History Series / TheWhiteQueen

Creator/RebeccaFerguson stars as Elizabeth Woodville, Queen of England, while Amanda Hale plays Margaret Beaufort and Creator/FayeMarsay plays Anne Neville. Creator/AneurinBarnard portrays a sympathetic UsefulNotes/RichardIII while Creator/RupertGraves is key to the latter episodes of the series as Lord Stanley, TheChessmaster.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: YMMV whether Richard is a hero or a villain by Episode 10, but he comes up with a plan to humiliate Henry Tudor. He distances himself from his wife Anne and begins courting Elizabeth of York to make people think he has seduced Henry Tudor's betrothed. It's ''so'' convincing that everyone, including Anne, believes it, and when Anne dies, [[DeathByDespair possibly of a broken heart]], rumours fly that Richard had [[MurderTheHypotenuse poisoned her to be with Elizabeth]]. The Northern lords, who were loyal to Anne, abandon Richard for Henry, and Richard is forced to send Elizabeth to Henry anyways, just to attempt damage control.

* FeetFirstIntroduction: Margaret of Anjou's first appearance, in Episode 4, when she [[PowerWalk power walks]] into a church for her first meeting with Lord Warwick.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: So what ''did'' happen to the princes in the tower, or rather Edward V and the anonymous boy impersonating his brother Richard? Queen Anne tells Sir Richard Brackenbury that the princes need to die. Margaret Beaufort tells her husband Lord Stanley that the princes need to die. Someone whose face is never shown on camera goes into the Tower. Edward V is startled out of sleep by the intruder in his room. That's it. This is a nod to the RealLife mystery of what happened to the princes, which was never solved, although the most likely guess is that Richard III ordered their murder. This plot thread becomes a strongly reoccuring plot in the sequel series ''The White Princess''.

** The series has the Princes in the Tower alive in 1484, with Elizabeth still trying to get her sons back. It also places Buckingham's rebellion in that year. In RealLife, the boys were never seen again after summer 1483, and by the end of that year, everyone on both sides presumed them dead. Buckingham's rebellion took place in October 1483. Richard III's son Edward of Middleham is shown dying in 1485 when he actually died the year before. There's also a failed raid on the Tower of London to rescue the boys which is entirely fictional. Finally, the show has Margaret Beaufort responsible for commissioning Buckingham for the murder of the princes, which is straight nonsense--the murders were probably on the orders of Richard III, they ''might'' have been Buckingham on his own initiative, but it definitely wasn't Margaret.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: This is the most sympathetic live-action portrayal of UsefulNotes/RichardIII ever made. Richard was not the monster as depicted in Shakespeare's play, but in RealLife, he maneuvered from the start to push Edward IV's sons and the Woodvilles aside in order to grab power for himself, and he ''probably'' had the Princes in the Tower murdered. Here, he is sincere about intending to crown Edward V, he had absolutely ''nothing'' to do with his nephews' disappearance (in fact, he freaks out when he realizes that they're missing), and he makes peace with his sister-in-law Elizabeth Woodville. It's Margaret Beaufort TheChessmaster who schemes her way into pitting Richard and Elizabeth against each other, and it's she and her husband Thomas Stanley who basically trick Richard into seizing the throne.

* AntagonistInMourning: Edward IV is visibly distressed when he witnesses his old friend turned enemy Lord Warwick die in front of his eyes at the Battle of Barnet. At Warwick's funeral, Richard becomes irritated when George makes a nasty comment, especially since George had just switched sides from Warwick to support his brothers once again.

* NiceMeanAndInBetween: Among the York brothers, Richard is the most gracious (Nice), George is a {{Jerkass}} (Mean), and Edward is the middle ground between the two of them (In-between).

* ByronicHero: Sure, he's TheCutie when the series starts, but even before George and Warwick's betrayal and the dark-haired and brooding Richard is ripped away from his beloved Anne, Richard is TheQuietOne. By the time he's reunited with Anne, he's a skilled and ruthless warrior with a ferocious tempter willing to threaten to tie up Margaret of Anjou. He truly loves Anne, even though he admits he covets her fortune as well. By the time Edward dies and he seizes the throne, his reputation is such that it's hardly surprising people believe the worst of him, nor is it surprising that his niece develops a huge crush on him.

