The "REAL" Story Behind Starz's "The White Queen"

The Real Story Behind Philippa Gregory's "The White Queen"

I'm well acquainted with Philippa Gregory's famous novel, The White Queen, now a show on STARZ set for 1 season only. Whenever a film or television show is made set in a period piece, people usually complain how it isn't historically accurate. However, Hollywood's purpose is to entertain audiences, but also they really aren't too far off. The same is with Philippa Gregory's novel The White Queen. 

The White Queen is set in England in the time of The War of the Roses. The War of the Roses was a war between the houses of York (represented by the white rose) and of Lancaster (represented by the red rose). The story is told through the perspective of Elizabeth Wydville-Grey, daughter of Lord and Lady Rivers, and widow of Sir John Grey. Elizabeth Wydville (or sometimes spelled Wydvylle) was allied with the House of Lancaster but fortunes shifted and she charmed the rival king Edward IV of the House of York. They married and ruled England until Edward IV died and his brother, Richard III declared his brother's children bastards and made himself and his wife, Anne Neville, King and Queen. He locked his young nephews in the dreaded Tower of London where they disappeared from history. Some claim the poor boys were murdered; smothered in their sleep and buried in the fortress somewhere. The throne was then taken by Henry Tudor, a.k.a. Henry VII, the father of Henry VIII, grandfather of Elizabeth I. Henry married Elizabeth, first daughter of Elizabeth Wydville and Edward IV; thus joining the Houses of York & Lancaster and ending the Civil War.

Philippa Gregory went more fairytale with telling this story, but to be fair, just reading the bare bones of the story from a history book, it sort of is a fairytale except it has no "happily ever after" part. The tale of Melusine, Jaquetta using witchcraft, and Richard III having a sexual passion for his niece, Elizabeth, were all just rumors said at the time and after to paint the Wydvilles as villains because they were considered upstarts and greedy commoners aiming high above their station. Instead I'll give you some background behind the war and some events that took place up to Henry VII sitting on the throne and forever ending the War between the two houses.

Lancaster & York

The houses of Lancaster and York were cousins; both part of the Plantagenet House. Both were grandchildren of Edward III. There is a legend as to how the War between the houses started. The Duke of Lancaster and the Duke of York had an argument in an inn where York chose the white rose for his house emblem and Lancaster chose the red rose for his own. Both parties were miles away from the hotel and York didn't chose the white rose yet until later. Also the red rose was chosen by Henry Tudor after the Battle of Bosworth where Richard III met his end so that Henry could make a new emblem signifying the union between York and Lancaster.

Lancaster

The King at the time before the war was the mentally imbalanced, religious Henry VI. His mental illness could be attributed to his maternal grandfather, King Charles Valois of France. His mother, Katherine Valois, was Charles' daughter (although because his wife, the nymphomaniac, Isabeau of Bavaria, had many lovers there was some debate at the time as to who the real father of her children were). Henry V of England invaded France and is known for obliterating what was known as "the flower of chivalry" at the Battle of Agincourt (a battle Henry VIII loved to learn about and Henry V was his idol). Charles Valois, weak and mad, surrendered his throne to Henry V and gave him his daughter Katherine to bind their countries together. From this union came the future Henry VI. 

Henry VI - "The Mad King"

Henry V would never see his son grow up. The newborn prince became king six months later after his father Henry V died in his camp of dysentary. Henry VI was taken from his mother to be raised by his councilors and many wet nurses, dry nurses, and servants. As a solace, Katherine took a lover, a Welsh named Owen Tewdwr (or "Tudor") whom she secretly married. Owen Tewdwr was no commoner; he was descendent of Welsh royalty and so the Welsh have always loved and were loyal to the Tudor family. They had children, an unnamed daughter who became a nun and three sons, Jasper, Edmund, and Owen (the last being taken from her after her secret marriage was discovered and raised by Benedictine monks, which he later joined and was buried in a monastery in 1502). Still, Henry VI adored his brothers, awarding them lands and titles and in return his half-brothers were very loyal to the House Lancaster. 

