Long live King Richard!

So, The White Queen has come to an end with the death of King Richard III.

If you've read my review of episode 1, you know that I enjoyed the beginning of the seriesvery much and that I was looking forward to the rest of it. And I was especially looking forward to seeing Richard of Gloucester become Richard III, seeing him grow from a boy into a king. And although I feel the story of Richard's reign was rushed and important details forgotten or only touched upon, I was impressed by Aneurin Barnard. His portrayal of King Richard was spot on: silent, innocent, introverted, stoic, stylish and strong. Conflicted in the right place, emotional at the right time. Truly a performance fit for a king. I hope Aneurin Barnard is extremely proud of this role and I wish him all the best for the rest of his career. He can come back to play 'our Richard' anytime! ;-)

It's almost freaky how, thanks to the discovery of King Richard's remains in Leicester and the research done by the team at Leicester University, we now know exactly how accurate his portrayal was, even though Aneurin did not know that at the time when he was filming The White Queen. He was spooked by it, and so was I! Richard III's final scene was gripping...I definitely felt a chill down my spine...

Aneurin Barnard - remember that name!

But let me take you back to the main subject of this blog: have you noticed how similar Aneurin Barnard and Richard Armitage are? Yes, there's a bit of an age difference, but forget about that for a moment. No wonder I would love for Richard to get a chance to play King Richard as well... Actually, I can't believe nobody has come up with some Alternate Universe story yet in which Richard III miraculously survives Bosworth and lives on!

Let's take a look at these two Richards...

They both look good in black...

Aneurin Barnard as King Richard III

Richard Armitage as Sir Guy of Gisborne

And they both look good in candle light... They have both mastered the look of a brooding, conflicted royal prince...

 

 

And they both have that majestic style: dark hair, pale skintone, a royal grace... and piercing blue eyes!


Someone should write a great script and put them in a film together. Now there's something I would pay money to watch!!

Did you watch The White Queen? Or maybe you're watching it in the USA where it has only just started? What do you think?

The White Queen - Episode 1

Tonight, we finally got to see the first episode of a long-awaited new Original British Drama series on the BBC: The White Queen.

The White Queen tell the story of Elizabeth Woodville who, although her family supported the Lancastrian king Henry VI, married king Edward IV of York during the time of the Wars of the Roses in 1462, and became queen of England.

 
I liked it. I liked it a lot.

The White Queen is based on Philippa Gregory's famous novels about the English wars of the roses, the conflict in which supporters of the red rose of Lancaster and the white rose of York fight for the throne of England. And although Ms Gregory's novels are not necessarily 100% historically correct, they are based on true events or speculation about what could have been, and in that respect, they do justice to the course of history in the best way possible. There is simply so much that is unknown about the exact details of this period, that some creative license must be allowed.

Rebecca Ferguson is quite convincing as Elizabeth Woodville and Max Irons, son of Jeremy Irons, brings Edward to life as I would have imagined him: tall, blond, handsome and confident as king, but quite easily seduced and driven by his emotions, not necessarily by political gain.

The rumours that Elizabeth's mother Jacquetta used magic to make Edward fall for her daughter and that Elizabeth had the power to see the future are taken as true and they provide a more sinister aspect to Edward and Elizabeth's seemingly idyllic meeting and subsequent secret marriage.

James Frain plays Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick. I don't want to judge the character too much after only one episode, but I was slightly disappointed in Frain's portrayal of The Kingmaker. I was expecting him to be more glamorous, more arrogant, more lavish. Instead, he was rough and rude and loud. It will be interesting to see how this character develops in the future episodes. 

I look forward to the next episode. I want to see the Yorkist princes in action: Edward and his brothers George and Richard. If you've read this blog before, you know that I have a specific interest in Richard III, so I especially look forward to seeing Aneurin Barnard as Richard, Duke of Gloucester, the future king Richard III. 



The brothers of York, the Plantagenet princes: David Oakes as George, Duke of Clarence, Max Irons as king Edward IV
and Aneurin Barnard as Richard, Duke of Gloucester