You’ll recall (because we raved on and ON about it) that Starz previously adapted two of Gregory’s other novels, The White Queen and The White Princess, which we loved. Both series featured fierce, intelligent women, unapologetically ruthless in playing the deadly political games of patriarchal England. Aka, the original Yaaas Kweens.
What we know so far about The Spanish Princess
The Spanish Princess in question is Katherine of Aragon, daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain. Chronologically, it takes place a few years after the end of The White Princess. Gregory’s novel The Constant Princess follows Katherine from her arrival in England as a teenager, through the majority of her marriage to the crazy-ass infamous Henry VIII. Meanwhile The King’s Curse tells the concurrent story of Margaret Pole, who befriended young Katherine when she and Arthur were living in Wales, and who later became ensnared in the dangerous and treasonous climate of Henry’s court.
It also sounds like the show will feature several non-caucasion characters, including Katherine’s lady-in-waiting Lina, an African Moor. The previous two series have been exceedingly white, and not just in regards to the symbolic York rose, yes? So it’s encouraging that there could be more diversity and prominent characters of color, especially since there are verified historical records of Africans living in England during the Tudor time period.
Get comfortable, we might be waiting awhile
As it’s only just been announced, it probably won’t be showing up on your Starz app any time soon. No roles have been cast yet, but there are already showrunners and producers signed on, including Emma Frost, the writer behind The White Queen and The White Princess. Which obviously means we can expect another series full of kick-ass, determined, independent women…or as we at That’s Normal like to call them, “women“.
While we wait, now would be a good time to read The Constant Princess (Amazon Link here) and The King’s Curse (Here on Amazon), and start dreaming up your fantasy cast, because you KNOW we’ll be talking about that soon. And make sure to check back, because we’ll be posting any updates as we get them!
