The White Queen
Devotees of Sky Atlantic’s Game Of Thrones will feel a certain sense of déja vu as they settle down to watch The White Queen (BBC One, Sunday at 9pm). That’s no great surprise. George RR Martin has often said that his fiercely fruity fantasy fable is at least in part informed by the ferocious family feud that flared up in England on and off throughout the second half of the 1400s. The White Queen isn’t quite as brutal as its parallel-universe cousin. And not quite as mucky, although there is one moment where you think things are going in that direction.
What it is, though, is gorgeous. Beautifully shot, with some lovely costumes and a cast that’s distinctly easy on the eye. The White Queen shows us the pretty side of late medieval England, with nary a wart nor a fleck of mud to be seen.
Despite that, and despite the somewhat fanciful supernatural beliefs of the characters, this adaptation of Philippa Gregory’s historical novel is quite matter of fact in its portrayal of pre-Renaissance realpolitik.
Episode one revolves around the meeting of Edward IV (played by future heart-throb Max Irons) and the (comparative) commoner Elizabeth Woodville. Edward is quite the ladies’ man, while Elizabeth (Swedish import Rebecca Ferguson) is determined to preserve her virtue and good name. Throw in the machinations of (pre- Machiavellian) kingmaker Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick (James Frain from the not dissimilar The Tudors) and you have a recipe for an epic highstakes game of thrones.
Ferguson is luminously convincing as the most beautiful woman of her time. You can see why the king might be besotted by her. But the romance receives a mixed reception among Elizabeth’s family, who until recently were on the ‘wrong’ side in that internecine conflict.
One family member who’s all for it is Elizabeth’s mother. Jacquetta (played by Janet McTeer, who you might remember from Parade’s End) is a selfstyled sorceress who sees in the blossoming love affair a chance at high office for her family.
But arrayed against the lovers is a formidable set of opponents. Not just Warwick but staunchly loyal Lancastrian Margaret Beaufort (Amanda Hale from The Crimson Petal And The White), a religious fanatic who will do whatever it takes to secure the throne for her young son, Henry Tudor.
It helps if you know all the history, if only to keep track of which implausibly handsome young man is which, but The White Queen works perfectly well, even if you haven’t taken a panicky peek at Wikipedia as the title sequence is rolling.
As a tough, grown-up drama The White Queen would be solid entertainment even if it were complete fiction. The fact that it’s a pivotal, and rarely told, story from our history makes it essential viewing. Almost as essential, in fact, as my beloved Game Of Thrones.