User reviews

It's 1485 England. Henry VII returns home after defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth. It's the last battle in the War of the Roses. Henry and his mother Margaret Beaufort are constantly fighting off nascent rebellion from the remaining House of York. He is forced to marry York princess Lizzie to combine the two houses. Lizzie's mother, the Dowager Queen Elizabeth Woodville, is confined but continues to ferment rebellion with the help of Lizzie's aunt Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy. Lizzie's cousin Maggie is desperate to free her mentally-handicapped brother Teddy who has a righteous claim to the throne. Prince Richard comes back from the grave to lay claim to the throne.

This is a movie of evil triumph over good. It's the slow descend of Lizzie into hell. That can be unappealing to watch. It isn't for everyone. The acting is impeccable. The issue of historical accuracy is fair but ultimately besides the point. This is fictional historical drama and quite frankly, the show posts the warning after every episode. This is a terrific character study above all.

I started watching the Spanish Princess which led me to watch the White Princess and continuing out of order on to watch the White Queen. Watching it made me read extensively about the War of the Roses and Henry VII as king. Historically, as the series states, has been changed for dramatic purposes which is a bit of a shame because history itself is very interesting. Some of the dramatizations make relative sense, while other alterations simply are unneeded. I won't give specifics so as to give spoilers, and the internet makes it easy enough to research the accurate stories. The sets, costumes, and acting are all excellent. So just accept that extensive liberties are taken, and enjoy.

I started to watch this after viewing the Spanish princess in hindsight would probably storywise been better the other way round . This is by no means a great representation of an accurate historical drama and in honesty there is a lot simlair both in production and setting as the Spanish princess to the point I must look up writers and location to see if they are the same.

The biggest difference in this production is the actors who for me are far superior and better suited than those of the Spanish princess which makes the series a lot more enjoyable a watch. Jodie Comer surprised me of how good she was in a period drama .

... get past the first episode, and it's worth it. The first episode was corny, and all the actors being different from TWQ made it seem awkward. I did not like the Princess Elizabeth they cast for this show for a couple of episodes, but after finishing the series, I really admire the actress. Dowager Queen Elizabeth cast in this series does not hold a candle to the Dowager Queen Elizabeth in TWQ.

Minus one star for fumble of a pilot; minus one star for Dowager Queen Elizabeth. They definitely should have brought back the original actress. The only original actor from the original series is Duchess Cecily, King Edward's grumpy Lady Mother.

It is *not* The White Queen, but it's still a good series. Just a corny pilot. I promise, the acting improves 100%.

Many reviewers here have elaborately pointed out that those other series The White Queen and The Spanish Princess, both more or less depicting the same historical characters, were either a better or a worse watch than this one. Well, if you care to judge The White Princess for it's own merits, you get to enjoy a very thrilling history-based story, full of love and hate, romance, treason, battles and executions, along with the visual splendor of sumptuous costumes and some impressive settings. The writers (basing themselves on Philippa Gregory's novels) focussed mainly on the challenges that the pretenders caused Henry VII and his queen and realm, which is more than enough to fill all 8 episodes with well paced and involving drama.

The acting of virtually all characters is spotless, up to the smallest parts. But especially Jodie Comer as the guilt-ridden queen "Lizzie" of York, torn between loyalty to her family and loyalty to her her husband, does a marvelous job. And Michelle Fairly is absolutely formidable as the manipulative and scheming Lady Margaret Beaufort.

This series strays farther from real history than it's predecessor The White Queen, and is generally not as well-written.

Every single major character in this series really existed. But there are many historical inaccuracies, including some that are very degrading to the memory of real historical people.

1) Henry VII is seen choking and striking his mother, but in reality he was very devoted to her and would never harm her.

2) Perkin Warbeck and Margaret Gordon's baby is murdered on the order of Margaret Beaufort, but there is no historical record of the couple having had a baby.

3) The incest between Richard III and Lizzie which is frequently mentioned (especially in the first episode) very likely never happened. It is extremely unlikely that Elizabeth of York was in love with her uncle.

4) Margaret Beaufort, a very pious woman, never murdered Jasper Tudor by suffocating him with a pillow. He died of natural causes in his 60s.

5) The boy Henry VIII has a ceremony interrupted by Elizabeth Woodville as he is named Duke of York, but this ceremony took place years after Elizabeth died in 1492. Henry was just one year old when she died.

6) The Duchess of Burgundy was not arrested in London, it is very unlikely she was there at all when Warbeck was imprisoned and even more unlikely that Margaret Pole was delivering letters to her to aid in a revolt.

