History YMMV / TheCousinsWarSeries

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: ''The White Queen'' portrays Elizabeth as a brave, independent and intelligent woman who - although she's capable of behaving ruthlessly to protect herself and her family and her refusal to give up on the crown and be 'ordinary' eventually becomes a little too obsessive - is a far better person than most of the power-hungry and amoral DecadentCourt. Margaret in ''The Red Queen'', on the other hand, dismisses her as a slut who seduced the king to gain power for her family and has no right to place her children on the throne. Isabel and Anne Neville, meanwhile, grow to hate and fear her in ''The Kingmaker's Daughter'', since they believe she's a witch who's cursed them. To be fair, they have some pretty compelling evidence for her being so (although, in keeping with the MagicalRealism of the series, it's left ambiguous).

* WarShip: Applies to many couples. Justified for the time period, for marriages are made to form alliances with former enemies.
* TheWoobie: Anne and Isabel. Also, Margaret Pole.

** George, Duke of Clarence. He's definitely the {{Jerkass}} to end all jerasses, but all his schemes go south. Plus, he wasn't wrong about his brother's marriage being 1) a world of trouble in general and later 2) invalid, making George the rightful heir. Plus, he slides into madness after Isabel's death and even Anne, who hates him, pities him. She and Richard both have reason to hate him, but they are horrified by the manner of his death and Edward's coldness about it.

** George, Duke of Clarence. He's definitely the {{Jerkass} to end all jerasses, but all his schemes go south. Plus, he wasn't wrong about his brother's marriage being 1) a world of trouble in general and later 2) invalid, making George the rightful heir. Plus, he slides into madness after Isabel's death and even Anne, who hates him, pities him. She and Richard both have reason to hate him, but they are horrified by the manner of his death and Edward's coldness about it.

* JerkassWoobie: Margaret Beaufort in ''The Red Queen.'' She's portrayed as cold, calculating, self-absorbed, and treacherous, but if you consider her horrible childhood under the rule of an equally cold and cruel mother and how she was repeatedly raped by her much older husband at age twelve and had to go through childbirth at age thirteen, it's hardly a surprise that she turned out the way she did. Not to mention the fact that every single person in her life (save her second husband) bullied her for being passionate about praying and studying.

* TheWoobie: Anne and Isabel.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: Rape, abandonment by parents, being bullied or humiliated, being cheated on... and the list goes on and on. However, when all of these applied to almost every female character then audience/readers find it rather repetitive and over dramatic.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: ''The White Queen'' portrays Elizabeth as a brave, independent and intelligent woman who - although she's capable of behaving ruthlessly to protect herself and her family and her refusal to give up on the crown and be 'ordinary' eventually becomes a little too obsessive - is a far better person than most of the power-hungry and amoral DeadlyDecadentCourt. Margaret in ''The Red Queen'', on the other hand, dismisses her as a slut who seduced the king to gain power for her family and has no right to place her children on the throne. Isabel and Anne Neville, meanwhile, grow to hate and fear her in ''The Kingmaker's Daughter'', since they believe she's a witch who's cursed them. To be fair, they have some pretty compelling evidence for her being so (although, in keeping with the MagicalRealism of the series, it's left ambiguous).

* CreatorsPet: Elizabeth Woodville. Philippa Gregory obviously tends to show that she's a brave heroine, but fans and viewers have other opinions...

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: Rape, abandonment by parents, being bullied or humiliated, being cheated on...and the list goes on and on. However, when all of these applied to almost every female character then audience/readers find it rather repetitive and over dramatic.

* {{Expy}}: the arc of Neville sisters is quite similar to the arc of Boleyn sisters in The Tudors series ''Literature/TheOtherBoleynGirl''.
* FanPreferredCouple: Richard III and Anne Neville, after their estrangement in Episode 10
* MisaimedFandom: The novels and the TV series are supposed to show strong side of women in the UsefulNotes/WarsOfTheRoses and that they are brave heroines. And yet, viewers ended up criticizing the presentation of the three female protagonists. Elizabeth Woodville doesn't have much CharacterDevelopment; Anne Neville became a cruel LadyMacBeth; and Margaret Beaufort is...fanatic and insane at best.
* OvershadowedByControversy: Besides of historical inaccuracies, viewers did not like the pairing of Richard III and Elizabeth of York in Episode 10.
* RomanticPlotTumor: The show and the novels are supposed to be about women in War of Roses and their overlooked and forgotten roles and impact in history. However, most parts of the show and novels are about romance.
* TakeThat: When Montague refers to visiting Cromwell at home in "The King's Curse", and his mother disdainfully replies that she wouldn't eat there; it's kind of hard NOT to see the shot at Literature/WolfHall.

* MisaimedFandom: The novels and the TV series are supposed to show strong side of women in WarOfTheRoses and that they are brave heroines. And yet, viewers ended up criticizing the presentation of the three female protagonists. Elizabeth Woodville doesn't have much CharacterDevelopment; Anne Neville became a cruel LadyMacBeth; and Margaret Beaufort is...fanatic and insane at best.

