The White Princess (2017–…): Season 1, Episode 7 - Two Kings - full transcript

Previously
on The White Princess...

We put a servant boy in the Tower
in my brother Richard's place

and we sent him off to safety.

My darling Richard.

My Perkin.

The boy is the son of a
boatman from Tournai

and his name is Perkin Warbeck.

There are faces from every
royal house in Europe.

Apart from Spain.

We must settle Arthur's betrothal.

To the Princess Catherine of Aragon.



If we can come
to terms with Isabella of Castile,

that would be the best deterrent.

When Prince Richard rises against him,

I will call on both you and
your conscience to join us.

Where is the boy?

A message from your Lady Mother.

She has the boy.

Look at him.

Any fool can see he looks
nothing like a York.

Is the court assembled?

They await Your Grace's favor.

Your Grace,

I bring you the cause
of England's troubles.

The money wasted, the lives
lost, bringing you here.



And all for what? A peasant boy.

I will enjoy your execution.

You'll be hung, drawn and quartered,

- so that the last thing that...
- You should kill me

if you wish to stay upon my throne.

I am the son of King Edward, the
IV and Queen Elizabeth Woodville.

And I am rightful King of England.

You thought that I was
murdered, but I live.

So, you will stand
aside and return to me

the crown and throne which
have been stolen from me,

or you will face the righteous
wrath of Almighty God,

who will rage against your
sin and cast you into hell.

Bravo.

A fine performance. You
have missed your calling.

Perhaps you wish to be
a mummer in my court?

I will ask the Queen of
England what to do with you,

seeing as you claim she is your sister.

Tell me, Queen Elizabeth,

is this your kin?

My brothers are both dead.

Not quite the welcome you imagined.

While I decide what to do with you,

I shall make you a servant at our court.

You shall be

knave of the King's wardrobe.

You may care for the robes you covet.

You may even sleep among them.

He is an enemy of the crown.

You must make a show of killing him.

An enemy backed by half of Europe,

who may be mustering to come
against me as we speak.

- He is a counterfeit!
- Of course he is a counterfeit!

You think we do not know that?

He says himself that I must kill
him as a threat, so I will not.

I will not be commanded by him.

I will parade him.

- Do you agree?
- I...

Drag him through the streets
and show the world I have him.

And then...
When he is humiliated,

he will give up his claim,

and his supporters will forget him.

But they may not.

Or people may believe his
claim just because...

You must not do this.

By killing him, the boy
becomes a myth and martyr.

His power, ten times greater
in the ballads that they sing.

He must appear the maggot that he is

so that Europe will be embarrassed

to have had him at their table.

I want to find his wife and child.

They are of value to us.

He left the battlefield
to go to her once.

Now, I don't believe they
can be far from Beaulieu.

He will have left her in
the church for sanctuary.

But Rome agrees that traitors

can no longer find refuge in the church.

Better you make her
come to us by choice.

Persuade her that her husband needs her.

Tell me when you have her.

Don't you think he looks
like Lady Mother?

Isn't it just his hair?

- Boys.
- Why would he say

- that he's my uncle Richard if...
- Exactly.

When he knows that it would
get him into trouble.

Well, he must believe it to be true,

- but then he wouldn't...
- What are you saying to my sons?

Come outside. Come quickly now.

Lizzie? Have you spoken to him?

He is nothing like my brother.

Here.

I'll not go.

- You must.
- No, I must not.

I have never joined you for the
hunt or any other blood sport,

and I will not start with this.

You may tell the King that we are unwell

or whatever else you please.

Come on.

They chose someone who has York
looks to add to the deception.

He's an enemy to our country

and will try to take what is yours.

That's all.

We are ready.

Behold the enemy of England,

the York pretender!

The boy who's been a
thorn in England's side.

Spit at him.

Throw stones.

He made you go
to war and lose your kinsmen!

And he has cost you dear in taxes.

I do not blame you,
the good people of London.

I do not blame my sister.

She must protect her sons.

