'Mary & George' Sheds Light on King James and George Villiers's Love Triangle
"It was just soft power, really. You had to manipulate people, and I think she was the master manipulator.”
By Brandon CharlesApr. 8 2024, Published 9:17 a.m. ET
The new miniseries on Starz, Mary & George, is a seven-episode show about the affair between King James VI and George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. Based on the 2017 book The King's Assassin: The Fatal Affair of George Villiers and James I by Benjamin Woolley, it’s a tale as old as time. A mom essentially pimps out her kid to the royal family to secure a place in high society. That’s the Mary.
Although it sounds like it could be a mixture of Keeping Up with the Kardashians meets Love Island as covered by the British tabloid press, Mary & George is actually based on a real story.
What happened between King James and George Villiers?
We understand you may not want to spend 368 pages (or 12 hours and 17 minutes) reading or listening to Woolley’s book. And while the book and the miniseries obviously aren't entirely accurate (it’s literally impossible to be entirely accurate in any fictionalized story, let alone one set 400 years in the past), the basic elements of the story are present and fascinating.
A Smithsonian Magazine piece about the show claims, “The real story behind the duo was in many ways even stranger than the new fictionalized retelling. James indeed lavished wealth and status on his much younger male favorite, George Villiers, referring to him as 'my sweetheart' or 'sweet child and wife.' Later, George was accused of fatally poisoning the king before being assassinated himself."
'Mary & George' a meet-cute story with pimping concerned.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Mary & George executive producer D.C. Moore spoke concerning the preliminary interaction between Mary and King James and him and George. “When Mary first sees the king [within the premiere], I think there’s an immediate understanding that — again, I’m going to use coarse language, I do express regret — she says, “He’s so cockstruck, it’s like a curse,” and she will see his obsession."
When it comes to Mary's offspring, it's a bit different. "When George first sees the king, he’s in a carrier position, and he’s seeing more of the court and the intimidation of it, so his adventure is much harder. He has to go into that court docket and stand up and be noticed."
Why would a mom use her offspring to get forward?
In that very same Hollywood Reporter interview fellow executive manufacturer Liza Marshall issues out something that must be remembered. “Because ladies had clearly no formal power at that time. They couldn’t hang belongings. They couldn’t have any money. It was once simply soft power, in point of fact. You needed to manipulate people, and I believe she was the master manipulator.”
D.C. provides, “Everything you spot of Mary, she’s just this made up our minds creature of power. That second where she first sees the king is the seed of the display. [She’s] like, “Wow, this is my chance. I have this strapping younger man, and it is a window of alternative. Let’s cross.”
Mary & George airs on Starz on Fridays at 9 p.m. and is to be had at the Starz app on Fridays at 12 p.m.
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