* AmericansHateTingle: Amanda Hale, who played Margaret Beaufort in the TV show, received critical acclaim in Britain - but her performance was ''hated'' by American critics.
* BestKnownForTheFanservice: How the TV series is marketed in United States. Although lack of strong support from critics, the show does have its own fanbase who like the show for its quality.
* BillingDisplacement: at least on IMDB. Actor Aneurin Barnard (Richard) has top billing over Rebecca Ferguson (Elizabeth Woodville), who plays the central character of the series, because the billing for the cast during the credits is alphabetical, rather than by importance.
* BrokenBase: is the TV adaption good or bad? Boy, the debate will never end. The critics were not impressed by the first episode and historians pointed out the glaring historical inaccuracies. The show itself paled compared to "Games of Thrones" and "The Tudors". While the writing was criticized for its inconsistencies and plot holes, the acting was praised.

* CriticalDissonance: The TV show received negative reviews from the critics in UK and US. But the show's rating is quite solid.

* DieForOurShip: In the TV series, Elizabeth of York gets a lot of hatedom from fans of Anne and Richard. It got worse when the Starz version included a sex scene between Richard and Elizabeth after Anne's death, which featured Richard telling Elizabeth that he loved her (in the original British version, it was implied that he only courted her to humiliate Henry Tudor, her betrothed).
* EnsembleDarkhorse: Richard of Gloucester, at least in the TV series.

* FridgeHorror: In Episode 2, Elizabeth's kid sister Catherine is married to a very sulky Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham. Because both parties are just small children, Henry's anger at his kid wife is quite funny and cute. It becomes a lot less so when you realise that historically, Henry Stafford had a life long resentment about the marriage, and as soon as Kind Edward died, immediately joined Richard's camp against the Woodvilles. He was even one of the suspects in the murder of the Princes in the Tower.
* ItsNotSupposedToWinOscars: YMMV. The costume design, acting, and genre of the show do make it an OscarBait. Yet, the poor writing and [[ChewingtheScenery overacting]] applies more to this trope. Interestingly, the show did garner award nominations in US including Golden Globes and Emmys, but did not in Britain.
* JerkassWoobie: Margaret Beaufort in ''The Red Queen.'' She's portrayed as cold, calculating, self-absorbed, and treacherous, but if you consider her horrible childhood under the rule of an equally cold and cruel mother and how she was repeatedly raped by her much older husband at age twelve and had to go through childbirth at age thirteen, it's hardly a surprise that she turned out the way she did. Not to mention the fact that every single person in her life (save her second husband) bullied her for being passionate about praying and studying.
* ImaginaryLoveTriangle: ''Really'' YMMV with Richard III, Anne Neville, and Elizabeth of York in Episode 10. In the novel and the show, Richard told Anne that it was all just a charade to keep York men on his side against Henry Tudor. Anne herself was convinced that Richard no longer cares for her and she was not needed, while Elizabeth of York believed that Richard loved her for real. However, Richard's actions after Anne's death indicate something else. But then again, Richard did comment how beautiful Elizabeth of York was in Episode 8 and in Episode 9, he decided to bring her to court after Elizabeth Woodville cast a curse to end the lines of her sons' murderer, which indicates that Richard did fall in love with Elizabeth of York because of her mother's curse. The viewers meanwhile refused to accept Richard fell in love with Elizabeth of York for real.
* LoveToHate: Earl of Warwick. He uses his daughters as pawns to gain power in court and married Anne to the sadistic Prince Edward. At the same time, he is one of the well-liked characters from the TV show, probably because he's played by James Frain.
* MagnificentBastard: Richard, to a certain extent. Although more loyal and honest than George, he's fully capable of being cruel and strategically manipulative.
** Also Lord Stanley, who's famous for ''always'' being on the winning side. ''Always.''

* ObviousJudas: George. Even if you haven't read the book, just look at him smile; you ''know'' he can't be trusted. (David Oakes has really cornered the market on playing [[Series/ThePillarsOfTheEarth medieval]] [[Series/TheBorgias scumbags]].)
* OneTruePairing: Anne and Richard, hands down.

* {{Squick}}: How George is executed, by being drowned in wine. With lots of close-ups and muffled screaming.
* StrawmanHasAPoint: The show seems to want to present the characters who accuse Elizabeth Woodville of witchcraft as superstitious and paranoid people, who are nuts to believe in witchcraft - while at the same time also presents the possibility of Elizabeth as an actual witch, with very real supernatural powers. George and Isabel are portrayed as being irrational when they accuse the Queen of using witchcraft to summon the storm that killed their son...except that, in the show, she did exactly that! So, even though the show clearly wants us to have no sympathy for George, and a great deal for Elizabeth - who is, after all, the main protagonist - the fact is that George, and the other characters who accuse Elizabeth of witchcraft, are completely correct in at least most of their accusations against her.

