I'll start off by saying that I cried like 90 percent of the time while watching the first episode of The White Princess. I am a hardcore Yorkist and my heart was totes broken at the end of The White Queen. I'm also aware of what's in store for me on this series, so it's basically pointless to wish for a happy ending. However, watching period dramas brings me so much joy, so sad endings be damned, I will have my fill of palaces, crowns and lovely gowns.

The White Princess started out with a familiar musical scoring that I half-expected King Edward IV and his Queen Elizabeth to pop out after the intro. The opening credit was high on symbolism. All the white things symbolic of the House of York were turning into the red of the House of Lancaster. In the end a Tudor rose is formed: a combination of the Lancastrian red rose petals with white Yorkist petals at the center.

With this first episode, I tried to pick up where I left off with The White Queen. After all, that one was like three or 4 years ago. To review: King Edward IV dies, there's a power struggle within the Plantagenets (House of York), Edward's younger brother Richard declares himself king and disinherits Edward's children, the princes in the tower are nowhere to be found, and finally, Henry Tudor beats Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth.

That's where the tears start to spill. It's so hard when you're on the looser's side. Ha ha.

I love the fierceness and vulnerability of Jodie Comer as Elizabeth of York. She is exactly how I'd imagine Edward IV's and Elizabeth Woodville's daughter would be. 

This is also the time to get acquainted with the other characters.

Rebecca Ferguson had a great portrayal of Elizabeth Woodville in The White Queen Series and I wish she'd come back for this new one. However, that would mean that she will have to be aged a bit so I understand the reason why production picked a different actress. What do I say? I love her regal bearing. 

We've also been given a glimpse of the young Prince Richard, Earl of Shrewsburry, one half of the Princes in the Tower, and we're given the idea that he survived, but we're not really sure if he escaped to Tournai as instructed by his mother. That's one more thing to look forward to in the coming episodes.

I was pleased to see a familiar face in this series. Caroline Goodall who played Cecily, Duchess of York came back and she is still as feisty as ever. It's no secret that she and Elizabeth Woodville have always been at odds but given their current bad situation, they are still rallying behind the House of York, albeit some of them are doing it in secret. However, Duchess Cecily was quiet upfront in saying that she does not accept Henry Tudor as king. She was also quick to remind everyone that Henry is but a descendant of servants.

"...And burn the snow from falling. I will have nothing white in England."

-Henry Tudor

I'm not really a big fan of these two . Sorry, I have my biases. ;)

It's also good to see that The White Queen herself, Elizabeth Woodville is still dabbling with magic, something that we did not hear of in the book version of The White Princess. Here she secures a strand of Lady Margaret's hair and casts a spell to "get into her head" and made her have nightmares about the princes in the tower.

Looking forward to the next episodes.

XO,

Carissa
PS. All images were screencapped by me. Credits to STARZ
Absolutely no copyright infringement intended.
I'm just fangirling. :)

Anyone who loves books about royalty and historical fiction will have heard about Philippa Gregory. She has penned several books on that theme; The Other Boleyn Girl is among them. My personal favorites are The Lady Of The Rivers, The White Queen and The White Princess; the last two have been adapted as TV series.

This recent read of mine, The Constant Princess had been sitting on my reading list for a while. I couldn't even figure out who the story was about based on the title. When I found out that it was about Katherine of Aragon, I sort of felt lazy to read on. I felt that her life won't be an interesting topic. The mere mention of her name conjures thoughts of a frumpy queen who was dumped by the dashing Henry VIII because she couldn't give him a longed-for heir. When I finished rereading The Other Boleyn Girl, I remembered that I also had The Constant Princess so I decided to read it too while I was still high on the Tudor drug.

Portrait of Katherine of Aragon by Michael Sittow, c 1502. Photo Credit: englishhistory.net

The Alhambra Palace: Photo Credit : traveldigg.com

Interior Dome in The Alhambra Palace. Photo Credit: traveldigg.com

👑The Constant Princess👑

It's an apt title because she really is constantly the tough one despite all the trials and hardships that she went through. For starters, being a kid raised in a military camp is already tough; she saw and experienced many things that a child ought not to see. As a teenager she served as her parents' pawn to fulfill an alliance with England and married not out of love but of obligation. She eventually found love in her husband but he too was taken away from her. After Arthur's death, her future became uncertain. She waited about seven years more, before she was married to Henry VIII, only after the death of his father. During those 7 years, she was  basically neglected by the royal court and was forced to live in destitution. But Catalina was headstrong and she believed that Harry would choose to marry her in the end. Her persistence paid off and eventually she fulfilled her and Arthur's dream and she became Queen of England. On their first night as husband and wife, she convinced Henry that she was still a virgin.

