The Spanish Princess Recap: Episode 7

28 thoughts on “The Spanish Princess Recap: Episode 7”

1. I’m going to miss this recaps lol. I could never subject myself to watching the show but this is entertaining as hell

   1. Agreed!

   2. The Frock Flicks ladies do endure great suffering for us, and I know we all appreciate this.

      By the way, re. Margaret Beaufort’s “Hot! Gable! Hood! Action!”: Is the hot gable constructed of something resembling sisal? Can’t help thinking it would make a wonderful cat toy.

2. The pain does end. What a load of crap!
   Oh look, Ferdinand does exist in this world, he probably just wishes he didn’t.
   There never was a de la Pole plot. His suspicious behavior amounted to assuming a title, Duke of Suffolk, he’d previously agreed to drop and being over friendly with Foreign rulers. Given his Yorkist ancestry this was grounds for acute suspicion.
   As a young woman Margaret Beaufort loved rich clothes and bright colors. She no longer considered such appropriate for herself but she would have wanted to show off her lovely granddaughter in the richest clothes possible to promote England’s status.

3. Wait, Margaret Pole, daughter of a prince, is unable to feed her children and resorts to stealing?! What the fuck?! Now granted, the actual Margaret Pole (at least according to Wikipedia) was in a financial peril after the death of her husband, and had to take refuge in a monastery, but this seems a bit much. Or would helping Margaret make the church seem not evil enough for your taste, Emma?!

   And while I am willing to accept that a betrothal of Mary Tudor to future Charles V. could’ve been in the works, did they really get so far with it?! I mean, political negotiations and an engagement are one thing, but proxy wedding, really?! As far as I know, proxy marriage rarely didn’t lead straight into an actual wedding. Breaking this kind of arrangement would’ve been a big deal!

   1. I know, I know.
      When the high nobility worried about money it wasn’t because they could not fed their children but because their debts had gotten out of hand.
      I was wondering about that proxy marriage too. I’m pretty sure Mary’s involvement with Charles never got past the betrothal point. A proxy marriage would have committed both and Henry VII and Ferdinand both liked to keep their options open.

4. I’m 200% behind Ann’s derp face. Honestly, I’ll let the children go… And Margaret Beaufort if she throws in the Thai stuff. The rest? Flamethrower for all!
   Is it just me, or does anybody else wants to kick emo Henry in the nuts and slap Catherine like there is no tomorow?
   Just to get that windmill started, ya’ll. ;)

   1. By the way, Anne and Mary were at best toddlers at the time and wouldn’t have been let anywhere near the court.
      Even royal children were kept at a distance, spending most of their time at one or another of the so called nursery palaces in easy reach of the great houses where their parents would keep court and break away for visits when possible. The peripatetic and often separated life of royal and Noble families is the most ignored of period details.
      Henry and his sister’s shared a household usually based at Eltham. Henry VII, Elizabeth and Arthur all had their own households allowing them to circulate freely and independently around the numerous royal residences. Arthur seems to have spent a lot of time with his father. They were close and Henry Sr. was terribly proud of him. Elizabeth apparently divided her time between holding court with her husband and supervising her younger children

      1. Yeah, the idea that the Boleyn girls would just be wandering around “court” as though it was a fixed location that all nobles lived at is preposterous.

         1. You refer to Maggie’s “brother?” several times. It’s not – it’s George Nevill, 5th Baron Bergavenny. And, depending on the age they went with for Anne Boleyn, she’s about 5/6 here and Mary is 6/7ish.

5. I’m honestly surprised they didn’t age up Anne like they did Henry— watch her be played by a totally new actress [gag] next season. One of the weirdest things about the collection of Starz PFG series is how they insist on using the same actors even when they’re spanning decades of time to the point where it’s stretching believability. The idea of Charlotte Hope playing Catherine during the divorce proceedings is laughable.

   1. Oh god, they probably will stick with the same actress, and then everyone watching it will go “huh? I don’t understand, she’s still young and pretty!”

      1. “We’ve been married 24 years, and I’ve had multiple pregnancies and miscarriages, but I’m still played by a 28 year old, lol!”
         The alternative is that they don’t do the divorce until they inevitably try to reboot TOBG for their next series and swap her out for a new actress.
         THIS IS THE BAD PLACE.