* TearJerker: Richard's death at Bosworth, in the series. He's fighting for his life and gets rushed by seven or eight Tudor soldiers while Brackenbury is screaming for [[MythologyGag someone to get the King a horse.]] Then they both are eventually overwhelmed.
* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Elizabeth Woodville is ''supposed'' to give an impression of a brave heroine who has to deal with many enemies to save herself and her family, but quite a lot of the audience does not sympathize with her or her cause.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The series misses out Lord Stanley's historical response to finding out Richard has taken his son hostage: ''Sire, I have other sons''.

* ItsNotSupposedToWinOscars: YMMV. The costume design, acting, and genre of the show do make it an OscarBait. Yet, the poor writing and overacting [[ChewingtheScenery]] applies more to this trope. Interestingly, the show did garner award nominations in US including Golden Globes and Emmys, but did not in Britain.

* {{Expy}}: the arc of Neville sisters is quite similar to the arc of Boleyn sisters in The Tudors series [[TheOtherBoleynGirl]]

* BrokenBase: is the TV adaption good or bad? Boy, the debate will never end. The critics were not impressed by the first episode and historians pointed out the glaring historical inaccuracies. The show itself paled compared to "Games of Thrones" and "The Tudors". While the writing was criticized for its inconsistencies and plot holes, the acting was praised. To be fair, it's more of a LoveItOrHateIt.

* AcceptableBreaksFromReality: The TV adaption has lots and lots of historical inaccuracies. However, despite that, the beautiful shiny buildings and sexy men and women with pretty teeth do make the show attractive and add the taste of magical realism to it. Not all critics and viewers agree, though.

* BitCharacter: Elizabeth Woodville's siblings, particularly Mary and Catherine Woodville. Mary attended Elizabeth and left the court in Episode 7. Catherine Woodville was Elizabeth's kid sister who married the future Buckingham and only appeared in earlier episodes.

* CharacterFocus: Elizabeth Woodville. Justified since the TV series is called "The White Queen". However, it is an adaption based on three novels and three narratives.
* ChewingTheScenery: a handful of characters have this moment in the TV series. Special mention goes to Margaret Beaufort.

* DerailingLoveInterests: Anne Neville and Richard of Gloucester had good chemistry and a strong marriage until Episode 8 when Anne suddenly becomes a LadyMacBeth and TheLibby. Some readers and audience believed that it was done purposely to ship Richard III and Elizabeth of York.

* FanDisservice: Episode 4 when Edward of Lancaster raped Anne on their wedding night...

* FakeBrit: Rebecca Fergurson (Elizabeth Woodville) is Swedish.

* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Rebecca Ferguson mostly speaks with a neutral accent. Sometimes lapsing into a very noticeable Scandinavian accent.

* RewatchBonus: If you watch the series again after getting familiar with all the characters and their camps, then you'd see how the "seeing" and curses of Lady Jacquetta and Elizabeth Woodville played into the plot from Episode 1 to Episode 10. For instance, at the end of Episode 1, Elizabeth saw a woman in red with blood on her hand. In Episode 10, it is revealed that Margaret Beaufort, the Lancastrian Red Queen, is behind the death of Edward V.

* RomanticizedAbuse: In "The White Queen", Edward IV tried to force himself on Elizabeth Woodville because he was very in love with her. The two married in secret and had ten children together. More so for Elizabeth of York, who was in love with Richard III, her uncle was supposedly seduced her for his own ends. She later married Henry Tudor, who raped her and made her an unloved baby machine. However, at the end of the novel "The White Princess", she grew to love him.

* StarMakingRole: For actors Rebecca Ferguson, Aneurin Barnard, and Faye Marsay
* StillbornFranchise: Fans of the novel series expected a sequel based on "The White Princess". However, as of now, BBC insisted that the series was supposed to be one season with 10 episodes. Starz, on the other hand, has work in progress to adapt "The White Princess" into a series. Nothing is confirmed yet.

* WolverinePublicity: Richard of Gloucester. Actor Aneurin Barnard also got the top billing over Rebecca Fergurson.
** Probably justified; Elizabeth shows up only a few times in the last three episodes, whereas Richard indisputably becomes the protagonist.

* AdaptationalAngstUpgrade: Anne Neville, starting in episode 8.
* AllMenAreRapists: Henry Tudor, Edmund Tudor, Edward of Lancaster...Edward IV tried to force himself on Elizabeth Woodville in episode 1, until she pulled a dagger and threatened to kill herself.

* TheBadGuyWins: Depends on who you sympathize with.
* BastardBoyfriend: Richard has shades of this, especially towards the end
* BehindEveryGreatMan: The whole theme of the series as intended by the author.