Henry VI would succumb to bouts of lunacy, which impaired his judgement. Like Charles Valois, Henry VI would cry out that he was made of glass and that he would break. It is said that after he met Joan of Arc, who was imprisoned by the English that he was never the same. During his lucid moments, Henry VI displayed a fervor and dedication to religion. He was seen as a pure, noble soul but that he was surrounded by evil councilors, including his scheming wife, Margaret of Anjou. His French queen was called the "She-Wolf of France" or just the "She-Wolf". Margaret was imperious, over-bearing and assertive of her authority. She dominated her weak husband and they had a son, Prince Edward. 

After Warwick failed to place Henry VI on the throne, Henry was quickly murdered. His only son and heir Edward was killed before him.

Margaret Beaufort - "The Red Queen"

Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond married a very young Margaret Beaufort. She was 12 years old at the time while Edmund was 25. Margaret was said to be a very devout, precocious girl (impressive for someone at her age) and that she had a vision that she must marry Edmund, the Earl of Richmond. Margaret's father, John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, died when she was only an infant. Some claim that he committed suicide because of his humiliating defeat in France. Margaret is a cousin of Henry VI being a direct descendent of John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster (founding father of the House of Lancaster), son of Edward III and Philippa of Hainault; through his famous yet unsung mistress, Katherine Swynford. So by default, Margaret's claim to the throne was stronger than most, yet she was habitually over looked because of her sex and because she was a child. Yet an ambitious husband could help make her claim. Margaret was handed over to become ward to the Duke of Suffolk who betrothed her to his son, John de la Pole in hopes that he could convince Henry VI to make Margaret his heir (at the time she was seven years old and Henry VI had no heir).

         At age 13, Margaret gave birth to her only child, Henry; the future King of England. Margaret had a strong devotion to her faith and also had a strong personality, which would have her son defer to his mother in judgement on matters of state (not often) and Henry gave her the run of his household (his children's upbringing, their education, and health). Henry was taken from his mother and sent to be raised by his uncle Jasper. In the show, there are hints that Margaret and Jasper were in love but in reality, Jasper took care of his nephew and kept Margaret in the loop of his upbringing mostly out of family duty. Margaret did marry other times after Edmund died but she never bore another child. Speculation is that Edmund may have raped Margaret or because Margaret had a difficult labor that damaged her uterus because she was so young. Henry was also a sickly boy that survived because of his mother's careful vigilance.

In the show, Margaret is married to Sir Henry Stafford, a marriage which is shown her cold, vindictive mother arranged. In reality it was most likely Margaret's idea along with Jasper Tudor's plan. Margaret was married 4 times by the end of her life and she survived them all.

Margaret lived to see her son, Henry VII gain the throne. She was in charge of his household and his children's education. Margaret died in June 1509, only surviving her son by a few months (he died in April). Margaret arranged her grandson's Henry VIII's coronation. She is buried in the Henry VII Lady Chapel of the Abbey, in a black marble tomb topped with a bronze gilded effigy and canopy, between the graves of William and Mary and the tomb of Mary, Queen of Scots.

York

Edward IV of York, was descendent of Edward III through his son, Edmund, Duke of York. Edward's father was Richard, Duke of York and he was named heir to the throne until he was killed at the Battle of Wakefield. Although only 18 at the time, Edward more than proved himself an able soldier and intelligent leader. He lead and won the battle at Towton against Henry VI, chasing both him and Margaret and their young son, to Scotland for sanctuary with James III. 

Edward enlisted the help of his cousin, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick. Warwick was nicknamed "The King-Maker" because of his cleverness and political savvy in helping his cousin attain the throne. Warwick had his own Pro-French agenda; that much is true. Warwick expected to control Edward and be the puppet master. However, Edward was no Henry VI.

