Helen Mirren reprises her role as Elizabeth I, Queen Regnant of England (HBO’s Elizabeth I*)forThe Platinum Jubilee Celebration: A Gallop Through History in honour of Elizabeth II, Queen Regnant of The United Kingdom
*Both of the costumes are from this production and designed by Mike O'Neill excluding the Breast Plate, shoes and stockings.
One of the last scenes of the Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses, based off William Shakespeare’s play “Richard III”. After winning the crown at the battle of Bosworth on the 22nd of August 1485, he marries the beautiful Elizabeth of York and proclaims: “We will unite the white rose and the red.”
In real life, the battle was won on that day but Henry didn’t marry Elizabeth until January of the following year. The reason for that was that Henry didn’t want to be seen as dependent on his wife to rule. His wife’s claim was stronger than his. Because of her gender she had been overlooked in her uncle and now her future husband’s favor. However, by December, two months after he had been crowned, many of the Edwardian Yorkists who had fought for him were becoming angry. Some of them were suspicious that Henry would not honor the promise he had made two years before on Christmas day at Brittany, when he swore that he would return their fortunes and marry their late King’s eldest daughter. As a result, parliament was summoned and he renewed his vows to marry Elizabeth.
Henry had another reason to delay the wedding. Papal dispensation had been promised some time before but it had not been granted or made official until the end of that year when a copy of it finally reached England.
The marriage was seen as the union of the red and white rose, but unlike what Henry says in Shakespeare’s play and the last episode of the Hollow Crown when he takes Elizabeth’s hand, they weren’t the sole heirs of each house. There were many with stronger claims than theirs. Throughout his entire reign, Henry had to battle pretenders and rid himself of potential threats. His mother, another survivor of the wars of the roses, refused to die until her grandson had outlive his minority and was well-established.
Elizabeth of York was loved by all of her subjects, including her husband. Yet, she wasn’t crowned Queen of England until after she had given him a son whom he named Arthur after the mythical Welsh hero and King whom he claimed to descend from She and Henry were married for seventeen years until her death in 1503. He died six years later. The two remain buried at the Lady Chapel in Westminster Abbey.
For more information, I recommend the following books: Tudor by Leanda de Lisle; Henry VII by SB Chrimes; The Winter King by Thomas Penn; The Private Lives of the Tudors by Tracy Borman; Tudor Treasury by Elizabeth Norton and The Tudors by John Guy.
thinks to himself “carpe diem” every time he goes to a terror professor’s class
is part of the over 75% of welton graduates who move onto the ivy league
drinks wine when having to study core subjects he does not care about
misses classes way too much
overanalyzes for poetry classes, almost fails college-level math
just goes along with how neil wants to spend date night
he loves suits because he gets to blend into the crowd even if he is the most frightened college student that has ever existed
his parents buy him ugly suits and he pretends to like them
studies at the coffee shop until 2 AM, unless neil is studying a role because he joins neil at the diner and withstands the terrible coffee
exam season breakfast is either nothing, or something while on the subway (he tries to be as discreet as possible)
constantly forgets where he put his metro card so he keeps buying new ones because he’s almost always late for class
brings huge bouquets to neil’s performances
owns lots of shoes but only wears one pair because it’s his most trust-worthy one (feels somewhat comfortable even after hours of walking)
is comfortable around neil all the time, except for when he’s writing poetry because neil might steal it because he’s done (walt whitman chasing part 2)
speaks as confidently as possible when called on by a professor but still undergoes stuttering moments once in a while
Neil
an nyc actor
his friends invite him to chill at the Paramount Hotel a lot, he only goes because he’s too afraid to tell them he can’t afford it so he just avoids spending money while he’s there
estranged from his father, who needs a lot of time to accept his career decisions
goes to the ticket booth in times square for last-minute musical tickets on sale
still memorizes lines from a midsummer night’s dream
goes to a small unknown university in the city, just in case acting doesn’t work out
shares an apartment with todd, the love of his life (todd also pays for the apartment but it’s okay todd doesn’t mind)
absolutely loves times square in the day but todd hates it so they only go when it’s 4 am and there’s less people
when todd is stressed, he tends to blurt out musical songs to make todd laugh (”come on babe, why don’t we paint the town?”)
never learned how to drive
when the rest of the dead poets visit, they complain about how much neil makes them walk without noticing it (new york means walking ALL THE TIME - meeks hates it)
is a sucker for breakfast bagels on sunday mornings
learns roles in the local diner 6 minutes away from their apartment (“hey neil, up for an audition again?”)
is friends with the diner owner and the coffee shop barista
Knox
a pre-law student at yale
“mr. future lawyer”
he and chris are still together but chris goes to a liberal arts college far away so knox goes on road trips just to see her
writes a poem for chris every time he visits
he ADORES the snow in new haven because it reminds him of happy days in vermont
his favorite places to eat apart from the dining hall are shake shack, taco bell, and the chinese food store beside it
has a poetry notebook whenever he feels like his soul being sucked into a passionless profession (other people are passionate about it, he just isn’t)
has a lot of friends but chooses to hang out with pitts a lot because pitts also went to yale, enrolled in a different course (engineering)
he refuses to wear suits unless required because he is so tired of that welton uniform
his dad visits him more often because he decided to follow the path he was set out to take
has a secret dream of writing award-winning poetry
sits on the grass way too often that upperclassmen give him the stink eye because he tends to play loud romantic songs when he studies
would die for Insomnia cookies (his favorite cookie shop in the world)
has a lot of money but doesn’t want to spend it so he drives all the way to the nearest walmart or target to buy things
