History Series / TheWhitePrincess

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_white_princess_promo.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:One big happy family![[note]]From left to right, folks - the Titular White Princess, the "Witch", The King, The Murderess.[[/note]]]]

In this series, UsefulNotes/{{the Wars of the Roses}} is effectively ended by the marriage of Henry VII ([[Creator/JacobCollinsLevy Jacob Collins-Levy]]) and Elizabeth of York (Creator/JodieComer), which unites the houses of York and Lancaster into UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfTudor... which wouldn't be a problem if not for the fact that said houses aren't exactly on good terms with each other. Their respective mothers, Margaret Beufort (Creator/MichelleFairley) and Elizabeth Woodville (Creator/EssieDavis) use their children to plot and scheme. The Yorkist faction continues to be a thorn in Henry's side and produces a rival claimant to the throne, Perkin Warbeck (Creator/PatrickGibson). All this threatens the stability of their recently reforged kingdom.

* OutDamnedSpot: After Elizabeth Woodville reappears at court, Margaret Beaufort is once more haunted by [[spoiler:her murder of the Princes in the Tower]], even hallucinating the water she's washing her hands in to be blood.

* AmbiguousSituation: Though Richard of Shrewsbury is clearly shown escaping at the start, one can never be sure if the man who turns up in Burgundy is really him. Gregory wrote in the epilogue to the novel that she believed Warbeck's claim was genuine, but this view is rejected by most historians.

** Prince Harry, the future Henry VIII.

* YoureNotMyMother: Said almost verbatim by Lizzie after Elizabeth ruins Prince Harry's enoblement by declaring that Prince Richard is alive and the true Duke of York.

In this series, UsefulNotes/{{the Wars of the Roses}} is effectively ended by the marriage of Henry VII ([[Creator/JacobCollinsLevy Jacob Collins-Levy]]) and Elizabeth of York (Creator/JodieComer), which unites the houses of York and Lancaster into UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfTudor... which wouldn't be a problem if not for the fact that said houses aren't exactly on good terms with each other. Their respective mothers, Margaret Beufort (Creator/MichelleFairley) and Elizabeth Woodville (Creator/EssieDavis) use their children to plot and scheme; a rival claimant to the throne, Perkin Warbeck (Creator/PatrickGibson) comes out of the woodwork; and their marriage has its own ups and downs. All this threatens the stability of their recently reforged kingdom.

* ConsummationCounterfeit: Henry VII, having already raped Elizabeth prior, takes a knife to their wedding bed and slices her foot as proof that the marriage was consummated that night.

** Jasper Tudor might be loyal to Henry, is appalled when he learns Margaret Beaufort [[spoiler: orchestrated the murder of the Princes in the Tower to help put Henry on the throne]].

* NoSell: Hoping to extinguish a Yorkist rebellion, Henry VII forces Perkin Warbeck to publicly confess that he is a Flemish peasant and ''not'' the son of Edward IV. His supporters do not believe the confession, which was obviously made under duress, and stay loyal to the pretender. The only effect the confession ''does'' have is that it means Warbeck is legally a foreigner not an English subject so Henry [[GoneHorriblyWrong can't charge him with treason]].
** Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain bluntly state they won't consider a betrothal between their daughter and Prince Arthur until ''all'' York claimants are dead, and refuse any attempt by Lizzie to negotiate a compromise.

* PostRapeTaunt: Strangely done by rapist and victim.
** "I barely noticed."
** "I thought about your sister, Cecily."

-->'''Jasper Tudor''': ''[dying, talking to Margaret]'' I've never loved anyone else. But this...did I love you without ever knowing [[YouMonster who you truly were]]?

-->'''Elizabeth Woodville''': ''[to Margaret]'' I do not fear death. I have done my duty to God and when my time comes, he will reunite me with my Edward. But there is fear in your eyes. What will you say to God when you see him? How will you explain all that blood on your hands?

-->'''Henry VII''':[[spoiler: You've cursed my sons. You've damned them! YOU, their grandmother! You've put the mark of death on them. You are a butcher of innocents, you are a killer of children, and now, you have killed mine! [[YouMonster You're a monster]]. You should have left me in France. I wish to Christ I was still there now, away from your poison! ''(Henry throws his mother out of his chambers in front of the entire court)'' She does not come near me. She does not speak to me. She does not speak for me. Nobody listens to her! If you defy my orders, I'll have your heads myself!]]

