History Series / BecomingElizabeth

** Elizabeth herself was considered charming and by no means unattractive, but not the ravishing beauty she is in the series. The real life Elizabeth had ginger hair, brown eyes that looked almost black (the only physical feature she really inherited from her mother Anne Boleyn), freckles, and was of average height. Some found her pretty, other did not. However, like her sister, Elizabeth didn't age well. As well as that, when Elizabeth was 30 (5 years into her reign), she contracted smallpox and very nearly died. Her face was scarred and for the rest of her life she took to wearing thick, white makeup to hide her scars in a desperate effort to stay youthful (it didn't work) and her hair fell out, leading her to wear wigs.

** Princess Mary did not write to the Court of Denmark [[spoiler: alleging that Elizabeth was a bastard]]. She did, however, comment to a courtier years later that Elizabeth looked a lot like Henry Norris, the man Anne Boleyn was accused of having an affair with.

''Becoming Elizabeth'' (2022) is a 2022 historical drama created by Anya Reiss and airing on the Creator/{{Starz}} network which focuses on the life of UsefulNotes/ElizabethI during the tumultuous years after the death of her father UsefulNotes/HenryVIII, as well as the lives of Elizabeth’s older half-sister [[UsefulNotes/MaryTudor Mary I]] who is trying to survive as a Catholic in a country that has become devoutly Protestant now that their younger half-brother Edward VI is on the throne. Elizabeth (Alicia Von Rittburg) lives with her widowed stepmother Queen Catherine Parr (Creator/JessicaRaine) and Parr's new husband, Sir Thomas Seymour (Tom Cullen), both of whom aspire to power in the court of Edward VI (Oliver Zetterström). Young though she is, Elizabeth recognizes that she's the pawn of much more powerful people than herself and gradually learns to navigate a world full of treachery. Despite ending on a cliffhanger, Starz declined to order a second season of the series.

* {{Betty and Veronica}}: Robert Dudley is the Archie for Elizabeth and Amy. Who is the Betty and who is the Veronica is up for the viewers to decide.

* AChildShallLeadThem: Edward VI was nine when his father died and he ascended the throne. He looks slightly older in the series, but it makes it clear he's still a child and Edward Seymour has most of the power. That doesn't stop Edward from reminding people that he is king and expects to be treated as such.

''Becoming Elizabeth'' (2022) is a 2022 historical drama created by Anya Reiss and airing on the Creator/{{Starz}} network which focuses on the life of UsefulNotes/ElizabethI during the tumultuous years after the death of her father UsefulNotes/HenryVIII, as well as the lives of Elizabeth’s older half-sister UsefulNotes/MaryTudor who is trying to survive as a Catholic in a country that has become devoutly Protestant now that their younger half-brother Edward VI is on the throne. Elizabeth (Alicia Von Rittburg) lives with her widowed stepmother Queen Catherine Parr (Creator/JessicaRaine) and Parr's new husband, Sir Thomas Seymour (Tom Cullen), both of whom aspire to power in the court of Edward VI (Oliver Zetterström). Young though she is, Elizabeth recognizes that she's the pawn of much more powerful people than herself and gradually learns to navigate a world full of treachery. Despite ending on a cliffhanger, Starz declined to order a second season of the series.

* CutShort: The series ends on a cliffhanger, with Edward VI in poor health, John Dudley marrying Jane Grey to his son and Elizabeth and Mary possibly coming to a truce when faced with common enemies. If there was only some way to know how [[UsefulNotes/ElizabethII it all turns out]].

* HistoricalBeautyUpgrade: Princess Mary is far more beautiful than the historic records describe her during this period. While Mary was considered to be a beautiful woman when she was in her teens, and 20’s to early 30’s, she didn’t age well due to her poor health and by the time Edward VI became a young teenager she was no longer the beauty she once was. During most of Henry VIII’s reign, Mary was considered a beauty, having long red hair, pale blue eyes, and a very slender build, by the time of her later years her eyes were more of a grey colour, she was short and thin, with long auburn hair and a low-bridged nose.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory:

** In fact, many of the characters, including Thomas Seymour and Catherine Parr were considered quite attractive, their actors are far more so.

* HistoricalBeautyUpgrade: Princess Mary is far more beautiful than the historic records describe her during this period. Elizabeth herself was considered attractive and charming, but not the ravishing beauty she is in the series. In fact, many of the characters, including Thomas Seymour and Catherine Parr were considered quite attractive, their actors are far more so.

** Catherine Parr also had auburn hair, but she's dark-haired in the series.

''Becoming Elizabeth'' (2022) is a 2022 historical drama created by Anya Reiss and airing on the Creator/{{Starz}} network which focuses on the life of UsefulNotes/ElizabethI during the tumultuous years after the death of her father UsefulNotes/HenryVIII, as well as the lives of Elizabeth’s older half-sister UsefulNotes/MaryTudor who is trying to survive as a Catholic in a country that has become devoutly Protestant now that their younger half-brother UsefulNotes/EdwardVI is on the throne. Elizabeth (Alicia Von Rittburg) lives with her widowed stepmother Queen Catherine Parr (Creator/JessicaRaine) and Parr's new husband, Sir Thomas Seymour (Tom Cullen), both of whom aspire to power in the court of Edward VI (Oliver Zetterström). Young though she is, Elizabeth recognizes that she's the pawn of much more powerful people than herself and gradually learns to navigate a world full of treachery. Despite ending on a cliffhanger, Starz declined to order a second season of the series.

