Fans of US series Game of Thrones will probably like the lavish new British historical drama The White Queen.
Set in England in 1464 against the backdrop of the Wars Of The Roses, The White Queen is a multimillion-pound, ten-part BBC adaptation of Philippa Gregory’s bestselling historical novel series The Cousins’ War, filmed almost entirely on location in the beautiful medieval Belgian city of Bruges.
The royals: Rebecca Ferguson plays the White Queen Elizabeth Woodville in the lavish new ten-part BBC drama, with Max Irons as her husband Edward IV
England has been at war for nine years over who is the rightful king. It’s a war between two families – The House of York and The House of Lancaster – but the series focuses primarily on four powerful women caught up in the conflict.
Elizabeth, the White Queen, her mother Jacquetta Woodville, Margaret Beaufort of The House of Lancaster, and Anne Neville, daughter of the Earl of Warwick and allied to the Yorks, are some of the most ruthless players in history, prepared to scheme, manipulate and seduce their way to power.
In The White Queen their stories produce a riveting depiction of one of the most turbulent and least well-known times in English history: a tale of love, deception, betrayal and murder.
Handsome Max Irons, 27, one of Britain’s fastest rising young actors and the son of Jeremy Irons and Sinéad Cusack, portrays the dashing King Edward IV (the grandfather of the future King Henry VIII). And what an impressive young king he is.
Blessed with good looks and the physique of a warrior, to the people he is not just a leader but a hero who has seen off all those who have plotted for his throne.
Tiger matriarchs: Janet McTeer as Jacquetta Woodville (left), mother of Elizabeth Woodville, and Amanda Hale as Lady Margaret Beaufort (right), mother of Henry Tudor
But the impetuous Edward makes a terrible political blunder by marrying the widowed Elizabeth Woodville from the rival House of Lancaster, and by doing so enrages his mentor Lord Warwick (James Frain) – known as the Kingmaker and the wealthiest man in England – who had plotted and manipulated to help Edward attain the throne.
The gripping tale begins with Elizabeth’s first fateful meeting with Edward. She is the daughter of Sir Richard Woodville, Baron Rivers, an English nobleman from the House of Lancaster, left widowed and destitute when her husband was killed fighting for the Lancastrians.
Fate introduces her to the king from the rival House of York when he spots her on the other side of a stream. She risks rape and death by his army to approach Edward and ask him to return the lands her husband lost in battle.They fall madly in love and after a secret wedding she becomes queen.
Rebecca believes that at the outset of married life Elizabeth’s motives are pure, but once she finds herself on the throne she becomes fiercely protective of her family.
Max Irons as Edward IV: 'The sentimentality we have, they didn't have time for... Last week I had to film three battles. I know what it feels like to step on a skull.'
The White Queen - First Look Teaser - YouTube
The White Queen: Launch Trailer - BBC One - YouTube
CultBox -The-White-Queen - Clip - YouTube
'The White Queen' new clip 2013 - YouTube
Read more: BBC's Wars Of The Roses drama tells how Edward IV's marriage to Lancastrian Queen Elizabeth Woodville tore the country apart | Mail Online
Set in England in 1464 against the backdrop of the Wars Of The Roses, The White Queen is a multimillion-pound, ten-part BBC adaptation of Philippa Gregory’s bestselling historical novel series The Cousins’ War, filmed almost entirely on location in the beautiful medieval Belgian city of Bruges.
The royals: Rebecca Ferguson plays the White Queen Elizabeth Woodville in the lavish new ten-part BBC drama, with Max Irons as her husband Edward IV
England has been at war for nine years over who is the rightful king. It’s a war between two families – The House of York and The House of Lancaster – but the series focuses primarily on four powerful women caught up in the conflict.
Elizabeth, the White Queen, her mother Jacquetta Woodville, Margaret Beaufort of The House of Lancaster, and Anne Neville, daughter of the Earl of Warwick and allied to the Yorks, are some of the most ruthless players in history, prepared to scheme, manipulate and seduce their way to power.
In The White Queen their stories produce a riveting depiction of one of the most turbulent and least well-known times in English history: a tale of love, deception, betrayal and murder.
Handsome Max Irons, 27, one of Britain’s fastest rising young actors and the son of Jeremy Irons and Sinéad Cusack, portrays the dashing King Edward IV (the grandfather of the future King Henry VIII). And what an impressive young king he is.
Blessed with good looks and the physique of a warrior, to the people he is not just a leader but a hero who has seen off all those who have plotted for his throne.
Tiger matriarchs: Janet McTeer as Jacquetta Woodville (left), mother of Elizabeth Woodville, and Amanda Hale as Lady Margaret Beaufort (right), mother of Henry Tudor
But the impetuous Edward makes a terrible political blunder by marrying the widowed Elizabeth Woodville from the rival House of Lancaster, and by doing so enrages his mentor Lord Warwick (James Frain) – known as the Kingmaker and the wealthiest man in England – who had plotted and manipulated to help Edward attain the throne.
The gripping tale begins with Elizabeth’s first fateful meeting with Edward. She is the daughter of Sir Richard Woodville, Baron Rivers, an English nobleman from the House of Lancaster, left widowed and destitute when her husband was killed fighting for the Lancastrians.
Fate introduces her to the king from the rival House of York when he spots her on the other side of a stream. She risks rape and death by his army to approach Edward and ask him to return the lands her husband lost in battle.They fall madly in love and after a secret wedding she becomes queen.
Rebecca believes that at the outset of married life Elizabeth’s motives are pure, but once she finds herself on the throne she becomes fiercely protective of her family.
Max Irons as Edward IV: 'The sentimentality we have, they didn't have time for... Last week I had to film three battles. I know what it feels like to step on a skull.'
The White Queen - First Look Teaser - YouTube
The White Queen: Launch Trailer - BBC One - YouTube
CultBox -The-White-Queen - Clip - YouTube
'The White Queen' new clip 2013 - YouTube
Read more: BBC's Wars Of The Roses drama tells how Edward IV's marriage to Lancastrian Queen Elizabeth Woodville tore the country apart | Mail Online
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