6. My personal favorite line? Margaret Beaufort: “I know a schemer when I see one, and that’s a Spanish schemer in a skirt!” AHAHAHA.

   Every once in awhile I’m like chill with this show for 14 seconds and then they do something stupid and completely out of period, like EVERYONE ASSUMING PRINCE HARRY WAS GOING TO SAIL AWAY TO SPAIN TO GET MARRIED.

   First, his bride-to-be is like 9 years old.
   Second, he’s leaving England to do this? Wut?

   1. I meant to rant about that but forgot, thanks! Yes! First of all, there’d be negotiations and then a proxy wedding and then THE BRIDE WOULD BE SHIPPED OFF (at some point) TO HER HUSBAND’S COUNTRY NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.

      1. Oh, but dis is PFG’s world, as adapted by Emma Frost, who thinks Wikipedia is a source.

   2. And that’s in the same episode they establish the practice of marriage by proxy. Even later, when the marriage by proxy wasn’t a thing anymore, royal bridgegrooms never crossed borders of their own countries in order to marry, since, you know, the couple was going to live in the husband’s country anyway (well, most of the time – for example, Ferdinand and Isabella married in Castille in secret).

      1. Yes. My other favorite thing, Margaret Beaufort telling Katharine how kings must sacrifice personal desire to serve their kingdom. She should have just said, “DUH, I KNOW.” ;)

7. “Such a fan of the welding apron and the Thai christmas tree deco!” BWAHAHAHAHA! Omg too perfect. Exactly the look, too.

   So many things wrong, so easy to know how wrong with the barest bit of attention to, you know, how things worked in the period. But none of us are holding our breath here. It’s a Tony Stark eye roll from start to finish.

8. Still as effing inaccurate and stupid as ever.
   You really deserve a reward – a week with four of your favourite costume designers comes to mind.😇

9. I sometimes wonder if veteran costume drama actors like Harriet Walters know that they’re wearing garbage when they’re cast in this schlock.

   1. You must be blind to not see it. I am more concerned about the trashy writing, and how well aware of it some actors must be.

10. ok, I wanted to smack both Catherine and Margaret Beaufort in the mouth with the lines about Margaret having the stronger claim to the throne than her son. they both would have been well aware that Catherine actually had the stronger claim to the English throne through her great grandmothers Catherine of Lancaster and Philippa of Lancaster who were the daughter of John of Gaunt from his legitimate marriages to Blanche and Constance. Where are Margaret was from the illegitimate line of Katherine Swynford and her son John Beaufort.
    I cannot imagine that she was as rude, xenophobic, and dismissive of Catherine as portrayed in this shit show. She also would have been wise enough to know that Catherine had no control over her dowery being paid. Personally, I would love to see a Margaret Beaufort story told, instead of her being a prop in another person’s story.

    1. And, of course, despite the fact that she helped him in gaining alliances and stuff, she didn’t actually win the Battle Of Bosworth, which he primarily based his claim on, to the point that he delayed his wedding to Elizabeth Of York for his coronation – just to show that his claim isn’t dependent on this marriage. You know, right of conquest and all.

    2. Yes and Arthur Henry VIII had both Lancastrian and York blood. Which was the whole point of their parents’ marriage. Unite the claims therefore immediately one-upping any other claims by having as much royal blood as possible.

    3. “Personally, I would love to see a Margaret Beaufort story told…” Agreed–just so it’s not based on a PFG novel.

11. It seems Margaret Pole did suffer some financial stress after her husband’s death. Or at least made a great show of it. It seems kind of odd that a landed estate sufficient to keep the family comfortably during Pole’s life suddenly became spectacularly insufficient after his death.
    Margaret was her brother’s heiress and she badly wanted those lands and titles. Playing up the poor little widow was a clear means to that end. Didn’t work on Henry VII though. Margaret had to wait till Henry VIII’s accession to get her title and her lands. BTW she could afford to pay Henry five hundred marks for said title.
    Margaret liked money and she was no more scrupulous about getting and keeping it than anybody else. She and her eldest son tried to force her second son’s widow, a great heiress, into a convent so her money would stay in the Pole family.

    1. Oh wow, they got their story wrong for “Maggie”(gag). I’m shook!

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