* BrokenBird: the Neville sisters and Elizabeth of York.
* TheCassandra: Jacquetta of Luxembourg, Elizabeth Woodville, and Elizabeth of York have their seeing powers, which warn them about their potential enemies, deaths of loved ones, and the downfall of House of York. However, other characters such as George of Clarence and the Earl of Warwick (the Kingmaker) have their moments as well when they warn Edward IV about Elizabeth Woodville. Granted, what they said was not exactly untrue.
* CharacterDevelopment: Lady Anne Neville was an obedient daughter and somewhat of a load in early episode, but developed into a strong woman since Episode 5. Other characters like Richard, Isabel, and George apply as well. But not so much for Elizabeth Woodville and Edward IV.

* CorruptTheCutie: Anne Neville. In the beginning, she was an obedient, sweet daughter of Lord Warwick. In the end, she becomes a LadyMacBeth.

* DealWithTheDevil: Elizabeth Woodville forms an alliance with Margaret Beaufort despite Margaret Beaufort's involvement in her son King Edward V's disappearance. In the novel "The White Princess", it is indicated that Elizabeth Woodville knew who her son's true murderers were all along. However, Elizabeth Woodville marries her daughter Elizabeth of York to Henry Tudor to recover her family's power while plotting to restore her younger son Richard as King of England again. She failed, miserably.
* DefiledForever: Elizabeth of York in "The White Princess". After Richard III is killed in the battlefield, Elizabeth of York marries Henry Tudor, but she's labeled as the lover of her uncle. Although Henry Tudor does marry her to keep his crown, he doesn't hide his disgust towards her and reminds her that he cannot trust her because of her past relationship with Richard.

* TheDogBitesBack: applies to multiple characters. Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret Beaufort, Anne Neville, and Elizabeth of York have been bullied and humiliated by others and at time to each other. At least in their own point of view, their actions in response apply to this troupe. For Elizabeth Woodville, Warwick crossed the line after he slew her father and brother; in response, she cursed him to die. Margaret Beaufort had a very few people who treated her kindly, but special mention goes to her mother, who made her do "a woman's duty" at age 12 and never stopped insulting her. Before her mother's deathbed, Margaret Beaufort refused to forgive her and left her mother to die alone in misery. Anne Neville (at least in TV series) was never kindly treated by Elizabeth Woodville, who held a grudge against her because of her father Warwick. From Anne's perspective, Elizabeth Woodville crossed the line after she "supposedly" poisoned her sister Isabel. She, in response, talked Richard into taking the throne from his nephew after the death of Edward IV.
* DownerEnding: Again, depends on which character you sympathize with.

* EquivalentExchange: The series leaves plenty of room for those disinclined to believe in magic to have mundane, if coincidental explanations for the results of the Woodville women's "spells". However, if you choose to indulge that element, the actual acts of casting and cursing do follow the "rules":
** Both times Jacquetta takes her daughter Elizabeth to the river's edge to have her "choose a thread", there are always three to choose from. Once Elizabeth chooses, Jacquetta cuts the other lines and doesn't tell her what they were. This is because in choosing the one line, or path, Elizabeth is giving up the knowledge and opportunities represented by the others.
** After the execution of her father and brother John, Elizabeth Woodville insists on cursing the two people responsible for their murders to die: Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, and George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence. Her mother tries to warn her off, but in the end, she gives her instructions on how to do it. Both men die by execution: Richard Neville on the battlefield and George by drowning after being found guilty of treason. The price isn't obvious unless you acknowledge a [[ChekhovsGun seeing]] that Elizabeth had in Episode 1: she receives a warning that her "boys" must not be with strangers. At the time, she and her mother both thought it was about the two sons Elizabeth had from her first husband. But Elizabeth's two sons ([[XanatosGambit or rather, one son and one imposter]]) with Edward IV are given into the care of "strangers" after Edward's death, because they are committed to the Tower by their guardian, Richard III. The murder of the Princes in the Tower, an event that Elizabeth was warned about but could not prevent, was the price for getting mystical revenge on the Kingmaker and her brother-in-law.
** The storm that Jacquetta, her daughter Elizabeth and her granddaughter Elizabeth conjure in Episode 3 was intended to stop Richard Neville from making it to France. The cost? Isabel and George's first child, who it is implied died during the birth because his mother didn't have access to a midwife ''because'' the ship couldn't make port in Calais due to the storm. Without [[HeirClubforMen a male heir]], George lost the illusion that God backed him for king rather than his brother Edward, who had only had daughters at this point, and therefore the support of the English populace. Without that support, Warwick and George became even more desperate: enough so to seek alliance with the deposed Queen Margaret of Anjou... a queen they'd been instrumental to deposing to begin with. So rather than taking some of the steam out of their rebellion, the consequences of the storm [[NiceJobBreakingItHero only made it worse]].
** After the murder of the Princes in the Tower, Elizabeth Woodville and her daughter, Elizabeth of York, use the river that runs beneath Westminster to cast a curse upon the murderer: that the firstborn sons of their line would die, until all their generations were ended. What they don't know is that the person responsible for arranging the murders is Margaret Beaufort, and that Elizabeth of York will eventually marry her only child: Henry Tudor, or King Henry VII.
---> Henry VII's firstborn son, Arthur, died without issue.
---> Henry VII's second son, Henry VIII, had no male heirs survive to maturity, and his daughters Mary and Elizabeth died without issue.
---> Henry VII's daughters continued on to have families, but the male lineages died out and the Tudor blood was carried down through the females. The House of Tudor was officially considered dissolved in 1603 after Elizabeth I died with no heirs.