''Becoming Elizabeth'' (2022) is a 2022 historical drama created by Anya Reiss and airing on the Creator/{{Starz}} network which focuses on the life of UsefulNotes/ElizabethI during the tumultuous years after the death of her father UsefulNotes/HenryVIII. Teenage Elizabeth (Alicia Von Rittburg) lives with her widowed stepmother Queen Catherine Parr (Creator/JessicaRaine) and Parr's new husband, Sir Thomas Seymour (Tom Cullen), both of whom aspire to power in the court of Edward VI (Oliver Zetterström). Young though she is, Elizabeth recognizes that she's the pawn of much more powerful people than herself and gradually learns to navigate a world full of treachery. Despite ending on a cliffhanger, Starz declined to order a second season of the series.

''Becoming Elizabeth'' (2022) is a 2022 historical drama created by Anya Reiss and airing on the Creator/{{Starz}} network which focuses on the life of UsefulNotes/ElizabethI during the tumultuous years after the death of her father UsefulNotes/HenryVIII. Teenage Elizabeth (Alicia Von Rittburg) lives with her widowed stepmother Queen Catherine Parr (Creator/JessicaRaine) and Parr's new husband, Sir Thomas Seymour (Tom Cullen), both of whom aspire to power in the court of Edward VI (Oliver Zetterström). Young though she is, Elizabeth recognizes that she's the pawn of much more powerful people than herself and gradually learns to navigate a world full of treachery. Despite ending on a cliffhanger, Start declined to order a second season of the series.

** In real life, Jane Grey had auburn or reddish hair like her cousin, but she's dark haired and studious in the show.

** In the show, the Kett Rebellion is a Catholic reaction against an Anglican government. In history, Robert Kett was a committed Anglican who made a point of praying with the English Book of Common Prayer alongside the other rebels. Their real complaints were grounded in the English common land being made the private property of nobles, and the poverty that caused.

''Becoming Elizabeth'' (2022) is a 2022 historical drama created by Anya Reiss and airing on the Creator/{{Starz}} network which focuses on the life of UsefulNotes/ElizabethI during the tumultuous years after the death of her father UsefulNotes/HenryVIII. Teenage Elizabeth (Alicia Von Rittburg) lives with her widowed stepmother Queen Catherine Parr (Creator/JessicaRaine) and Parr's new husband, Sir Thomas Seymour (Tom Cullen), both of whom aspire to power in the court of Edward VI (Oliver Zetterström). Young though she is, Elizabeth recognizes that she's the pawn of much more powerful people than herself and gradually learns to navigate a world full of treachery.Despite ending on a cliffhanger, Start declined to order a second season of the series.

''Becoming Elizabeth'' (2022) is a 2022 historical drama created by Anya Reiss and airing on the Creator/{{Starz}} network which focuses on the life of UsefulNotes/ElizabethI during the tumultuous years after the death of her father UsefulNotes/HenryVIII. Teenage Elizabeth (Alicia Von Rittburg) lives with her widowed stepmother Queen Catherine Parr (Creator/JessicaRaine) and Parr's new husband, Sir Thomas Seymour (Tom Cullen), both of whom aspire to power in the court of Edward VI (Oliver Zetterström). Young though she is, Elizabeth recognizes that she's the pawn of much more powerful people than herself and gradually learns to navigate a world full of treachery.

* TheGhost: A few posthumous characters (see below) are mentioned often, including Henry VIII, Jane Seymour and Anne Boleyn, but historians have noticed the absence of several historical characters who should be in the thick of the action. Edward Seymour's wife, Anne, is mentioned a few times in relation to her rivalry with Catherine Parr. On the other hand, Frances Brandon, Jane Grey's mother, is completely absent. Also totally absent from the action in Thomas Cranmer, the man most responsible for radicalizing the young king.

DoomedByCanon: The list is long. Catherine Parr, Thomas Seymour, Edward Seymour, Edward VI, Jane Grey, Guilford Dudley, and eventually Princess Mary are going to meet unfortunate ends.

* DawsonCasting: 28-year-old Alicia von Rittberg plays Elizabeth between the ages of fourteen and nineteen.
** 31-year-old Jamie Blackley plays Robert Dudley between the ages of fifteen and twenty.

** [[spoiler: Edward Seymour was not, in fact, as skilled an administrator as the show portrays nor was his downfall caused by his willingness to back Mary as the rightful heir. He did alienate John Dudley by wanting Mary to have religious freedom, but he wasn't in a political alliance with her. He was a good and honorable solider, and popular among the common people, but he was considered a rather incompetent administrator.]]

** Edward Seymour absolutely wanted to stay in power and certainly mistrusted and disliked his brother, but whether or not he was as villainous as portrayed is a matter of debate.