* {{Hypocrite}}: The Lancastrians, particularly exemplified by Margaret Beaufort who loudly proclaims over and over that Edward IV is a usurper from the rightful king anointed by God, Henry VI... Except, they conveniently forget that Henry's grandfather, Henry IV usurped the throne from the rightful king anointed by God, Richard II. What's more, England allowed succession through the female line ''before'' 1399. Richard's heir was Edmund Mortimer, a boy, who was descended from Richard's uncle, Lionel of Antwerp, the second son of Edward III by Lionel's daughter. The Lancastrians come from the ''third'' son, John of Gaunt. Furthermore, whilst the Yorks descended paternally from the fourth son of Edward III, Edmund of Langley making them junior to the Lancasters, in the female line, they descend from Edmund Mortimer's sister, Anne, and thus from Lionel of Antwerp. This means that the Yorks actually have the ''better'' claim to the throne. Then there is the whole issue of might-makes-right. William the Conqueror's claim, and thus his descendant's claims, come from his conquest rather than blood. Henry IV also conquerored the throne. Therefore, Edward IV has every right to use this to take it as well.

* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: The consummation of Anne Neville's marriages to her first and second husbands are polar opposites in terms of how negative (the former) and positive (the latter) the sexual experiences were for her. With her unwanted ArrangedMarriage to Edward of Lancaster (whom she considers to be a monster, and he hates her because she's the daughter of the man who overthrew his father), she endures a terrifying and painful marital rape while he uses his weight to pin her down to the bed. The manner in which this scene is shot, lit and scored indicates that it's a very harsh and clinical act. In sharp contrast, Richard of Gloucester, whom Anne later marries of her own volition and [[MarryForLove for love]], is tender and patient with her. She sits on top of him so that she can control the pace of their lovemaking; she remains still at first (presumably due to nervousness), and he doesn't rush her. When she does start moving, they hold hands; she then moves her head down towards his so that their faces are close, and they both sigh heavily with pleasure. The lighting, camera angles and music suggest warmth and emotional intimacy. Anne's wedding night with the dreaded Edward was hell, but her wedding night with her beloved Richard is heavenly.

* IncestIsRelative: There are plenty of cousin marriages, but the real topper is Richard III's romance with Elizabeth of York, his niece.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_white_queen_6.jpg]]

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: This is the most sympathetic live-action portrayal of UsefulNotes/RichardIII ever made. Richard was not the Monster as depicted in Shakespeare's play, but in RealLife, he maneuvered from the start to push Edward IV's sons and the Woodvilles aside in order to grab power for himself, and he ''probably'' had the Princes in the Tower murdered. Here, he is sincere about intending to crown Edward V, he had absolutely ''nothing'' to do with his nephews' disappearance (in fact, he freaks out when he realizes that they're missing), and he makes peace with his sister-in-law Elizabeth Woodville. It's Margaret Beaufort TheChessmaster who schemes her way into pitting Richard and Elizabeth against each other, and it's she and her husband Thomas Stanley who basically trick Richard into seizing the throne.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: This is the most sympathetic live-action portrayal of UsefulNotes/RichardIII ever made. Richard was not the [[invoked]]CompleteMonster of Shakespeare's play, but in RealLife, he maneuvered from the start to push Edward IV's sons and the Woodvilles aside in order to grab power for himself, and he ''probably'' had the Princes in the Tower murdered. Here, he is sincere about intending to crown Edward V, he had absolutely ''nothing'' to do with his nephews' disappearance (in fact, he freaks out when he realizes that they're missing), and he makes peace with his sister-in-law Elizabeth Woodville. It's Margaret Beaufort TheChessmaster who schemes her way into pitting Richard and Elizabeth against each other, and it's she and her husband Thomas Stanley who basically trick Richard into seizing the throne.

* Margaret was actually very close to her mother. There is no evidence to say that she abused her at all. True, Margeret did marry young but not because of her mother abusing her. She wouldn't have had much choice in the matter considering it was actually King Henry VI himself who arranged the marriage.