* TheFarmerAndTheViper: from Warwick's persepctive, King Edward IV betrayed him by marrying commoner Elizabeth Woodville and bestowing wealth upon her family, whilst Warwick was the one who made Edward the King. The same goes for Edward IV, who pardoned Warwick after their first falling out, and then saw Warwick betray him and switch sides to join up with Margaret of Anjou.

* GreyAndGrayMorality: Despite Phillipa Gregory's intention to portray the Woodvilles as the "good guys", no one is 100% innocent in this DecadentCourt. Elizabeth Woodville did consider the benefit for herself and her family before marrying Edward IV. After becoming Queen of England, she's ruthless in taking down her enemies even though her intention was to protect herself and her children. The Nevilles aren't that different. Anne Neville (at least in the TV series) persuaded Richard to take the throne from his nephew so that they could be safe. In comparison, Margaret Beaufort and Henry Tudor were much more power-hungry and tyrannical. However, by having Henry Tudor wed Elizabeth of York, they united two warring houses and gave England peace.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Elizabeth Woodville's curses were supposed to harm her enemies and to avenge and protect her family. However, in the end, the ones who are harmed by the curses are her own children, and thus her own bloodline. This also applies to Warwick, who taught his ward Richard of Gloucester to show no mercy and to not miss any opportunity to gain victory. Richard later used it against Lady Anne Beauchamp, his mother-in-law, whom was declared dead and property confiscated.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Elizabeth Woodville, as was intended. Applies to Anne Neville as well.

* KarmaHoudini: Margaret Beaufort and Henry Tudor had the Princes in the Tower killed. After Battle of Bosworth, they ruled England and killed off rest of the York princes, including Edward Earl of Warwick (Teddy). Both died peacefully in bed.
* KnowNothingKnowItAll: Elizabeth Woodville. She is supposed to be a strong heroine who only schemed to protect her family. However, throughout the series she seems to be very short-sighted and constantly listens to the wrong people. The most typical instance is when she continues to hold a vendetta against George of Clarence while both her mother Jacquetta and her brother Anthony Woodville advised her to make peace with George. George's eventual execution later proves to be her undoing - Richard of Gloucester is so shaken and disturbed by this event that it partially leads to his usurpation of the throne from his nephews.

* OnlySaneMan: Anthony Woodville. He played the role of TheCassandra throughout the series with his reasoning. He warned Elizabeth about earning the wrath from Warwick for marrying Edward IV in Episode 1. Later in Episode 7, he also advised Elizabeth Woodville to make peace with George of Clarence. In Episode 8, he advised Elizabeth to speak to Richard of Gloucester and to work things out with him. Unfortunately, Elizabeth Woodville took none of his advice.

* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Richard, the kindest, most loyal and most moral of the York brothers. Living in such a corrupt environment, bargains with the devil are the key to survival.
** On the other hand, he was enormously cold to his wife at times, indulged in an affair (possibly while she was alive, definitely shortly following her death) with his teenage niece, and deposed his two nephews. Even if he honestly believed they didn't have a right to the throne, he did take everything from from them and ignored his brother's wishes; and he definitely ordered the executions and coldly watched the deaths of two innocent men (Elizabeth Woodville's brother and son). He also humiliated a dying Anne for the sake of political gain. And even before he became king, he acted really shady sometimes.
* TragicMistake: Elizabeth Woodville chose to curse George of Clarence and Warwick despite her mother's warning. In later episode her curse on her son's murderers also counts. Both curses had a price - which fell on her children.
* TragicVillain: Margaret Beaufort, who is the antagonist in the TV series.

* UsedToBeASweetKid: Anne and Richard. Both were good kids in the beginning but after losses of loved ones, wars, and political corruption they changed drastically in the end. Also applies to Elizabeth Woodville, who became ruthless and murderous with her curses after Warwick killed her father and brother.

* BillingDisplacement: at least on IMDB. Actor Aneurin Barnard (Richard) has top billing over Rebecca Ferguson (Elizabeth Woodville), who plays the central character of the series.

* HeyItsThatGuy: [[TheTudors Thomas Cromwell]] is meddling business with King of England again - and loses his life again. And is that [[TheBorgias Juan Borgia]] being the troublesome middle child - who dies - again? Not to mention BBC Sherlock's Lestrade marrying Margaret Beaufort and [[Series/GameOfThrones Craster]] being Queen Elizabeth's dad. And [[Series/DoctorWho Rory]] somehow ended up in the middle of everything and died - again.

