Such hate for an enjoyable series. Last time I checked, Philippa Gregory has never claimed she was Doris Kearns Goodwin. She writes historical fiction. Did anyone really tune in to The White Queen expecting a historical documentary describing the latter years of the War of the Roses? Admittedly, I am not an expert on English history but I have watched the documentary series "History of Britain" and did check the biographies of many of the main characters in TWQ in Wikipedia. I watched the first 8 e4pisodes as they were broadcast in August and September and the last two on DVD this week. While I may have forgotten some points, as near as I can see, TWQ does more or less follow the general course of historical events of the period. Gregory didn't invent any key characters that had a significant impact on events and she didn't make major changes in history such as having someone win a major battle that they actually lost in real life.
There was an Edward IV, he did marry Elizabeth Woodville, a widow with children, and have a bunch of kids with her, one of whom, Elizabeth, does go on to marry Henry VII as well as two sons who were imprisoned in the Tower during the reign of Richard III and who, after a while, were never seen again. Given that there is no conclusive evidence of who was responsible for their disappearance is it really such a crime to write the story with Richard III being innocent? And is having Edward meet Elizabeth under an oak tree rather than in a room that big a deal? And Edward did die in his bed, probably of pneumonia, and there was a Richard who was Edward's brother and who succeeded him and who lost his crown and died at the Battle of Bosworth. And there really was a Lord Warwick who was referred to as the kingmaker and who originally supported Edward and ultimately turned on him whose daughter Anne did marry Richard.
And there really was a Henry Tudor, son of Margaret Beaufort, whose first attempt to return from France was prevented by a storm and who defeated Richard to become Henry VII and who did marry Elizabeth, daughter of Edward and Elizabeth Woodville. And the real Lord Stanley did sit on the sidelines until it became clear Henry was going to win.
Now, one can quibble about the prominent place witchcraft has in the story, but the reality was that "witches" were commonly blamed for anything bad that happened and an accusation of witchcraft was often used to discredit an enemy, particularly a woman. And Jacquetta Woodville and Elizabeth were, in fact, accused of witchcraft.
And you can quibble about Princess Elizabeth canoodling with Richard before his last battle. Not because it couldn't have happened, but because it would have been very stupid of her. Recall the conversation with Margaret in the last episode, roughly, "This is the last time you will sit in my presence. Whatever happens I will be Queen of England." She is already engaged (in the series and in real life) to Henry and with Anne dead (also in the series and in real life) if she believes Richard will marry her, she wins no matter the outcome of the battle. So why risk the Henry part of the deal by sleeping with Richard before the battle. Assuming it was consummated and given the extreme importance of virginity, she probably would fail the "blood on the sheets" test which would then quite possibly lead to an annulment.
So enjoy TWQ to get a sense of the story, albeit with handsome actors with perfect teeth. If you want a documentary, get the DVD series "History of Britain."
There was an Edward IV, he did marry Elizabeth Woodville, a widow with children, and have a bunch of kids with her, one of whom, Elizabeth, does go on to marry Henry VII as well as two sons who were imprisoned in the Tower during the reign of Richard III and who, after a while, were never seen again. Given that there is no conclusive evidence of who was responsible for their disappearance is it really such a crime to write the story with Richard III being innocent? And is having Edward meet Elizabeth under an oak tree rather than in a room that big a deal? And Edward did die in his bed, probably of pneumonia, and there was a Richard who was Edward's brother and who succeeded him and who lost his crown and died at the Battle of Bosworth. And there really was a Lord Warwick who was referred to as the kingmaker and who originally supported Edward and ultimately turned on him whose daughter Anne did marry Richard.
And there really was a Henry Tudor, son of Margaret Beaufort, whose first attempt to return from France was prevented by a storm and who defeated Richard to become Henry VII and who did marry Elizabeth, daughter of Edward and Elizabeth Woodville. And the real Lord Stanley did sit on the sidelines until it became clear Henry was going to win.
Now, one can quibble about the prominent place witchcraft has in the story, but the reality was that "witches" were commonly blamed for anything bad that happened and an accusation of witchcraft was often used to discredit an enemy, particularly a woman. And Jacquetta Woodville and Elizabeth were, in fact, accused of witchcraft.
And you can quibble about Princess Elizabeth canoodling with Richard before his last battle. Not because it couldn't have happened, but because it would have been very stupid of her. Recall the conversation with Margaret in the last episode, roughly, "This is the last time you will sit in my presence. Whatever happens I will be Queen of England." She is already engaged (in the series and in real life) to Henry and with Anne dead (also in the series and in real life) if she believes Richard will marry her, she wins no matter the outcome of the battle. So why risk the Henry part of the deal by sleeping with Richard before the battle. Assuming it was consummated and given the extreme importance of virginity, she probably would fail the "blood on the sheets" test which would then quite possibly lead to an annulment.
So enjoy TWQ to get a sense of the story, albeit with handsome actors with perfect teeth. If you want a documentary, get the DVD series "History of Britain."