Edward IV - "The York King"

Edward of York was the great-great grandson of Edward III. There were rumors at the time of his birth that his mother, Cecily had had an affair and so he was not his father's, the Duke's, son. This was a common tool to steal someone's inheritance. By the time he was 18, Edward looked every bit a king from a fairytale. He was tall, dark soft hair, blue eyes, jovial, a skilled warrior, and he was also one of England's famous rakes. He had already bedded half the women in England around the time the war started. So it seems hard to believe that a playboy prince would fall hard and marry some woman on the road, like Elizabeth Wydville. They met, fell in love, then married in secret. However, that wouldn't have been the first time Edward had proposed to a woman. There was a woman whom he played the same game with and she had his bastard son.

                                                                     

Yet to Edward's credit, he came out with his marriage to Elizabeth Wydville, saying that it was a true marriage. Warwick was the most furious and probably the loudest voice of dissent when Edward made the announcement. Other members of the council were not too happy either as not only was Elizabeth older, a commoner, and of the Lancastrian House, but that she had two sons that when matured could start a faction against the crown. The rules of inheritance passed to the next heir, Elizabeth's sons could make such claims of riches against any children Edward and Elizabeth have.

Although Edward and Elizabeth seemed to have a happy marriage, having 10 children (7 of who will survive Edward), Edward did not stop his "merry romps" with other women. Elizabeth was intelligent enough to keep her mouth shut and turn a blind eye. She knew that Edward would always come back to her and he did. They still enjoyed each other physically; evidence being that Elizabeth was pregnant again when she was 42!

There was one mistress that Edward kept on. Her name was Jane Shore. If you read Leslie Carroll's Royal Affairs you'll find that Edward and Jane Shore continued their affair until his death. Edward was morbidly obese towards the end of his life. He died in 1483. He is buried in St. George's Chapel with his beloved wife, Elizabeth.

The Wydvilles

Richard Wydville was once a humble squire. Jacquetta of Luxembourg was a daughter of the Duke of Burgundy. They both fell in love and eloped. Jacquetta had once married for state reasons, but after she was widowed, she was rich and free. She would not be carted off to another state marriage so instead she married for love. To make her marriage somewhat less shameful on her family, Wydville was given a title, Baron Rivers. Also since they wed without permission, they were fined 1,000 pounds (over $731,000 in today's money). They had many children; at least fourteen, mostly daughters. They were known to be blond and blue-eyed. Among the eldest children was the soon to be famous Elizabeth Wydville. Elizabeth's family was an ally of the House of Lancaster. Her husband, Sir John Grey was also a loyal Lancastrian. Together they had two healthy sons, Thomas and Richard. 

Jacquetta Wydville was accused of witch craft at one point, which is where the stories of Melusine and the rumors of spell casting originate, but she was acquitted and spared from burning at the stake.

Once Elizabeth was installed as Queen, the Wydvilles set about arranging advantageous marriages for themselves to cement their power. This enflamed the nobility even more. Who were these Wydvilles? Who do they think they are? Not much of eligible noble bachelors and bachelorettes were left once the Wydvilles walked on the scene. Elizabeth's youngest sister, in The White Queen series married an equally young Duke. Marriages such as that during those days were common. Yet these marriages were never consummated until the bride and groom reached a mature age.

• A Digression

The story of Melusine is a Medeavil tale. During these times, royal houses would help their prestige by claiming that their families had supernatural origins. The story goes that Melusine was a fairy. Her mother was a Fairy Queen who once married a Scottish King. The Fairy said that she would marry him only on the condition that he would never disturb her when she was bathing or when she was bathing the children. The King broke that rule so the Fairy Queen vanished with her triplet daughters to Avalon. Melusine was one of those daughters and when she grew up, she punished her father. Enraged, her mother cursed Melusine to become a serpent from the waist down every Saturday (some say as a mermaid). Melusine met her husband the same way her mother did and made the same deal with her husband. Of course, Melusine's husband broke his promise and found Melusine in her monstrous form. Melusine shrieked then flew off. Others claim that she forgave her husband but when he called her a serpent during an argument in front of the whole court, she turned into a dragon and flew away, leaving her husband 2 magic rings.

