Tonight on Starz their popular drama The White Princess returns with an all-new Sunday, June 4, 2017, episode and we have your The White Princess recap below. On tonight’s The White Princess Season 1 Episode 8 recap called “Old Curses,” as per the Starz synopsis, “Lizzie (Jodie Comer) battles new demons and old curses, while a final confrontation with the pretender exposes King Henry’s (Jacob Collins-Levy) weaknesses.”
So make sure to bookmark this spot and come back between 9 PM – 10 PM ET for our The White Princess recap. While you wait for our recap make sure to check out all our television news, recaps, videos and more, right here!
Tonight’s The White Princess recap begins now – Refresh Page often to get the most current updates!
The White Princess begins tonight with Queen Lizzie (Jodie Comer) walking the castle hall; walking through blood as she approaches the throne, her brother, Richard, Duke of York (Patrick Gibson) sits on the throne while her husband, King Henry VII’s (Jacob Collins-Levy) and her sons, Prince Arthur (Billy Barratt) and Prince Harry’s (Woody Norman) heads are on stakes around him.
She is shaken by this nightmare and leaves her bed. Margaret Beaufort (Michelle Fairley), the King’s mother checks the chambers Richard is being held in. She holds her rosary as she walks away from the door. Maggie (Rebecca Benson) sneaks through the town with Cathy Gordon (Amy Mason) to see Margaret, the Duchess of Burgundy (Joanne Walley) who demands to know where Richard is.
Cathy is to write to King James, telling him they need Scotland and need his armies now. Cathy asks for her to use her spies to find her son, Edward as he should be with her; once she leaves the room, the Duchess knows the child is already dead but she won’t reveal the truth as she needs Scotland.
Maggie says the Duchess is right and the time to strike is now; the Duchess approaches her and says look at her now, the flaming white rose! She tells her to be her eyes and ears; she asks if Cathy can stay with her there so everyone in court thinks she has run.
Lizzie walks through the castle, ordering her ladies to stay behind. She enters the room to hear Margaret telling Henry he must hang the boy. Henry tells Lizzie that the Spanish Ambassador is there and will not allow Prince Arthur to marry Princess Catherine until the boy and Teddy (Albert de Jongh) are both dead. Lizzie admits she started the fire; Henry orders everyone to leave them so they can speak privately including his own mother who berates her before she leaves.
Lizzie says she hoped he would have escaped because she doesn’t want Henry to kill him; that her mother has put a curse on all the line of Princes; admitting she did the curse with her mother that the murderer of Princes would never see their own sons grow into men. She insists he mustn’t kill him because the boy truly is Prince Richard. She pleads for their boys but he is furious after all this time that she would tell him this. She says they have to think of another way; he walks out of the room ignoring as his mother calls his name.
Lizzie stands outside watching her sons practice their archery. She orders that the princes can do what they want, just make sure they stay occupied. Lizzie sees Maggie who says she was around but the burning smell made her ill; Lizzie questions where Cathy Gordon is? Maggie says she has not see her.
A Spanish messenger arrives with a message from Queen Isabella to her. She says from one mother to another, she thought they understood each other and now she wonders if Lizzie insults her and her daughter. Lizzie assures there is no insult and she has the matter in hand. He smiles and bows before he leaves.
King Henry goes to the tower, ordering his men to move Richard. Lizzie runs into Cardinal Morton (Kenneth Cranham) who says Scotland is readying armies against them. She is upset that her Aunt, the Duchess of Burgundy has been busy. She needs assistance but refuses it from the Cardinal, saying he is too busy.
Lizzie arrives at Newgate Prison, chooses a boy who looks like Richard and orders them to tutor him to be a perfect replacement. Margaret Beaufort says she will deal with Henry for moving the boy; she is questioned who is ruling the country, her or Henry.
She tells him she knows about him moving the impostor with the idiot, but he says there is a symmetry to it. He admits that the boy is who he says he is, she says King Richard was careless and now he must finish it and get rid of him. Henry places his hands on her shoulders and says he believes it was her who killed those boys in the tower. She tries to deny it but he says past actions were needed to be done to protect him and he asks her again if she did it.
