Take all the romance and drama of Downton Abbey and add a literal war for the English throne, and you've got at least some idea of what's going on in The White Queen. In late medieval England, the Wars of the Roses pit different branches of the royal family against each other in a quest for the crown. The Yorkist faction manages to put their eldest brother, Edward, on the throne, but he throws everyone's plans into upheaval when he marries Elizabeth, a young widow from a minor family — who also might have a hint of witchcraft in her blood.