The Spanish Princess (TV Series)

Fever Dream (2019)

Harriet Walter: Margaret Beaufort

Photos 

Quotes 

• Prince Harry : That rose petal gets to be the King of England, and dull-eyed Meg gets to be the Queen of Scotland.

  Margaret Beaufort : My darling, you have the heart of a lion and the soul of a poet. God has gifted you a thousandfold. He has great plans for you.

• Margaret Beaufort : Have courage, child.

  King Henry Tudor : ...and I can assure you that she is.

  William Dunbar : Aye. Then it's agreed, Your Grace.

  [Meg enters room] 

  William Dunbar : I'll dispatch a message to Edinburgh. To let the king know we have a treaty.

  King Henry Tudor : Then she'll suit him?

  William Dunbar : She's young. That suits him well.

  King Henry Tudor : Meg, you know these... gentlemen. They've ridden from King James.

  Meg Tudor : Scottish thugs, Father, men who raid our land and kill our people.

  Margaret Beaufort : William Dunbar is the most celebrated poet in Scotland.

  King Henry Tudor : And an eloquent ambassador. King James and I have brokered peace between our two countries that will put an end to our grievances, a peace that will be sealed with your marriage.

  Meg Tudor : Just like that?

  King Henry Tudor : Like that. Our countries have been at war for two centuries, girl.

  Margaret Beaufort : You knew that one day a husband would be chosen for you.

  William Dunbar : [gives a necklace to Meg]  A gift of goodwill.

  Margaret Beaufort : [Meg leaves the room]  Uh... Wait!

  [Margaret goes after her] 

  King Henry Tudor : A wild girl for a wild country.

• Meg Tudor : Lady grandmother.

  Margaret Beaufort : Look at this. It's a thing of beauty. It's a page from my own translation of De Imitatione Christi, printed by Caxton on his press for me. I supported him when he began his labors.

  Meg Tudor : Lady grandmother, my father is making a mistake. What kind of men serve this King James? They have been here for months, and they are drunk all the time.

  Margaret Beaufort : Oh, Meg. Do you know why this is beautiful to me? It is the mind settled on a page. A life settled can be just as beautiful. You should be grateful that your life is settled. Many would want it.

  Meg Tudor : They leer at the married ladies of the palace. They even touch them. They call me "little fishy", their king's little fishy who has been caught. Is this dignified for our family? One of them relieved himself against the Royal Chapel. The king prays in there every day. Is this what they think of us, that our palace is nothing but a street market? Would King Henry of England send his daughter to such men?

  Margaret Beaufort : For peace, yes.

  Meg Tudor : And you pay these brutes huge sums of money to take me away.

  Margaret Beaufort : That is no concern of yours.

  Meg Tudor : King James is old.

  Margaret Beaufort : Not that old.

  Meg Tudor : He's old, and he'll die, next winter, if it is harsh. And who will take his place? Someone who wants peace or good old war?

• King Henry Tudor : My daughter bleats. It may sound like reason, but trust me, it is simply bleating.

  Margaret Beaufort : And yet I find myself wondering why we're paying out 100,000 crowns to King James when he might be dead in a year.

  King Henry Tudor : For the treaty.

  Margaret Beaufort : But we can't pay the dowry on Meg if the Spanish don't pay us for Catherine. We can't afford it.

  King Henry Tudor : Spain will pay as they promised.

  Margaret Beaufort : Well, then let us cancel the wedding and hold on to Meg until they do.

  King Henry Tudor : Thomas. Your thoughts?

  Thomas, Earl of Wiltshire : Forgive me for saying it, Your Grace, but no Spanish money is forthcoming, so perhaps we should change course. The Scots wouldn't make war with us now that Isabella is our ally.

  Margaret Beaufort : The treasury is empty, Henry. The Scottish peace will hold without an expensive wedding. At least, for now.

• Margaret Beaufort : Be sure Arthur manages the tenant lands. Ludlow Castle is his formal seat now, and its estates are the responsibility of the Prince of Wales.

  Maggie Pole : Of course. We leave tomorrow.

  Margaret Beaufort : I notice you avoid the princess Catherine. Why is that?

  Maggie Pole : I-I do not, my lady.

  Margaret Beaufort : I expect you or Sir Richard at court regularly to report back on the prince and princess and how they fare in Ludlow.

  Maggie Pole : I imagine my lady, the king's mother has her own methods of observing them.

  Margaret Beaufort : The girl has a simple job to do... conceive. See to it that all elements of the house are conducive to it, and waste no time in sending news when she does. We can shame the Spanish into sending the rest of the dowry once the prince...

  Maggie Pole : Once the child is with child.

  Margaret Beaufort : Oh, and I do observe, Lady Pole, comings and goings, whispers in corridors. Do you whisper in corridors?

  Maggie Pole : What would I possibly have to whisper about?

• Margaret Beaufort : Meg, this treaty with Scotland turns the sword into a wedding band.

  Meg Tudor : You throw my body to them for their old king to pounce on. Catherine would kill them with her bare hands.

• Meg Tudor : You wished to see me, Lady Grandmother?

  Margaret Beaufort : Yes. Our deal with Spain has altered. Into what, we don't know yet. God has turned our faces towards the north, gently, but firmly. We will need Scotland more than ever now.