* ViewersAreMorons: the TV adaption has tons and tons of "glaring" historical inaccuracies. It got even worse when Starz included a scene where Richard bedded his niece - which was not historically true since 1) Richard III was a very religious man and 2) he already planned to marry a Portuguese princess after Anne's death. The producers/writers were obviously aimed at US market where they expected 99.9% of population do not know War of Roses but familiar with Shakespeare. As for the books, there were a lot of repetition and AsYouKnow to the point of annoyance.
** It should be noted, however, that as nobody knows what Richard and Elizabeth of York did in their private time, it's highly unlikely he bedded his niece, but not impossible. And furthermore, his possible alliance with Portugal would have been complicated by the fact that this particular princess was both quite old to get married at the time and provide the necessary heir--and also wanted to be a nun. He probably would have had to marry someone else (if not Elizabeth) anyway. At any rate, the show is incredibly inaccurate, but no more so than, say, TheTudors, which was perhaps better-written at times.

** After the execution of her father and brother John, Elizabeth Woodville insists on cursing the two people responsible for their murders to die: Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, and George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence. Her mother tries to warn her off, but in the end, she gives her instructions on how to do it. Both men die by execution: Richard Neville on the battlefield and George by drowning after being found guilty of treason. The price isn't obvious unless you acknowledge a [[ChekovsGun seeing]] that Elizabeth had in Episode 1: she receives a warning that her "boys" must not be with strangers. At the time, she and her mother both thought it was about the two sons Elizabeth had from her first husband. But Elizabeth's two sons ([[XanatosGambit or rather, one son and one imposter]]) with Edward IV are given into the care of "strangers" after Edward's death, because they are committed to the Tower by their guardian, Richard III. The murder of the Princes in the Tower, an event that Elizabeth was warned about but could not prevent, was the price for getting mystical revenge on the Kingmaker and her brother-in-law.

* AcceptableBreaksFromReality: the TV adaption has lots and lots of historical inaccuracies. However, despite the historical inaccuracies, the beautiful shiny buildings and sexy men and women with pretty teeth do make the show attractive and add the taste of magical realism to it. Not all critics and viewers agree though.
* AdaptationalAngstUpgrade: Anne Neville starting in Episode 8
* AllMenAreRapists: Henry Tudor, Edmund Tudor, Edward of Lancaster...Edward IV tried forced himself on Elizabeth Woodville in Episode 1 until she pulled a dagger and threatened to kill herself
* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: ''The White Queen'' portrays Elizabeth as a brave, independent and intelligent woman who, although she's capable of behaving ruthlessly to protect herself and her family and her refusal to give up on the crown and be 'ordinary' eventually becomes a little too obsessive, is a far better person than most of the power-hungry and amoral DeadlyDecadentCourt. Margaret in ''The Red Queen'', on the other hand, dismisses her as a slut who seduced the king to gain power for her family and has no right to place her children on the throne. Isabel and Anne Neville, meanwhile, grow to hate and fear her in ''The Kingmaker's Daughter'', since they believe she's a witch who's cursed them. To be fair, they have some pretty compelling evidence for her being so (although, in keeping with the MagicalRealism of the series, it's left ambiguous).
** In fact, this applies to every major character in the series, since all the books are extremely biased towards their narrator's point of view. Men and women that naturally think of themselves as being in the right are seen from outside eyes and vice versa; people that are seen as conniving or treacherous will almost always have their motivations and beliefs explored in another book.

* BastardBoyfriend: Richard has shades of this
* BehindEveryGreatMan: the whole theme of the series as intended by the author.

* BitCharacter: Elizabeth Woodville's siblings, particularly Mary and Catherine Woodville. Mary attended Elizabeth and left the court in Episode 7. Catherine Woodville was Elizabeth's kid sister who married the future Buckingham appeared in earlier episodes.

* BrokenBird: the Neville sisters and Elizabeth of York
* TheCassandra: Jacquetta of Luxembourg, Elizabeth Woodville, and Elizabeth of York had their seeing, which warned them about their potential enemies, deaths of loved ones, and downfall of House of York. However, other characters such as George of Clarence and Earl of Warwick (the Kingmaker) had their moments as well when they warned Edward IV about Elizabeth Woodville. Granted, what they said was not exactly untrue.

* CharacterFocus: Elizabeth Woodville. Justified since the TV series is called "The White Queen". However, it is the adaption based on three novels and three narratives.

* CorruptTheCutie: Anne Neville. In the beginning, she was an obedient, sweet daughter of Lord Warwick. In the end, she became a LadyMacBeth.
* CreatorsPet: Elizabeth Woodville. Philippa Gregory obviously tend to show that she's a brave heroine, but fans and viewers have other opinions...