7) Warbeck and Edward were not executed on the same day.

8) Elizabeth of York was not much involved in politics, and was very likely much a less assertive person.

I've come to expect historical inaccuracies in movies and TV programs, but 1) to 4) listed above add nothing positive to the drama and in fact make it less realistic and less interesting.

On the positive side, the cast performed very well. Jodie Comer, Jacob Collins-Levy, Essie Davis, Caroline Goodall, Rebecca Benson and Michelle Fairley perform very well. And one of my favorite actors, Vincent Regan, was the perfect person to play Jasper Tudor.

I normally wouldn't write a review for this, but seeing so many negative reviews I felt compelled to. So many of those reviews are about how The White Queen was great and this didn't live up to it, but I feel the compete opposite. I found The White Queen rather boring and frankly just hard to even get through. I thought The White Princess was much better and although only filmed several years after, it has a much more modern feel to it, as far as production quality goes. I can't speak to the historical accuracy, but I really liked the storyline. To be fair, I am a big Jodie Comer fan, so I'm definitely a little biased, but I thoroughly enjoyed The White Princess a lot.

This mini series would have been better if they had used the same actors from the mini series The White Queen to play their parts in this mini series! What would have been the reason to use an entire new cast of actors?

Wow. What a treasure of talent, dynamic plots and exquisite costuming! It was a thrill to watch and so incredibly well done, I couldn't stop watching!

Perfect cast, great storytelling with wonderful direction. The cinematography was so realistic and the evolution of costuming, almost mirroring the evolution of each character, was simply perfect.

I definitely recommend! Well done, indeed!

Miniseries like these just chap my hide. They take a fascinating subject and period ---and then proceed to take pointless, unnecessary liberties with it. This is not historically accurate. The acting isn't bad, but the plot and progression get a bit choppy.

This is little more than a medieval soap opera. Henry VII was a helluva character in real life - -why spoil it? This miniseries fails to address his good works, as well as his fall into corruption and detachment as his reign went on.

If you're into old Dynasty or Dallas style shows, this is for you. But if you're a history buff like me, skip it, unless it's a really rainy day and you're looking to kill time.

This and White Queen are wonderfully written and luckily acted by some superb and strong women actors. That being said they screwed with history (especially the White Queen) and it sells the women of history short. They do give you a pretty good picture of how Henry the VII and Elizabeth(Lizzie) of York felt about each other later in the show but during the first of the show is not anywhere near facts.

Both movies does a great disservice to Lady Margaret Beaufort and it is a shame. Besides showing how much she loved her son pretty much nothing else is factual.

But it is a movie and like 99% of historical movies/series you must suspend beliefs and you can throughly enjoy them.

I thought this was better than The White Queen. I noticed it was a Starz production and so far I've liked their work. This is a little less ambitious. This is based on a good book rather than history itself, but having said that, the show did manage to have an actor that actually resembled Henry VII, which for me was just enough to be persuaded to be embroiled. And the plot is embroiling, and, in regard to history, the plot only really takes license from those facts that even history is still wondering. That's a winner for me.

It's a lavish, intense, psychological drama with the ever present violence of the day hanging over all, brilliantly acted with perfect costumes and excellent production.

Nitpicking ...... I docked The White Princess two points for the rather sparse and cavalier manner of the street processions. In history these processions have far greater pomp and cast. Like The White Queen, both shows needed to up the grandeur. The battle scenes however were historically much better.

Thoroughly enjoyed.

I watched the White Queen and loved it. The White Princess first episode was very enjoyable and picked up where the the White Queen ended perhaps you should watch the White Queen first . The acting was very good and I'm looking forward to the next week. I can't wait too see in what direction they will go I went back and read about the Tudors to get some background info I was not expecting the show to be all factual.

Season 1 of the historical fiction series based on a novel by Philippa Gregory follows the events that took place in the miniseries "The White Queen." After defeating Richard III, King Henry Tudor (Jacob Collins-Levy) marries Elizabeth of York (Jodie Comer) as a way to unify the kingdom; however, the two hate each other due to personal and political differences. As Henry tries to do what's good for his people and make the marriage work, "Lizzie" conspires with her mother Dowager Queen Elizabeth Woodville (Essie Davis) to dethrone the Tudors. When Prince Arthur is born, his two parents find common ground and might decide to work together, much to the dismay of both their houses.

