“We couldn’t quite believe when we came across it, that nobody had told this story before, because it’s so extraordinary, so compelling and hooky, and the characters are amazing,” executive producer George Ormond told Parade.com. “Elizabeth’s story felt very resonant and contemporary because of the sexual politics involved in the relationship with Thomas Seymour, and the way she goes into it and the way she comes out of it at a completely different place. It just felt like a really amazing territory to explore for [creator /writer/executive producer] Anya Reiss, which I think she does really brilliantly.” “It’s a massively underexplored period of time actually,” Reiss added. “Even though we know the Tudors because Henry VIII had a lot of wives, and then we skip almost immediately to the Gloriana years, there’s a very brutal, very real in between time with some extraordinary bits of history happening. And through that, Elizabeth’s story of the formative years of her life informs so much of who she was later.” Here is everything you need to know about the new Starz series Becoming Elizabeth:
When does Becoming Elizabeth premiere?
Becoming Elizabeth premieres on STARZ on Sunday, June 12 at 9 p.m. ET/PT and at midnight on on the Starz app and On Demand.
Who stars in Becoming Elizabeth?
Alicia von Rittberg as Elizabeth Tudor
Oliver Zetterström as Edward Tudor, King Edward VI
Jessica Raine as Catherine Parr, Henry’s widow
Tom Cullen as Thomas Seymour
Bella Ramsey as Lady Jane Grey
Jamie Parker as John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland
Romola Garai as Mary Tudor
John Heffernan as Duke of Somerset and Lord Protector
Jamie Blackley as Robert Dudley
Jacob Avery as Guildford Dudley
Alexandra Gilbreath as Kat Ashley
Leo Bill as Henry Grey
Ekow Quartey as Pedro
Alex Macqueen as Stephen Gardiner
Olivier Huband as Ambassador Guzman
Robert Whitelock as Robert Kett
What is Becoming Elizabeth about?
Long before she ascended the throne, young Elizabeth Tudor (Alicia von Rittberg), was an orphaned teenager who became embroiled in the political and sexual politics of the English court. The death of King Henry VIII saw the ascension of his only son—9-year-old Edward (Oliver Zetterström)—to the throne, which set into motion a dangerous scramble for power when Elizabeth, Edward and their sister Mary (Romola Garai) find themselves pawns in a game between the great families of England for control of the country. Elizabeth struggles to control her own destiny and take real power as the men around her attempt to claim her sovereignty. Her fascinating and factual journey to secure the crown is filled with scheming, betrayal and illicit relationships that threaten to bring forth her demise at a time in which every man or woman of the court is on the wheel of fortune, which may take them to a position of great power one moment, or the executioner’s block the next. There are historians who feel that Thomas Seymour abused Elizabeth. Will you address that? “I’m one of them,” Reiss said. “Well, I’m not a historian, but I think it’s really interesting to explore and it feels really pertinent now. I think it’s such an amazing example that her mother [Anne Boleyn] was killed by her father and everyone going, ‘Oh, yeah, she was a whore.’ That’s an extraordinary life to live, to grow up into. And then have a man try and take advantage of you, and almost that be used against you, because, of course, that happened to you because you’re the whore’s daughter. It’s horrible, horrible stuff, but really interesting and I think it’s got massive modern resonance.” It wasn’t just a man trying to take advantage of her. Don’t you think Catherine Parr invited her into her home to use her as a pawn to maintain her power? “I think there’s complicated motivations from Catherine,” Reiss said. “I think there’s definitely affection there. I’d be very unwilling to act like Catherine was this villainous person who drew her in to use her, but I think that’s the sad nature of the world they lived in. No one’s motivations could be clean and pure because everything is so messy and torn up with each other. That there was power and status involved in being friends or knowing or having any kind of influence with those children, so no one could keep their hands clean of that." What about Henry’s three children: Edward, Mary and Elizabeth? It looks from the series that they initially had a good relationship, but historically, and maybe it’s because most of what we’ve seen is after Elizabeth ascended to the throne, that wasn’t the case. “What’s really interesting is that there was a real flesh and blood relationship between the three siblings that was also influenced by what they wanted politically, what they wanted religiously, and what the people around them also wanted politically and religiously,” Ormond said. “That sibling relationship is right at the heart of what Anya found really interesting in writing it, in that you’re basically writing the story of a family who, like all siblings, have strong emotional bonds as well as lots of conflict between themselves. “In terms of how frequently they saw each other, they did see each other. But one of the things that informed our thinking about the whole show is that the history books tend to record things that are politically and historically relevant when people are in power. When you’re not in power or you’re not making key decisions about government or whatever, there’s just a big blank. So, there are whole periods of Elizabeth’s life where we know about some of it and we don’t know about other bits of it, and equally with Mary. There are bits of her life where we know loads about what was going on and chunks where we don’t know. And then there were letters between the siblings and etc. “And it’s our job really to piece together those relationships based on what we know. Sometimes the history books say they get from A to B, and it’s our job to go, “What’s the bit in between that takes them from A to B?” So, the history books tell us that at this point Mary suddenly did this to Elizabeth or Elizabeth did that to Mary. Where did that come from? How does the relationship unravel to take them to that point? That’s the fun bit, because you’re working with something that feels truthful, that’s exploring what we know happened but trying to put the humanity, the human layers in between.” What made Alicia von Rittberg the perfect Elizabeth? You had to find someone who could play a teenager, but what else were you looking for? “I think the thing that Alicia brought which really clicked with me was there’s quite an enigmatic quality about her performance,” Reiss said. “Actually about her. You get drawn in because she doesn’t always know what she’s thinking, but there’s something very compelling about her. “I was worried. One of the worries about this is that you could simplify Elizabeth or boil her down to bare bone pieces of going like, ‘Oh, well she was abused by a man and then her sister didn’t like her,’ and make everything quite flat and do a disservice to her rather than exploring her properly. And Alicia really draws you into that. “And nothing is simple. Elizabeth, if nothing else, was a very complicated person. That’s one of the reasons people are drawn to her reign so much because it’s so unknowable what was going on in her head, and she was so mercurial and so much stuff was going on with her and Alicia really has that. You feel like the seeds of that are boiling away very early on.”
Is there a trailer for Becoming Elizabeth?
Watch the power struggles, the sexual intrigue, and the family drama that comprises the Tudor dynasty in Becoming Elizabeth.
Where to watch and stream Becoming Elizabeth?
Becoming Elizabeth will air exclusively on STARZ and the STARZ app exclusively beginning June 12. Next, Fact or Myth? 20 Surprising Facts About Queen Elizabeth II