He is a liar and he insults the memory
of your Queen's departed brother!

My sister is a natural queen

and there will be no pleasure
in taking that from her.

"Take it
from her." Hear his gall.

Our mother hid me on the night
the soldiers came for you.

You didn't say goodbye, as
you were angry with me.

Let us through!

Let us through there!

You always thought our mother
loved me more than you.

Get him back to the palace.

I miss you, Lizzie.

I wish that you would speak to me.

But I forgive you.

This way! This way!

Here we are.

Now he can play king to
his heart's content.

Do we know
where they are keeping him?

He is at Westminster.

Henry hopes the mask will fall

if he observes him long enough.

Hurry, Madam, please.

We have prepared a room for you.

I need to send a message to someone.

Cathy Gordon.

Why is she here?

Here, boy.

Come on.

Come where?

Lady Catherine Gordon.

I am My Lady, The King's Mother.

- Welcome to our court.
- Where is my husband?

Please curtsey to the Queen.

This way.

Clear the dung and scrub the steps.

I've told you that I
will do nothing to debase myself.

And when you've finished,

you will bring this noble
lady's belongings inside.

What is he doing?

His claims are false.

- He is a servant.
- He is your brother.

Your marriage is annulled.

It was made under false pretenses.

What?

Your wife and son are here at court.

You shall resume your maiden name,

and your son will be called a bastard.

But you will be treated in
accordance with your royal birth.

- So I am your prisoner?
- You are our guest.

What if I don't wish to be your guest?

Then you may leave your son and
freely return to Scotland.

What name have you given him?

He will be tended to by midwives.

No.

No!

No!

You will let them do this?

You are of the royal birth.
It is the custom.

He is your nephew, Edward.

I need to see my husband.

Richard. Are you hurt?

Cathy.

Why are you here? How did they find you?

- The monks said...
- Monks?

The monks said that I
should come to you,

that I can help you.

- They've taken Edward.
- Oh, Cathy,

they've lied to you to bring you here.

They would not dare to hurt me.
I am Scottish royal.

No, they won't hurt you.

Don't say it! Do not say it.

Oh, Cathy. You should have stayed
away as I had asked of you.

- Cathy.
- They will not hurt our Edward.

- No, they can't,
- My love, where have they taken him?

Cathy, where is he?

Where is he now?

You know what they did to my
brother Edward in the Tower.

They killed him and we
never found his body.

And the other boy as well.
It was them, Cathy.

It was those who rule my country now.

Now, why are you here?

You were meant to be in sanctuary.

They said we are not married.

That I can go to Scotland but
our baby must stay here.

Shh! Cathy.

We will change our plan.

- I will give up my claim.
- No!

You can't deny your birthright.

And if you did, the Scots and all
of Europe would abandon you.

The only thing that keeps you safe

and us with you

is if you hold fast and they back us.

I'm so sorry, my love.

I'm so sorry.

You see now that you have cards to play.

A wife and son.

It's quite a hand.

Even to his wife, he holds the lie.

No, he knows that he is spied on.

He is a fake but not a fool.

He thinks it was a Tudor who
killed the boys in the Tower.

Then he only shows his ignorance.

Who could it be if it
were not King Richard?

It was Richard.

To clear his way to take the throne.

It was your mother, then,
who brought her here?

She is his link to King James
and the Scottish army.

Their union must be broken.

And how will you break it?

An annulment will not rob them

of their feelings for each other.

- You think she cares for him?
- She must,

for he has little else to offer her.

You will take her as your lady,

which will at least appease the Scots.

Tell me of your brother.

What was he like?

It was a long time ago.

Another lifetime.

You said he was there that day
when my soldiers came for you.

What was he wearing?

What was said? Tell me everything.

Why does Henry wear his crown?

It is a hunt, not a state occasion.

Perhaps he thinks he's
riding into battle.

Did not King Richard wear
his crown at Bosworth?

Carry my weapons.

Here.

Come.

This copse is where
we'll take our sport.