Like Gregory's novels, the series excels in its authentic portrayal of its characters, particularly the women. Jodie Comer is a star. If you like British royal history dramas (and there are quite a few to choose from at this point), The White Princess will prove itself entertaining.

I knew going in that I probably wouldn't like this. I mean I love historical dramas, and am interested in English history. I'm a fan of Shakespeare.

But I don't like Gregory's books. I find them dark, dank and depressing.

And basically this series is the same thing. Totally depressing.

The main problem is that this is one of those shows where there is not a single likable character. Zero. Zilch. There's no one I identify with (thank God!), no one who I sympathize or empathize with. They are all equally awful, terrible, dreadful people.

Henry VII is a whiny wimp.

His wife "Lizzie" has nothing good about her.

Jasper Tudor is pathetic.

And then there's Henry's mother... O.M.G.

etc., etc.

I usually try to say something positive... you know. If nothing else at least there were artistic people creating *something* but... but... this would've been better left unmade.

It's not just that I want those 8 hours back. It's that I want to unsee much of what I watched.

And yet... And yet... I did watch. I watched all eight episodes. "What is wrong with you?" you might ask. Heaven knows. Maybe I was holding out for something redeeming to come from this. But it doesn't. There's simply nothing good to say about it.

Nothing. I don't recommend it. Do something better with your time like wash dishes or do the laundry. Or maybe read G.J. Meyer's excellent "The Tudors: The Complete Story of England's Most Notorious Dynasty" if you really are interested in Henry Tudor.

Probably the majority of people interested in this series has already seen "The quite queen", being this a sort of sequel. But the quality of the entire series is really much lower than the other: actors, scenes, film script, photography and set are not comparable. I was disappointed by this sequel and I don't think it represents the real characters in a good way. It could have been done much better!

1. The cast was great (particularly Jodie Comer and Michelle Fairley);

2. There are some clichés yes, but they are well presented and they warm your heart in a story which, in the absence of romance, would only be about plotting, war and politics. Besides, Elizabeth and Henry loved each other in real life as well, so I fail to see where the problems lies;

3. The story is pretty good and the main story-line respects history...for the most part at least. There are, of course, inconsistencies, which is normall since this is not a documentary. So when it comes to little details (e.g. conversations, emotional reactions) don't expect 100% historical accuracy. No script can possibly be 100% historically accurate due to the lack of historical information. I thought I should mention this because some people complained about that aspect. Having such an expectation is completely unrealistic. And for the record, The Tudors weren't 100% historically accurate either. Neither was Rome, Kingdom of Heaven and not even Band of Brothers.

The one thing that I did not particularly like is that the Elizabeth of York shown, differs in some ways from what is historically known.

All-in-all, I recommend this show, especially as a follow-up to The White Queen. However, I for one liked The White Princess more due to the cast. And I'm sorry to see the show won't be renewed. Thank God we have like a zillion cop movies out there... :( (yes, it's an irony).

I've read and enjoyed the books. The Tudors and Plantagenet series by Philippa Gregory is a series that is worth reading, but very long and detailed. Most of the books focus on only a single character's point of view, and White Princess Starz series selects chapters and plot events from multiple books in the series, doing a fantastic job weaving together the story of love and political intrigue in the courts of Henry VII of England from the viewpoints of their Queens, advisors, and adversaries.

Recommended for people who enjoy historical dramas but don't mind some historical inaccuracies.

Good Soundtrack Great set and costumes Good casting, script and acting.

I'm rating this so highly (10 stars!) because I feel it is deserving of the highest praise.This tastes like a movie and it is a masterpiece .I wish to commend the cast and crew at bringing this to screen in such a grand and epic way. Jodie Comer is the perfect Princess Elizabeth. If I were in casting, she is the actress that would have been my number 1 pick. She is the main reason why I really love this TV series at the first place. I highly recommend it .

There are just so many of them around and this just did not do something extra albeit it was made from a female point of view showing the Queens very clear and growing influence over a weak King. Unfortunate they did not let the Queen be Head if State in those days ! It was a great and believable performance by Jody Comer and we hear on the grapevine she enjoyed making it a lot . It shows . An up and coming British Actress of whom we can all be proud.

This is not good...at least compared to The White Queen. Without Amanda Hale as the almost-possessed-borderline--crazy Margaret Beaufort played by Amanda Hale, or Rebecca Ferguson (who went onto MUCH bigger things) it is just middling. If you have seen The White Queen, you won't like it much (5/10) but if you have NOT, you might give it an 8 or 9/10. I am the former.