The Fall of the House of York, A Commentary of Starz Original Series, The White Queen

Because I did an independent study of the King
Richard III during a renaissance class, the Starz latest original series The
White Queen interests me greatly. The ten part miniseries debuted on Saturday
August 10, 2013. The story is based on romance novelist Philippa Gregory's historical novel
series The Cousins' War. 

The T.V. series incorporates elements from all
the novels, which includes:

1) The Lady of the Rivers

2) The White Queen

3) The Red Queen

4) The Kingmaker's Daughters

5) The White Princess

6) The Last Rose

White
Queen opens with the romance between King Edward IV (Max Irons) from the House
of York (House of Plantagenet) and his marriage to
commoner Elizabeth Woodville (Rebecca Ferguson) from the House of Lancaster. Their is not a popular
marriage among the Plantagenets, especially with  Cecily
Neville, Duchess of York (Caroline Goodall) and the Earl of Warwick, The
Kingmaker (James Frain), nor with many of power seeking Lancasters will
mark the end of the of the Plantagenets.

Elizabeth Woodville is not thought of as possessing royal
blood by the Yorks, and her marriage to Edward not a welcome event by the power
seeking Lancasters, who view it as an advancement of their station.  Their hatred of the Plantagenets dates back
to John of Gaunt, the fourth but
third surviving son of the King Edward III and Philippa of Hainaut. The war
between the two houses is best known of the War
of Roses with the red rose represents the House of Lancaster and the red white rose the House
of York to which House of Plantagenet belong.

With the exception of more sex scenes than absolutely necessary
for an hour episode, the power struggles and destructive plots among these two houses
is fermenting well in The White Queen. Therefore, the series should gather
strong viewership and become a favorite among Philippa
Gregory's fans. 

The next episode is "The Price of Power" and
will air on August 17. In it, the coronation of Elizabeth is planned in an
attempt to silence protest against her marriage between to King Edward. In
anger, Warwick's refuses to allow his daughters to become Elizabeth’s
ladies-in-waiting. Margaret Beaufort, whose son Henry Tudor (Tom McKay) has a
claim to the throne from John of Gaunt line, sides
with  Lord Warwick and Edward's brother
George, Duke of Clarence (David Oakes), in the hope that her Henry will be
returned to her. While these events are going on, Lord Warwick makes use of his
elder daughter Isabel (Eleanor Tomlinson) in an attempt to unify the Nevilles and the Yorks
by marrying her to the Duke of Clarence, heir apparent to King Edward. 

The series is in three points of view and from that of
the women, Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret Beaufort (Amanda Hale), and Anne
Neville (Faye Marsay). 

With the exception of more sex scenes than absolutely
necessary for an hour episode, the power struggles and destructive plots among
the houses is fermenting well in The White Queen. This said, the series should
gather strong viewership and become a favorite among Philippa
Gregory's fans.

In addition,
 for all you fans, critics and scholars of
King Richard III, actor Aneurin Barnard plays Richard, Duke of Gloucester and will
makes his first appearance in "Long Live The King" episode 8.