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: rape, abandoned by parents, being bullied or humiliated, being cheated on...and the list goes on and on. However when all of these applied to almost every female character then audience/readers find it rather repetitive and over dramatic.
* DealWithTheDevil: Elizabeth Woodville formed an alliance with Margaret Beaufort despite Margaret Beaufort's involvement in her son King Edward V's disappearance. In the novel "The White Princess", it is indicated that Elizabeth Woodville knew her son's true murderers are all along. However, Elizabeth Woodville marries her daughter Elizabeth of York to Henry Tudor to recover her family's power while plotting to restore her younger son Richard as King of England again. She failed.
* DefiledForever: Elizabeth of York in "The White Princess". After Richard III was killed in the battlefield, Elizabeth of York was to marry Henry Tudor but she was labeled as the lover of Richard III. Although Henry Tudor did marry her to keep his crown, he did not hide his disgust towards her and reminded her that he cannot trust her because of her past relationship with Richard.

* DesignatedHero: Elizabeth Woodville the protagonist. Despite the author's intention to portray her as a heroine, her actions certainly do not depict her a strong, brave, intelligent woman.

* TheDogBitesBack: applies to multiple characters. Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret Beaufort, Anne Neville, and Elizabeth of York have been bullied and humiliated by others and at time to each other. At least in their own point of view, their actions in response apply to this troupe. For Elizabeth Woodville, Warwick crossed the line after he slain her father and brother; in response, she cursed him to die. Margaret Beaufort had a very few people who treated her kindly, but special mention goes to her mother, who made her do "a woman's duty" at age 12 and never stopped insulting her. Before her mother's deathbed, Margaret Beaufort refused to forgive her and left her mother to die alone in misery. Anne Neville (at least in TV series) was never kindly treated by Elizabeth Woodville, who held grudge against her because of her father Warwick. From Anne's perspective, Elizabeth Woodville crossed the line after she "supposed" poisoned her sister Isabel. She, in response, talked Richard into taking the throne from his nephew after the death of Edward IV.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Richard of Gloucester, at least from the TV series.

** The storm that Jacquetta, her daughter Elizabeth and her granddaughter Elizabeth conjure in Episode 3 was intended to stop Richard Neville from making it to France. The cost? Isabel and George's first child, who it is implied died during the birth because his mother didn't have access to a midwife ''because'' the ship couldn't make port in Calais due to the storm. Without [[HeirClubforMen a male heir]], George lost the illusion that God backed him for king rather than his brother Edward, who had had only daughters, and therefore the support of the English populace. Without that support, Warwick and George became even more desperate: enough so to seek alliance with the deposed Queen Margaret of Anjou... a queen they'd been instrumental to deposing to begin with. So rather than taking some of the steam out of their rebellion, the consequences of the storm [[NiceJobBreakingItHero only made it worse]].

* TheFarmerAndTheViper: from Warwick's persepctive, King Edward IV betrayed him by marrying commoner Elizabeth Woodville and bestowed her family wealth and estate whilst Warwick was the one who made Edward the King. Same to Edward IV, who pardoned Warwick after their first fall out, and then saw Warwick joined side with Margaret of Anjou.
* FridgeHorror: in Episode 2, Elizabeth's kid sister Catherine is married to a very sulky Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham. Because both parties are just small children, Henry's anger at his kid wife is quite funny and cute. It becomes a lot less so when you realise that historically, Henry Stafford had a life long resentment about the marriage, and as soon as Kind Edward died, immediately joined Richard's camp against the Woodvilles. He was even one of the suspects in the murder of the Princes in the Tower.
* GreyAndGrayMorality: despite Phillipa Gregory's intention to portray the Woodvilles as the "good guys", no one is 100% innocent in this DecadentCourt. Elizabeth Woodville did consider the benefit for herself and her family before marrying Edward IV. After becoming Queen of England, she had been ruthless to take down her enemies even though her intention was to protect herself and her children. The Nevilles were not that much different. Anne Neville (in the TV series) persuaded Richard to take the throne from his nephew so that they could be safe. In comparison, Margaret Beaufort and Henry Tudor were much more power-hungry and tyrannical. However, by having Henry Tudor wed Elizabeth of York, they united two warring houses and gave England peace.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Elizabeth Woodville's curses were supposed to harm her enemies and to avenge and protect her family. However, in the end, the ones who are harmed by the curses are her own children and thus her own lines. Also applies to Warwick, who taught his ward Richard of Gloucester to show no mercy and to not miss any opportunity to gain. Richard later used it against Lady Anne Beauchamp, his mother-in-law, whom was declared dead and property confiscated.
* ItsNotSupposedToWinOscars: YMMV. The costume design, acting, and genre of the show do make it an OscarBait. Yet, the poor writing and overacting [[ChewingtheScenery]] make show applies more to this trope. Interestingly, the show did garner award nominations in US including Golden Globes and Emmys but did not in Britain.

