tame dragon sex, talking about eating people rather than actually eating them". The performances of Janet McTeer and James Frain were praised by several American reviewers. Amanda Hale, despite receiving praise for her performance by British reviewers, was unfavourably reviewed by US critic Matthew Gilbert. He said "There were moments when I rolled my eyes—Amanda Hale, as the mother of young Henry Tudor, looks as if she is going to explode with ill intent. Really, her performance could be transposed into a
Mel Brooks Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. He began ...
spoof". Louise Mellor of
Den of Geek ''Den of Geek'' is a US and UK-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture. The website also issues a bi-annual magazine. History ''Den of Geek'' was founded in 2007 by Simon Brew in London. In 2012, DoG Tech LLC licensed ...
added "Why does Lady Margaret Beaufort constantly look like she is sucking on a Murray Mint?" ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...
'' writer Matt Roush praised Hale's performance as "intense", and favoured the drama, labelling it as "fun", and on a one to ten scale, ranking it at seven. ''The White Queen'' was nominated three times at the
71st Golden Globe Awards The 71st Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and American television of 2013, was broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on January 12, 2014, by NBC, as part of the 2013-14 film awards season. The ...
, with acting nominations for Ferguson and McTeer and an overall nomination for the miniseries in the Best Miniseries or Television Film category.


Accolades

''The White Queen'' was nominated for several awards including three Golden Globe Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards and a People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Movie/Miniseries.
71st Golden Globe Awards The 71st Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and American television of 2013, was broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on January 12, 2014, by NBC, as part of the 2013-14 film awards season. The ...
(2014) * Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television * Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television – (Rebecca Ferguson) * Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television – (Janet McTeer)
66th Primetime Emmy Awards The 66th Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in U.S. prime time television programming from June 1, 2013 until May 31, 2014, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ceremony was held on Monday, August 25, 2014, at the Nok ...
(2014) * Outstanding Miniseries
66th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards The 66th Annual Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony was held on August 16, 2014, at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles. The ceremony is in conjunction with the annual Primetime Emmy Awards and is presented in recognition of technic ...
(2014) * Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Original Dramatic Score) – For episode: " The Final Battle" * Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie, or Special – For episode: "The Price of Power" * Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries or Movie 40th People's Choice Awards (2014) * Favorite TV Movie/Miniseries 2014
Saturn Awards The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...
–
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films is an American non-profit organization established in 1972 dedicated to the advancement of science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Academy is headquarter ...
* SBest Television Release on DVD/Blu-ray 2014 ASC Award –
American Society of Cinematographers The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), founded in Hollywood in 1919, is a cultural, educational, and professional organization that is neither a labor union nor a guild. The society was organized to advance the science and art of cinem ...
* Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Television Movie/Mini-Series – David Luther for Episode: "War at First Hand" (nomination) OFTA Television Awards 2014 – Online Film & Television Association * Best Miniseries Satellite Awards 2013 * Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television


Home media releases


Sequels


''The White Princess''

Despite initial plans for a follow-up series, on 20 August 2013 the BBC announced they were not commissioning one, possibly due to the lukewarm reception the series received. However, in October 2013,''
The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'' reported that Starz was planning to develop a sequel miniseries called ''
The White Princess ''The White Princess'' is a 2013 historical novel by Philippa Gregory, part of her series '' The Cousins' War''. It is the story of Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville, and later wife of Henry VII and ...
'', based on Gregory's 2013 novel of the same name. 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 Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
that the sequel was officially confirmed to be in production, with the scripts being written. Production on the eight-episode miniseries began in June 2016. It aired weekly on Starz from 6 April to 4 June 2017.


''The Spanish Princess''

On 15 March 2018, Starz announced that it would create a continuation of ''The White Queen'' and ''The White Princess'' to be titled ''The Spanish Princess'', which would be based on Gregory's novels '' The Constant Princess'' and '' The King's Curse'' and centre on Catherine of Aragon. It premiered on 5 May 2019.


See also

*
The Hollow Crown (TV series) ''The Hollow Crown'' is a series of British television film adaptations of William Shakespeare's history plays. The first series is an adaptation of Shakespeare's second historical tetralogy, the Henriad: ''Richard II'', ''Henry IV, Part 1'', ' ...


References


External links

* *
The White Queen
' at Starz * {{DEFAULTSORT:White Queen, The (Tv Series) 2010s British drama television series 2013 British television series debuts 2013 British television series endings BBC television dramas BBC television royalty dramas English-language television shows Television series by All3Media Television shows based on British novels Television series about the history of England Television series set in the 15th century Television series set in the Middle Ages Works about women in war