Even as she was Queen, she still received opposition from Henry's grandmother, Margaret Beaufort. until her death. Henry was an ambitious king and he wanted to reclaim lands in France and so he went into war. Meanwhile, England's neighbor Scotland had been a troublesome lot and they kept raiding the borders. So while Henry was campaigning in France, Katherine served as Regent and was busy defending the kingdom against Scotland. I daresay her parents would've been proud of her victory.

Henry and Katherine's marriage was fraught with miscarriages, stillbirth and infant death. More than two decades after their marriage, Henry was doubting that God was punishing him for marrying his brother's wife. He has also been having mistresses but Katherine chose to look the other way and never complained. When Anne Boleyn, a lady-in-waiting came into the picture, she recognized that there could be trouble because it was clear that Anne didn't just want Henry but was also after her crown.

On the epilogue of The Constant Princess, Katherine says these words as she recognizes the gravity of the words she told Henry more than twenty years ago when she had to convince him that she was a virgin untouched on the first night of their marriage. The same words have been used by the The King and Anne Boleyn's camp to discredit her; to further prove that God does not approve of their marriage that is why they have never been blessed with a male heir. The same reason was also used as grounds for divorce.

We know from history that Katherine was treated badly after the "divorce". Much like her life after Arthur's death, she was sent away to a faraway castle way from the court. She was not allowed to see her daughter, the Princess Mary and was barely able to communicate with her. She died alone and I wished she had a far better life at the end. But if I were to believe what's written in the book and bank on the story that Arthur was indeed her one and only true love, then I'd be happy to think that they fulfilled their promise of meeting again in "Al-Yanna": the word that means garden, secret place, and paradise.

I deeply revere the memory of Queen Katherine.

XO,

Carissa

Like, literally.
After all, it won't hurt to see some crowns, gowns, jewels, and palaces here and there. It's always fun to see some historical drama unfold. Oh, the power struggle too!
Always great to see a female protagonist slayin' it.
So here they are...My title's quiet up front, ain't it?! Ha ha

The White Queen

Reign

Victoria

This one hasn't aired yet but I already feel like binge-watching it because it is about one of my most favorite monarchs: Queen Victoria. I have seen the movie The Young Victoria in the past, as portrayed by Emily Blunt. I doubt it if there would be much difference in the story line since it would be covering the same period but since this one is an eight-part series I think we can have the luxury to be a bit more detailed about the story. Moreover, that crown and the intricately braided hair underneath it is also something to look forward to. (^,^)

The White Princess

The Crown

I've seen the trailer of The Crown and I must admit that I am quiet surprised. I've seen dozens and dozens of photos of the young Queen Elizabeth II and she always strikes me as someone confident and happy about her role. On the trailer, I saw a girl who trembles a lot. Well, if you would become queen at 25 maybe you would tremble too. And having Winston as Prime Minister, that would be unnerving. And with the popularity of the monarchy in shambles, maybe it's all too much for a young girl. More than 60 years later and here we are; the British Monarchy is a well admired institution and we can only credit it to the hardworking QE II who also leads by example. Vivat Regina!


There there, these are my five queens...that's three Elizabeths, one Victoria and one Mary.  I didn't mean to make it look like an all girls squad but I've always been drawn towards them. If you happen to look for some cute guys, I'm pretty sure you can spot some of them in these shows too *cough* MAX IRONS (King Edward IV in The White Queen) *cough*. Ha ha. Or maybe checkout those old episodes of The Tudors. Seriously though, the royalty nut aspect of me is pretty hardcore. I've constructed Queen Victoria's Family Tree in the past; that one left my old roomies scratching their heads. I was once obsessed with the Romanov Family. I still kind of am. I sometimes catch myself daydreaming over tiaras.

I don’t know if you’ve heard of her because she isn’t a character who gets discussed so much on a mainstream level. I got curious about her when I watched the TV adaptation of  The White Queen, another book by Philippa Gregory. I asked myself if what kind of woman would have the guts to go toe to toe with King Edward IV’s mother, Duchess Cecily of York when she is just a mere wife of a baron. Further readings about her life gave me all the answers. So many kings and queens are descended from her so I think she's a rock star!