Give me my long-bow.

You do not have to do this, Henry.

I'm not your enemy.

Use that stick

and beat the bushes.

What is his plan?

Does he have one?

It is a hunt.

You shoot your prey.

They say that you came
here of your own free will.

You should leave here if you can.

Henry would be rid of him.

He is looking for a reason
and if he cannot find one,

he will lock him up in any case,

as he did my brother.

I know you know he's Richard.

And if you want your brother free,

you should back his claim.

Maggie, come here beside me.

Do you like to hunt?

Go
deeper in the bushes.

You will dine with me this evening.

I have no appetite, Your Grace.

You are without a husband.

I will make sure that
you're taken care of.

With a royal education,

you, of course, would know
the patron saint of hunting.

Saint Hubert, who saw the Cross
between the antlers of a stag.

Our uncle Anthony taught us about him.

You know I am your brother.

Stop it!

Your aim is short.

You're not holding high enough

and you're dragging on release.

Henry!

I understand how hard it is for you...

- Shut up...
- to step aside.

- Shut up.
- I promise that your family will be well cared...

- Shut up!
- She is my sister after all.

- Shut up!
- You will have to leave the court.

Shut up!

Give it to me.

Give it to me!

Give that to the King!

Collect your weapons.

We will return to the palace.

Come on.

Duchess of Burgundy bids
you come to Cheapside.

The market cross at midnight.

- Good day to you both.
- My dear.

What did you say to her?

Cathy Gordon.

I told her I was sorry.

I would like you to serve
as one of my ladies.

Finding loyalty has become a challenge.

I would be honored, but...

But our home is very far away

and we are hoping to return there soon.

It is too far away.

Henry trusts your husband

and would like to keep him close.

You always said you
wished to be near Teddy.

Sir Richard.

Enjoy.

So, you've had to dine alone.

You look exactly as Mother did

when our father was with his mistress.

Jane Shore.

Stop it.

Go.

Spend the night with your husbands.

Don't fret, lad. She's safe with us.

Out the way!

It is
endlessly fascinating to me,

your River Thames.

All afternoon, I have watched the boats

moving like busy beetles
across its back.

I always want to know what
they are all carrying.

Spices, garments and jewels.

A secret army?

What is it that you want of me?

Oh, I would be very much obliged

if you would help me rescue Richard,

the rightful heir to
the throne of England,

and his wife and child, of course.

I wish I could with all
my heart, but I...

I hear they are keeping him
in the King's wardrobe.

Because the door locks
to keep the royal jewels safe.

And I have looked down on
this river all day long

and I have watched the laundry barges

drifting back and forth

from one bank to the other.

And I picture the young king

sleeping on his hard wooden floor

and all around him, robes and linen.

My Lady aunt, if I could mount a rescue,

my brother would be free.

They will never let your brother out.

Your only hope of freeing him

is putting Richard on the throne.

We are none of us fearless,
ma Fleur Tremblante.

But we are women and
we do what we must do.

Your face looks dreadful,

like a death mask.

What is wrong with your eyes?

I'm tired, My Lady.

They are dull and red like old embers.

Your cheeks are blemished
and your skin flakes.

Your husband, the King, wished

for a prodigious night and so we had.

I suppose you think he likes you?

- I think nothing, Your Grace.
- Nothing?

Nothing at all? You have an empty head?

Here, let's see.

Yes.

I hear the empty chamber echo.

- Lizzie, don't.
- Did you touch

my husband, Catherine Gordon?

Did he touch you?

- No, Your Grace.
- "No"?

No?

Clean that up.

Quite a night I had with Lady Catherine.

I am spent.

Henry?

Why would you do it?

Dine alone with her?

Do you wish to cuckold him?

Humiliate him?

Make him weak in her eyes and England's?

She seemed amenable to approach.

Mmm.

Surely you can see how besotted
they are with each other.

You cannot believe she would
betray him and her child.

He leans on her.

Hmm.

I must turn her against him.
Take away his strength.