* ImaginaryLoveTriangle: really YMMV with Richard III, Anne Neville, and Elizabeth of York in Episode 10. In the novel and the show, Richard told Anne that it was all just a charade to keep York men on his side against Henry Tudor. Anne herself was convinced that Richard no longer cares for her and she was not needed while Elizabeth of York believed that Richard loved her for real. However, Richard's actions after Anne's death indicates something else. But then again, Richard did commented how beautiful Elizabeth of York was in Episode 8 and in Episode 9, he decided to bring Elizabeth of York to court after Elizabeth Woodville put a curse to end the lines of her sons' murderer, which indicates that Richard did fell in love with Elizabeth of York because of Elizabeth Woodville's curse. The viewers meanwhile refused to accept Richard fell in love with Elizabeth of York for real.

* KnowNothingKnowItAll: Elizabeth Woodville. She is supposed to be a strong heroine who only schemed to protect her family. However, throughout the series she seems to be very short-sighted and listens to the wrong people. The most typical instance is when she continues to hold a vendetta against George of Clarence while both her mother Jacquetta and her brother Anthony Woodville advised her to make peace with George. George's eventual execution later proves to be her undoing - Richard of Gloucester is so shaken and disturbed by this event that it partially leads to his usurpation of the throne from his nephews.

* MisaimedFandom: the novels and the TV series are supposed to show strong side of women in WarOfTheRoses and that they are brave heroines. And yet, viewers ended up criticizing the presentation of the three female protagonists. Elizabeth Woodville doesn't have much CharacterDevelopment; Anne Neville became a cruel LadyMacBeth; and Margaret Beaufort is...fanatic and insane at best.

* OnlySaneMan: Anthony Woodville. He played the role of TheCassandra throughout the series with his reasoning. He warned Elizabeth about earning the wrath from Warwick for marrying Edward IV in Episode 1. Later in Episode 7, he also advised Elizabeth Woodville to make peace with George of Clarence. In Episode 8, he advised Elizabeth to speak to Richard of Gloucester and to work things out with him. Unfortunately, Elizabeth Woodville took none of his advises.

* RewatchBonus: if you watch the series again after getting familiar with all the characters and their camps, then you'd see how the "seeing" and curses of Lady Jacquetta and Elizabeth Woodville played into the plot from Episode 1 to Episode 10. For instance, at the end of Episode 1, Elizabeth saw a woman in red with blood on her hand. In Episode 10, it is revealed that Margaret Beaufort, the Lancastrian Red Queen, is behind the death of Edward V.
* RomanticPlotTumor: the show and the novel are supposed to be about women in War of Roses and their overlooked and forgotten roles and impact in history. However, most part of the show and novels are about romance.
* RomanticizedAbuse: really YMMV. In "The White Queen", Edward IV was forcing himself on Elizabeth Woodville because he was very in love with her. The two married in secret and had ten children together. More so for Elizabeth of York, who was in love with Richard III, her uncle was supposedly seduced her for his own ends. She later married Henry Tudor, who raped her and made her an unloved baby machine. However, at the end of the novel "The White Princess", she grew to love him.

* StarMakingRole: for actors Rebecca Ferguson, Aneurin Barnard, and Faye Marsay

* StrawmanHasAPoint: The show seems to want to present the characters who accuse Elizabeth Woodville of witchcraft as superstitious and paranoid people, who are nuts to believe in witchcraft - while at the same time also presents the possibility of Elizabeth as an actual witch, with very real supernatural powers. George and Isabel are portrayed as being irrational when they accuse the Queen of using witchcraft to summon the storm that killed their son...except that, in the show, she did exactly that! So even though the show clearly wants us to have no sympathy for George, and a great deal for Elizabeth - who is, after all, the main protagonist - the fact is that George, and the other characters who accuse Elizabeth of witchcraft, are completely correct in at least most of their accusations against her.

* UsedToBeASweetKid: Anne and Richard. Both were good kids in the beginning but after losses of loved ones, wars, and political corruption they changed drastically in the end. Also applies to Elizabeth Woodville, who became ruthless and murderous with her curses after Warwick slayed her father and brother.

* TheGenericGuy: Edward IV in the TV series. Throughout the show he is pretty much husband to Elizabeth Woodville, a womanizer, and "fertile as a bull". Nothing more.

* HeyItsThatGuy: [[TheTudors Thomas Cromwell]] is meddling business with King of England again - and loses his life again. And is that [[TheBorgias Juan Borgia]] being the troublesome middle child - who dies - again? Not to mention BBC Sherlock's Lestrade marrying Margaret Beaufort and [[Series/GameOfThrones Craster]] being Queen Elizabeth's dad. And [[DoctorWho Rory]] somehow ended up in the middle of everything and died - again.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: rape, abandoned by parents, being bullied or humiliated, being cheated on...and the list goes on and on. However when all of these applied to almost every female character then it loses the audience/reader finds it rather repetitive and over dramatic.