She says politics sometimes happen under the cloak of night and some things are done for greater things to be done. She says they are together with this and he is absolved of it; she tells him to let his mother guide him. He then tells her about the curse; she says it was a story to frighten the King. Henry objects saying Elizabeth (Essie Davis) was filled with the craft.
Henry grabs her by the throat and says she is the reason for the curse, she is a butcher of innocence and killer of children and now she has killed his. He calls her a monster saying she should have left him in France where he was still away from her poison. He drags her into the halls and tells everyone she is to never come near him, never speak to him nor for him. He orders for no one to listen to her and if they defy her orders, he will have their heads himself.
Margaret picks herself up off the floor, no one willing to help her up. She walks disgraced down the hallway. Maggie comes to the tower to see Teddy, giving him fresh bread; she shares with Richard that the Duchess is nearby and Cathy is with her. She smiles saying armies gather for him, the tower will be ripped open and they will carry him to Westminster. Richard asks Teddy what he wants when he is free, he says dogs and Richard says he can have as many as he wants.
Lizzie rushes to Henry’s side, who confirms that King Richard did not kill the boys and wants to know about the curse. He is distraught that his mother killed the rightful king and put him on the throne; he is in despair that one of his beautiful sons will die. Lizzie has something to show him.
She shows him the man willing to say he was pretending to be Richard; he wants a quick hanging to save his wife and children. She says that man there is the other way they could find. She says leave the boy in the tower for the rest of his life and no one needs to know; Henry refuses saying he has loved her and she is the grace of his life but he never deserved her. He says whatever happens, she must be safe; he tells her to go to the tower and speak to him.
Margaret awakens, but stumbles over a stool. She calls for her ladies but learns there is no one outside. She demands them to find her ladies as she is still who she is. She is told for now, all that power she fought so hard for can she feel it slipping through her fingers?
Lizzie visits Richard admitting she loved their mother but didn’t like her nor her ambition for power because look where it landed them. Richard tells her 2 boys died in this tower but these 2 men will walk free and their power restored with justice; a vicious wrong will be set right. He promises her children will be honored and she is the King’s sister, making a great lady. He says Henry is a great soldier who will fight with honor; but Lizzie says he would leave her widowed and her children fatherless. She smiles when he laughs saying he is so much like their father.
Margaret is forced to knock on Henry’s doors, while he sits with papers scattered all over the floor. He battles with flashbacks, sees no one and sits in darkness. Maggie shares that his Lords plan wars without him. Lizzie is suspicious but her ladies work for Richard so they look the other way while Maggie escapes to see the Duchess. Cathy arrives with a letter from King James.
Cathy says there has been no word of her son and when she is Queen, Margaret Beaufort will be shown no mercy. Duchess opens the letter telling Maggie Cathy is young and will have more children. She shares that Scotland has been generous and there are 2000 men waiting on the tides to join their armies to cut the Tudor family down, like the filth they are. Maggie says she must go before she is missed, as the Duchess warns her husband will remain loyal to Henry; Maggie says her husband is loyal to her.
Margaret rushes to Lizzie, telling her she must tell Henry there is no curse and those are just mere words of someone swearing against an enemy. Lizzie asks how she could stand there before God with that stain of sin for murdering children; she asks if Cathy’s son has been nursed into his grave?
Lizzie says even now she has to obey Henry and attempt to fix the chaos she has unleashed on her remaining sons. Margaret says if she isn’t appalled at what she would do for her children, she is not worthy of the name “mother”. Lizzie goes to visit her sleeping children when Arthur confronts her on being frightened. He asks if they are in danger and going to the tower; she promises that no harm will come to him ever. She kisses his forehead as Harry listens.
Lizzie and Henry walk through the burnt part of the castle. Henry asks if she knew the truth about how her Uncle Richard died; she says he was beaten to death. Henry corrects her, saying he was beaten and beaten, but he wouldn’t die. The men violated his body again and again and Henry didn’t stop them; they buried him alive making Henry wonder if this is what happens to a King. In the morning they are all powerful and by nightfall they are buried like dirt.