By making her believe you desire her?

You have seen his manner.

Eternally as though God in heaven
shines a blinding light on him.

He draws the eyes of noblemen
and women everywhere he goes.

They smile at him. They bow their heads.

He taunts me with his dazzle.

Even you.

I will snuff it out and
thrust him into darkness.

Lady Catherine?

Dance for me.

Delight me with your grace.

What do you hope to gain by this?

You said that you gave me cards to play.

How would you have me play them, Mother?

She means to influence the King.

But she does not realize that it is her

who's being dandled like a puppet.

She is beautiful.

The King seems very taken.

It is an act.

She will be sent away soon.

When the boy is sent to the Tower.

That is when she will go.

Lady Catherine and the King.

You must not object.

Object to what?

He is the king.

You must not mind.

Do not rise to it.

He shows his fear.

There is a plot to rescue you.

The Duchess of Burgundy is in London.

And my son, who is with royal
midwives, guarded day and night?

Should I leave him in Tudor
hands and save my own skin?

I am the king.

And I am winning.

Henry?

Stop stepping around it.
Have you had her?

Answer me!

Oh, your servants may stay.

The whole court knows already.

Do you consider what I endure?

You disrespect me,

shame me before the court
and everybody gossips.

You did the same to Lady Anne
with your uncle, King Richard.

I was in love with Richard!

Are you saying that you love her?

Do you love him?

What?

The boy. Do you love him?

Of course I don't.

He is my... He is my burden.

And so is she.

And yours and all of our children's.

Henry, they are tearing us apart.

We must find a way to deal with them.

They called him Edward.

Like my murdered brother.

What do you see?

An innocent?

Your dear sweet nephew?

Of course not.

It is hard, I know.

But the world in which we move,

we cannot see an infant as he is,

but as he will become.

Like God, we must see Alpha and Omega.

The beginning and the end.

My son does his duty by
wooing Lady Catherine.

She cares for him, he returns it.

Men are weak,

swayed by beauty.

Women must be stronger.

Read it.

Read it out.

"Perkin Warbeck"

"the humble son of a boatman."

Confess you are a no one.

No threat to us. And you will live.

Reveal your true identity.

"My name..."

Is Prince Richard of York.

- Your brother!
- Read it, and your family will live!

Do not read it, Richard.
Don't deny your birthright.

His child will be brought
up by a family in London.

- What?
- You have no right!

Oh,
we have every right.

If you come here and
you threaten my life

and my family's life,

then your own son will be forfeit.

No.

God curses you.

He curses you and you will go to hell.

No!

No, Henry. Please, Henry.

Please, don't. I beg you.

Henry, please!

They look at me.

They plot behind my back.

They love him more than me.

What have you done with his child?

Do not concern yourself
with such matters.

What?

Am I to be protected
from the truth again?

As you and Jasper always
thought I should be.

What else do I not know?

What Jasper would have told me
in the hour before he died.

It hovers on the edges of my mind.

Sometimes in the night, I
think I hear him whisper it,

but as I lean in close to his lips,

all I hear is the rush of the wind.

Nothing.

He would have told you
that he loves you.

That he sacrificed his life
to put you on the throne

and you must keep it,

or you will betray his memory.

Would he, Mother?

Or is there something he would tell me

about a game of cards?

Your spirits are too low this evening.

I will pray for you at chapel.

If you are found on
the Queen's bed... What?

What can they do to me that's worse?

The Duchess of Burgundy is in London.

She will find out where he is.

- Please, get up.
- What are you doing?

Comforting her.

How could you do it, Lizzie?

Let the King's mother take their son?

You are changing, Maggie,

and I'm not sure I like
who you've become.

Your mother would be ashamed of you.

"My name is Perkin Warbeck."

"I was born in the town
of Tournai in Flanders."

"My father is a
boat-builder, Jan Warbeck"

"and my mother is Kateryn de Faro."

"I confess
that I did falsely impersonate"

"the dead Prince Richard,
the Duke of York,"

"and I accept my sentence
from His Grace, King Henry."

