The Spanish Princess casts Charlotte Hope as Catherine of Aragon and Laura Carmichael as Maggie Pole! Check out the full casting details.
Back in March, we learned that STARZ had greenlit The Spanish Princess, a new original limited series based on Philippa Gregory’s The Constant Princess and The King’s Curse!
We’ll be returning to the world of Tudors and their royal court intrigue. And like The White Queen and The White Princess, The Spanish Princess is a powerful in that this epic story will be told uniquely from the point of view of the women and people of color, living and working in 16th century London. *EXCITE*
Production is already underway, with Emma Frost and Matthew Graham serving as EPs showrunners. Even more exciting, every episode of The Spanish Princess will be directed by a woman director, with the first two episodes directed by Birgitte Stærmose.
According to STARZ, the series will follow Catherine of Aragon, the beautiful young princess of Spain who was promised the English throne since she was a child. She arrives in a grey, rain-lashed England with her glorious and diverse court including her lady-in-waiting Lina. She is first the Princess of Wales, but when her husband Prince Arthur dies suddenly, the throne seems lost to Catherine until she devises an audacious plan to set her sights on the new heir, the charismatic and headstrong Prince Harry who will one day rule as King Henry VIII.
SO JUICY!
We learned today that Charlotte Hope (who you may recognize as Myranda in Game of Thrones, Ramsay Bolton’s lover, who Theon/Reek kills to save Sansa at the end of Season 5) has been cast as Catherine of Aragon.
Stephanie Levi-John playing Catherine’s lady-in-waiting and confidante, Lina de Cardonnes, while Prince Arthur will be played by Angus Imrie, Ruairi O’Connor will play Prince Harry, and their sister Margaret (Meg) Tudor will be played by Georgie Henley.
Rounding out the Tudor royal family is Elliot Cowan as King Henry Tudor, Alexandra Moen as Queen Elizabeth, and Dame Harriet Walter as Margaret Beaufort.
Also joining the cast: Laura Carmichael as Margaret (Maggie) Pole (Gahhhhh, it’s Lady Edith from Downton Abbey!); Alan McKenna as Tudor noble Richard Pole; Philip Cumbus as Thomas Wolsey; newcomer Nadia Parkes as Rosa, lady-in-waiting to Catherine; Aaron Cobham as a young soldier of the Spanish court, Oviedo; Richard Pepper as Thomas, Earl of Wiltshire; Olly Rix as Edward Stafford; Jordan Renzo as Charlie Brandon; Daniel Cerqueira as De Fuensalida, ambassador to England and loyal servant of Spanish Queen Isabella, who will be played by Alicia Borrachero.
Catherine is the source of curiosity, resentment and suspicion among her new family, but my favorite parts of The Constant Princess are the relationship between Catherine and Arthur as they fall in love, and later watching Catherine develop a keen political mind as she manages Prince Harry and the intrigues of the English court.
I’m also looking forward to seeing the relationship between Catherine and Maggie develop. After all, Maggie is one of the few people alive who know of Elizabeth Woodville’s curse, that whoever was responsible for the deaths of the York princes (Lizzie’s brothers), would see their male lines die off. Interesting, right?!
According to Emma Frost on twitter, they’re looking for The Spanish Princess to air in early 2019. But for now, we can rewatch The White Princess. Plus, if you haven’t read The Constant Princess, I highly recommend it!