He shares that he truly believed he was given the right by God to rule, but he was never given the right. Lizzie says they are headed to another war and shares her visit in the tower. Henry feels they need to trust Richard and its the only way to protect their sons; Lizzie feels he needs to tell the world he killed the boy. He says he is King in name only; she says the right is not given, but taken by force and held by force. She begs him to take the right.
Maggie is upset that Lizzie is killing her own brother. Her husband forbids her to go and demands to know if she is carrying messages. She wanted no part in it but all she wants is her brother back. She refuses to be biddable, she wants her son; they will have their king and all she wants is her brother and they can be happy. He asks about their son if she is caught? He says she must promise not to carry letters.
As they prepare to hang the boy, Duchess has her men ready to make sure not a hair on his head is hurt. Margaret watches as well when the Duchess says it is not him and her men fall back. He is hung and there is a huge celebration in the castle; the Spanish believe the deed is done and Henry holds hands with Lizzie.
Maggie learns it wasn’t the true Richard who died and takes a letter to be sent to the Spanish Ambassador, but she is seen by Lizzie’s spy.
Margaret questions where Maggie has been, she lies saying she was settling her son for the night; her husband demands to know what games she is playing. She says she should greet the Spanish Ambassador, hands him the note saying Spain has been lied to.
Lizzie enjoys dancing with her son when she sees her spy; she learns that her Aunt the Duchess has been getting help from inside the castle. She is confronted about the hanging and how the pretender isn’t truly dead. He asks her why Spain should yolk its pearl to this rotting beast, England. She was supposed to be the peace and orders her to BE the peace; giving her one night to consider what he said.
Lizzie shares what happened with Henry that night in bed. Henry says Richard promised to protect her and the boys; she says promises are meant to be broken. Henry said they have to let him live or their boys die; Lizzie suggests maybe the craft was just luck, good timing that she called magic. The only thing certain is men are coming with swords and won’t stop until they have a York on the throne.
Maggie is nabbed from the castle while someone knocks at the door saying they have news of Lady Gordon’s child. Duchess orders her not to open the door but she does and everyone is arrested. She says Teddy is their power and they must take that from them.
The next morning Teddy greets Lizzie, they ask if he will write out the plot he made with Richard over King Henry. They ask him to show how he writes his own name, they get him to sign a blank paper as Lizzie watches, praising him. They bring the letter to King Henry and Lizzie orders them to lock it away so they never see it again.
The bells ring, Maggie wonders what is happening. Cardinal arrives saying Teddy must be woken; Richard asks for Lizzie but instead agrees he and Teddy will both walk together to be beheaded. Richard calms a frightened Teddy, telling him they must kneel. Maggie wonders what is happening from the tower. Teddy asks what he did as Richard continues to tell him he is so good, telling him to look at him. Richard holds his hand and kisses it after they executed him.
Lizzie is standing there in a black cloak and he asks if she looked away and close her eyes as they killed Teddy.
She admits she did and Richard learns he is to disappear as if he has never been. He orders her not to close her eyes as she knows what she did this day and so witnessing. He screams, “ENGLAND RECEIVE MY BLOOD!” and Lizzie falls to the ground. She cries that he left her no choice.
Maggie is released from the tower where Lizzie greets her. She tells her Teddy was executed for treason and the Duchess is returning to Burgundy while Cathy Gordon is in the palace, where she will care for her permanently. Maggie asks about Richard but Lizzie says her husband begged for her life. Maggie says the curse will come down on her, Lizzie says they are just words. Lizzie tells her to embroider something as it soothes the mind. Maggie wails for her brother Teddy.
Henry kneels down as Lizzie places the crown on his head ad says now they will rule; he says she will always be by his side. She promises always as they are waiting for her. She tells him to greet his mother as they are one, not divided as they walk the halls filled with his people.
THE END