Elizabeth Wydville - "The White Queen"

Elizabeth Wydville's husband died in battle, leaving her widowed and her lands were taken from her. Legend has it that Elizabeth with her two sons (another claims that she was alone) beneath an oak tree and met Edward IV as he was riding with his soldiers. Edward was instantly bewitched by Elizabeth. 

Edward IV was known as quite the womanizer. Yet there was something about Elizabeth that he just couldn't shake. So he married her and announced to the world his marriage. Needless to say, no one was happy about it. Edward may have continued his philandering but he and his wife remained close and he would often listen to her council.

If Elizabeth had a son first, their story would have ended much differently. Yet Fate had other plans. For the first few years of their marriage, Elizabeth gave birth to 3 daughters. She gave birth to a son, Edward November 2, 1470. This was during the intervals where Edward IV lost his throne and Elizabeth took refuge in London in Westminster Abbey with her 3 daughters while Edward waited in exile in Burgundy. He of course returned and triumphantly regained his throne.

Elizabeth Wydville's final defeat was at the hands of none other than Edward's quiet brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester. He declared his brother's children by Elizabeth bastards, saying that Edward's marriage was null and void. Richard took Elizabeth's two sons Edward (V) and Richard and placed them in the Tower and demoted her from Queen Mother to Dame Elizabeth Grey. Elizabeth had no choice but to pretend to be loyal. She died at the age of 55 in Bermondsey Abby, July 8, 1492. She is buried in a wooden coffin on top of Edward's lead-encased coffin in St. George's Chapel.

Richard Neville - "The Kingmaker" 

Richard Neville was Earl of Salisbury but on the marriage to his wife, Anne, he became Earl of Warwick. He is known as "Warwick the King Maker" because of how he made Edward King of England. Richard was Edward's cousin; Edward's mother, Cecily, is Warwick's aunt. Warwick had two daughters: Isabel and Anne. Warwick was ambitious. He had hoped to rule the kingdom through Edward, but Edward was determined to rule on his own and not be a puppet king like Henry VI. 

Before Edward announced his secret marriage to Elizabeth Wydville, Warwick was planning on making a French alliance through marriage between Princess Bona and Edward IV. Those plans dashed, Warwick saw that Edward would be a problem. After Edward refused to let Warwick's daughters marry his brothers: George, Duke of Clarence, and Richard, Duke of Gloucester, Warwick decided to go behind Edward's back and marry his oldest daughter, Isabel to George in Calais. George was sore that his older brother was on the throne instead of him (spoiled by their mother, Cecily who doted on George) so the thought of being King was enough to turn George against his brother. Edward was captured by Warwick who had hoped to run the country through his prisoner, but Edward escaped. Warwick also had Richard Wydville, Earl of Rivers, and his son John, Elizabeth's father and brother executed.

Warwick had a plan. They say the Enemy of my Enemy is my friend. This was definitely true for Warwick and Margaret of Anjou. Margaret was hiding in France with her son, Edward when Warwick, her former enemy, came to her with a proposal. Warwick's daughter Anne would marry Margaret's son and Warwick would invade England and knock Edward off his throne. Margaret saw the advantages of course and agreed. Warwick invaded England and occupied London. He paraded Henry VI through the streets as a restored King while Edward IV was in the North suppressing Lancastrian uprisings. 

However, Warwick's success was short-lived. He overreached himself with his plan to invade Burgundy in alliance with the King of France, tempted by King Louis' promise of territory in the Netherlands as a reward. This led Edward's brother-in-law, Charles of Burgundy, to provide funds and troops to Edward to enable him to launch an invasion of England in 1471. George again switched sides over to his brother, Edward, and Warwick was declared a traitor. In the final battle, there was a terrible fog so thick that Warwick's men didn't know who was who, so they started fighting each other. Warwick died in battle when he was cut down while trying to reach his horse.