* RightfulKingReturns: Attempted by the York faction, but their champion, Perkin Warbeck, is captured and beheaded.

* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: Henry has his reign dated from one day before the Battle of Bosworth; that way he can brand anyone who fought for King Richard a traitor and justify confiscating their lands.

Followed by ''Series/TheSpanishPrincess'', set a generation later.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Hoo boy where to start.

* AscendedExtra: The central characters of this series are King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. Henry was a small child when ''The White Queen'' started and appeared only sporadically until the later episodes. Elizabeth wasn't even ''born'' until the second episode, and doesn't get a major speaking role until the eighth.

* HuntingAccident: Ultimately subverted; when Henry insists on forcing Richard to come on a hunt as a servant, Lizzie and Maggie are convinced he's done it for this. Although Henry and his mother try to take a few pot shots at Richard, they miss.

* LastOfHisKind: Teddy Warwick is the last man standing for the House of York. His [[spoiler:execution]] extinguishes the agnatic line not only for York but also for the whole Plantagenet dynasty.

* MamaBear: Lizzie cites this as the reason why she would never betray Henry for the Yorks, because it would mean putting Arthur at risk as well. [[spoiler: This is also, ultimately, the reason why she pushes Henry to have Teddy and Richard executed; as long as there is a York claimant still alive, their sons will never be safe]].

-->'''Lizzie''': Your mother told you to ''rape'' me?!
-->'''Henry''': It isn't rape, we are to be married!

* MommasBoy: Henry VII is in his mother's palm. She has higher status than either his wife or the Dowager Elizabeth, even getting the Queen's suite of rooms in the first few episodes. Certainly [[JustifiedTrope justified]] given the lengths to which she went in order to install her son on the throne.
** Lampshaded in the premiere by Elizabeth, who wonders if Henry intends to ignore her and wed his mother instead.
** This changes rather abruptly in the finale, when Henry discovers that Margaret [[spoiler:was responsible for killing the Princes in the Tower]]. He almost strangles her to death on the spot, and orders the rest of the court to abandon their deference to her.

* NeverMyFault: Margaret Beaufort. Anything bad she does [[spoiler: like ordering the Princes in the Tower killed]] is simply God's Will.
** Lord Strange is this in a way. During the peace talks in Burgundy, he couldn't accept that the young Prince Phillip and Princess Margaret were constantly one upping him in their games. This caused their mother, Duchess Mary of Burgundy, to challenge him to a horse race out of pity (where he had an actual chance to win). This inadvertently led to her early death. When they returned to England, he shifts the blame to Jasper Tudor and the recently deceased Duchess.

* ObnoxiousInLaws: Margaret Beaufort, who constantly moves to impose her will on the two Queens Elizabeth. [[note]]Never having been a Queen or Princess herself, she is styled "My Lady The King's Mother" and is extremely reluctant to cede precedence to the higher-ranking York women.[[/note]]

* PerfectlyArrangedMarriage: Henry and Elizabeth eventually bond as they are both dissatisfied with being used as pawns by their families as well as the birth of their son Arthur. Also, Richard Pole manages to win over his wife Maggie with his kindness, promising to be a worthy husband to her as well as visiting her imprisoned brother and whatever else she may need. She then expresses a liking to her new surname, Pole and tells Richard that everyone calls her Maggie, prompting a smile from him. Also, even though Jasper loves Margaret and his marriage to Kate was arranged in order to get back at Margaret by Elizabeth, Kate Woodville does manage to win him over with her kindness and they're often shown walking arm in arm, showing they're at least close.
* PetTheDog: [[TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry Despite them not being close]], Lizzie's sister Cecily comforts her and insists their mother is just being spiteful when it seems Elizabeth Woodville is [[spoiler: ill-wishing Arthur to clear the way for Richard's return]]. Both of them also display a BigSisterInstinct toward Maggie, who's nervous over her wedding.
* Henry also spares Lambert Simnel at the urging of Richard Pole, who points out the boy was nothing but an UnwittingPawn for the Yorkists.