At last, he tells the truth.

He is a Flemish peasant.

Maggie?

Maggie!

The Queen says you insulted
her and defied her.

You must apologize.

Take care

or they will never let your brother out.

No, they will never let my
brother out in any case.

I know that now.

And I am tired of being
a trembling flower

and hoping it might make
them feel their conscience.

His confession has achieved nothing.

No one believes it.

Try him for treason
and be done with him.

I cannot try him for treason

now that he has read the proclamation.

He has to be an Englishman,
but to be a traitor.

Just... Enough!

I'm sick. This food is bad.

Say it then. Apologize.

What will happen to him, Lizzie?

Maggie.

What will happen to the boy?

You should think about
whose side you're on.

I am on Arthur's side, and Harry's.

And that is why I must say this.

You once told me of a curse

laid by your mother and yourself

that whoever killed those
two boys in the Tower

would lose the male
line of their family.

Lady Margaret killed
your brother Edward.

So, one of your boys is
already in its shadow.

King Richard killed the boys.

Not Henry's mother.

His own son died because of it.

- The curse is done.
- You never once believed that.

I thought I
was in love with him.

I would not see it then.

You believe that because
it brings you comfort,

but it is a lie.

Don't start.

He laughs at me.

Lady Margaret
killed the first prince

and if you even think there is a chance

that that boy is your brother Richard,

then you cannot hurt him, Lizzie.

Or the curse falls on your sons as well.

Your Grace, my wife is feeling
the effects of wine, she...

You know he is your brother, Lizzie.

I know you do.

They're poisoned!

They're poisoned!

He puts poison in my
clothes to make me sick!

What? He puts poison in my clothes

to make me sick!

Get him out of here.

You would like the crown?

This crown?

This one?

Henry!

Beat him.

Henry! Henry!

Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!

Stop it, please.

Lizzie.

Tend to him.

Tend to his wounds.

I am hated.

The more I try to break
him, the more he is beloved.

No. No, you are king.

They whisper. They say God hates me.

Shh! This is madness.

They would kill me and our sons.

No.

Henry, don't do this.

Don't do this.

The boy will be allowed to
see his wife this evening.

This is no trick.

You wanted me to act and I am acting.

Here is the key.

Richard.

Oh, God!

It's Maggie.

- Cathy.
- She's safe.

You are to see her.

I'm to help you.

"Richard."

You believe me then?

Yes, I do.

Come on, get up.

Quickly. There is a fire.

It started in the Royal Wardrobe.

If you go now, everyone will
believe you burnt to death.

"You."

You cannot bring
yourself to say my name.

Even now.

This is why you let him come to me?

So we could leave?

You must disappear forever.

Give up your claim.

From this night on, you are
never seen again at any court

because you died here in the fire.

I need your word.

Where are we supposed to go?

Buy land.

A farm. Sire healthy children.

Live a long life somewhere far away.

With no name or rank?

It has to be now, this moment.

While there is panic. I
am giving you a chance.

What about our son?

He is a... A York prince.

He cannot grow up herding
cows and burning peat.

But he will grow up.

That is what I'm offering
you if you leave now.

You would not go against your
husband for a boat builder's son

but you would to save your brother.

- You know that I am Richard.
- Please, just go!

And be safe.

I will see your child is
safely brought back to you.

You must come with me.

Cry and mourn his death,

and tomorrow you may leave and join him.

It is your choice, Richard.

You must decide.

Come on!

A chain! Form a chain!

More hands. We need more hands!

Give it to me!

Did everyone get out?

Form a chain!

Where is... Where's the boy?

Where is he?

He was locked inside the Royal Wardrobe!

That is where the fire started.

Quickly.

He started it himself.

It is God's work.

He is dead.

Is there anyone else in there?

I am the son of King Edward the
IV and Queen Elizabeth Woodville!

I live through battle, walk through fire

and I will have the throne of England!

Synchro: Peterlin