Anne Neville - "The Kingmaker's Daughter"

Anne Neville was Warwick's youngest daughter. She is described as being thin, pale, and of a timid nature. Being that she was a girl (the wrong sex in those days for nobility), her father tried many times to marry her off to the highest of nobility. Anne was betrothed to Richard, Duke of Gloucester, but that fell through when King Edward IV said "No" and then she was betrothed to marry the exiled prince Edward. Not much is known of Margaret of Anjou's son but some historians of the time who witnessed Margaret ask her 5 year old son how traitors should be punished. The boy answered that they should be executed and she let him watch the executions. They were married but it was never consummated.

One can only imagine how Anne felt about all this. Yet Anne was silent. After her royal husband died, Anne returned to England, her family being pardoned after George once again defected to his brother, Edward's side. There was a plan by Edward to let Anne Neville marry his brother, Richard. Anne and her sister, Isabel, were heirs to their parents' vast estates so George didn't want to share. George made Anne his ward and refused the proposal for her. There are some stories as to what happened during that time, including the story that she escaped from Clarence's custody and sought refuge in a London cook shop, disguised as a servant. Richard tracked her down and escorted her to sanctuary at the Church of St Martin le Grand. 

George met his end when Edward IV imprisoned him in the Tower for treason against his brother. George's wife, Isabel, had died in childbirth; however, George suspected she was poisoned and suspected her lady-in-waiting, whom he had arrested and bullied a jury to have her executed. George was "privately executed" in the Tower. He drowned in a barrel of malmsey wine. George was an alcoholic so not many people questioned Clarence's death.

Richard and Anne were married in Westminster Abbey and they settled down in Middleham Castle. They only had 1 child, a son named Edward. He was a sickly boy who tragically died when he was only 10 years old. Anne was crowned Queen alongside Richard. After their son's death, rumors flew around that Richard had planned to divorce his current wife because she was barren and marry his niece, Elizabeth York (Edward IV's oldest daughter). However, this is mere conjecture. First, since they were uncle and niece, they would have needed a papal dispensation because they were way too close in the gene pool; this was in fact incest, which the Church frowns upon. Sure, if they were first cousins it would have been slightly easier but, doubtful that Richard would have done so. Second, Richard had declared Elizabeth York a bastard so by laws of inheritance she would be barred from the throne.

Still, Richard survived his wife, Anne. She died of tuberculosis at Westminster. The day she died, there was an eclipse, which some took to be an omen of Richard's fall from heavenly grace. And he did. Richard III was defeated and killed by Henry Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth. Richard's death ended the War of the Roses. 

The End of the War

Henry Tudor was fourteen when he fled England after a failed attempt to knock Edward off his throne. Once Richard became King, the Wydvilles and the York factions supported Henry's claim (as they presumed that Edward V and his brother Richard were dead). Henry invaded England with the Scottish and the French armies at his back. Henry Tudor defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth. This ended the civil war between the Houses of York and Lancaster. Henry Tudor was made Henry VII and her married Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Wydville. You may ask: But wasn't she declared illegitimate? Her claim to the throne was stronger than Henry's if she was declared legitimate. Henry saw that through marriage he could cement the warring houses. If he married Elizabeth, Henry VII's claim to the throne would be strengthened. The two young couple settled down and had a son, Arthur, the first time around, which was lucky. Elizabeth Wydville would have had an easier time if she and Edward had a son the first time.

In the end, Lancaster was triumphant. Still. Henry VII may have settled the disputes but he took the throne through battle and when you take something by force, you must fight your entire life to keep it. Henry VII was haunted by rumors of plots against him. There were a few uprisings. Three were lead by the supposed real heirs of Edward IV. One claimed to be Edward V, another claimed to be the son of George, Duke of Clarence and one claimed to be Richard, the younger brother. Henry VII took pity on one Lambert Simnel, who was a simpleton set up to claim he was the son of the Duke of Clarence, so he crushed the rebellion and made the boy a kitchen servant. The others weren't so lucky. 

Through the reign of Henry VII and his son Henry VIII, the remaining Plantagenets would be imprisoned for life or executed for whatever reason. Elizabeth would have the same issue but England remained at peace with itself until Charles I of England was executed by Oliver Cromwell (descendent of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's Chancellor). 

So no fairytale ending, only a warning. Anyone can take a throne, but not many can stay on it.