The White Princess
Philippa Gregory
Romance Historical Fiction
528 Pages
Recommended
Rating: ♣♣♣

King Richard of England has been defeated by Henry Tudor. Elizabeth is heart broken and is being summoned by her mother, Her Grace Elizabeth (The White Queen), to court for her upcoming marriage to King Henry.

The reign of King Henry was not easy, beset by civil warfare as there are always fear of conspiracy, challenging the throne, traitors around him and the Tudors who never trusted anyone. There is the fear of the York princes, who disappeared when they were so young, thought to be dead but one could be alive. The Kingdom shouts for a King of York and Henry Tudor is driven mad with raising army, going to battle in every little corner of England, killing those who are not loyal to him and collecting taxes that is too much for the people to pay.

Her Grace Elizabeth ( The White Queen) was sent away for exile in an abbey, thought to be the centre of all the plans against the Tudor King, believed her son is still alive to invade England and died in old age.

Queen Elizabeth (The White Princess) has given the King 3 sons and daughters. Still being thought of a traitor, being watched by spies of the King and watching over her sisters well-being and her 2 young cousins, Margaret and Edward of Warwick. But, there was a curse set against the killer of the two princes of York.

True to the era, marriage between two power houses is necessary for the advancement of family name and personal gain. The book started in 1485 when King Richard lost the war to Henry of Tudor until 1499 after the beheading of Edward of Warwick, Cousin of Queen Elizabeth.

MY THOUGHTS

I’m not sure how I feel about the character, Queen Elizabeth, The White Princess. It's that "what you don't know won't hurt you" at play. I feel she's always in denial, refusing to see what is really going on in the Castle but could also be accounted to her young age at the time. A Queen with no power. King Henry is as unpredictable throughout the book. Along with his mother, they are definitely two characters that you can easily hate. The curse set for the 2 princes of York did not happen in this book.

I have not read any other Philippa Gregory books before this. I am not a fan of the TV series "Tudors" on HBO. In the TV series, it is the story of King Henry of Tudor, the second son of King Henry and Queen Elizabeth. Anne Boleyn was part of the TV series but even then, the book was not enticing enough for me to read through.

The Author, Philippa Gregory, also a historian, believed that Richard, known as the pretender in this book, is the real Prince Richard of York. There are clues that will make you think that he really is indeed the long lost prince just as the historian and author believed. A sad ending for the House of Yorks.

Read about some notable snippets from the book here.