TheMary & Georgetrue story reveals just how little the Starz show had to change to create a shocking and scandal-filled narrative that made the series such a hit. The 2024 drama draws from the 2017 bookThe King’s Assassinby Benjamin Woolley. Despite the many jaw-dropping moments inMary & George, The King’s Assassinisn’t a work of fiction. It’s a carefully researched historical analysis of the lives (and deaths) of the real Mary and George Villiers, the Countess and Duke of Buckingham in 17th-century England.
Much like the source material,Mary & Georgeexposes just how scandalous, dangerous, and (often) steamy life really could be for British aristocrats who moved in the royal court during the era of King James VI and I,the son of Mary, Queen of Scots. There’s plenty of violence and sexual content in the Starz show. However, as theMary & Georgetrue story reveals, very little creative license was actually taken in bringing these moments to the screen, and how the show depicts the lives of Julianne Moore’s Mary and Nicholas Galitzine’s George likely wasn’t too different from what really happened.
The Real George From Mary & George Was Favored By The King
The Depiction Of His Ascent In The Royal Courts Wasn’t Exaggerated
ThroughoutMary & George,George’s attempts to rise to the upper ranks of the court ofKing James (Tony Curran)is the central focus.He’s incredibly successful in his efforts, too. Not only does he manage to win the favor of the King and become part of his inner circle, but he becomes his most trusted confidant and the closest to him of all the English nobility, even being granted the title of the 1st Duke of Buckingham - much to the fury of the rest of the aristocracy.
The Starz show makes George’s rise through the ranks of the royal court seem lightning-fast, with the young nobleman going from meeting King James for the first time to being invited onto the Privy Council and having a say in matters of national importance in almost no time at all.While the apparent ease with which George Villiers won the favor of King James seems accelerated to speed up the pace of the 2024 show, it doesn’t deviate from theMary & Georgetrue story much at all.
The real George Villiers first met King James in 1614, and by the following year he was knighted.Not only did the King grant him a title, and all the privileges that came with it, but George also held the position of a Gentleman of the Bedchamber. This meant he’d help dress the King, and - most importantly - would have plenty of time alone with him, granting him an unrivaled opportunity to curry further favor with the monarch.
Less than a decade later, King James granted George one of the highest honors he could bestow when he made him the Duke of Buckingham in 1624, a decade after they first met.While 10 years is a much longer timeframe than the rapid pace ofMary & Georgeseems to depict, it was still an incredibly fast rise to power by the standards of the court of the real King James I and IV.
The show didn’t exaggerate just how much more King James favored George Villiers compared to the other members of the Privy Council or the Royal Court, either.It’s well-documented just how much the monarch bestowed additional powers and privileges to the real George Villiers, and the historical figure enjoyed much more prestige and opportunity than even the other Dukes of the English kingdom.
The Same-Sex Relationship In Mary & George Probably Happened
Historians Believe George And King James Really Were Lovers
While Mary’s planning and advice for George (as well as her own rise in status) helped him continue to win favor with King James, there was another reason the English monarch gave so much to his favorite nobleman.Mary & Georgeshowed that the relationship between George and the King wasn’t just a politically-motivated friendship - it was also a love story.
This is one of the most surprising aspects of the Starz show, since it’s a widely believed misconception that the King of England during one of the most heavily religious periods in its history wouldn’t have been in a homosexual relationship. However, theMary & Georgetrue story reveals that exactly the opposite is true.The relationship between George Villiers and King James as seen inMary & Georgewas, in all likelihood, historically accurate - and there’s plenty of evidence experts have drawn on to reach that conclusion.
While deeply religious and outwardly denouncing same-sex relationships, there’s also a lot of evidence to suggest they were commonplace in English society in the 17th century.
Attitudes towards homosexualityduring the Elizabethan erawere complicated, especially when it came to the nobility.While deeply religious and outwardly denouncing same-sex relationships, there’s also a lot of evidence to suggest they were commonplace in English society in the 17th century. This even extends to King James.
Many letters between the historic King James and the real George Villiers have been extensively studied in texts like historian David M. Berergon’s 1996 bookKing James & Letters of Homoerotic Desire.Among the majority of historians, these all but prove the relationship between George Villiers and the King had a sexual and romantic aspect.The real King James was publicly outspoken against homosexual relations, but - like the rest of Elizabethan society - it seems there was a divide between what the monarch said and what the monarch did out of necessity.
The Real George Villiers Met A Grizzly End
Just Like In The Starz Show, George’s Fortunes Changed Almost Overnight
The final episode ofMary & Georgesaw George meet an incredibly violent end at the hands of John Felton (Robert Lonsdale).However, his fall from grace had started several episodes earlier. His relationship with King James had become strained, and it ultimately ended with George smothering his former lover with a pillow so that the incoming monarch, King Charles, wouldn’t know one of James’ last acts as a ruler had been to strip the Duke of Buckingham of his titles.
This moment is a key area that the Starz show deviates from theMary & Georgetrue story.There’s no evidence that the real George Villiers killed King James.The historic monarch died of dysentery in 1625, following a year filled with multiple illnesses. While the real George Villiers was by the King’s side when James I and IV passed just like inMary & George,there’s nothing to suggest murder.
The real George, much like his fictional counterpart in the Starz show, severely mishandled many aspects of England’s relationship with Spain, much to the ire of the King.
However, one area where the ending ofMary & Georgedoesn’t deviate too much from real events is how quickly George lost all the power and favor he’d carefully accrued throughout his decade at King James’s side.The real George, much like his fictional counterpart in the Starz show, severely mishandled many aspects of England’s relationship with Spain, much to the ire of the King.
This mark against his name didn’t phase when King Charles I ascended the throne. By the time of his death, the real George Villiers was a publicly hated figure. TheMary & Georgetrue story ended in a gruesome assassination for Villiers, just like the2024 Starz period drama.He was killed by John Felton in 1928, just like the 2024 historical drama depicted - and so hated was Villiers by the time of his death, that Felton was hailed as a hero for the deed.
Mary & George Accurately Portrayed Mary’s Ambition
The Real Mary Villiers Was Critical To Her Son’s Success
Of course, George Villiers isn’t the only historical figure thatMary & Georgefocuses on. His mother, Mary Villiers, is just as important a figure in the Starzshow, even if she didn’t have as direct an influence over royal affairs as her son.When it comes to Julianne Moore’s character, the series captures the most important aspect of the real historical figure from the true story behindMary & George -her ambition.
It wasn’t just her son’s position that the real Mary Villiers actively moved to elevate
Just like Julian Moore’s version of theCountess of Buckingham inMary & George,the real Mary Villiers was incredibly motivated when it came to ensuring the Villiers family became one of the most powerful and influential in England.It was for this reason that she sent George to France for an education and, just likeMary & Georgedepicted, she engineered many situations to try and get her son in the presence of the King.
It wasn’t just her son’s position that the real Mary Villiers actively moved to elevate, either. She managed to secure her title of Countess without George, gaining it after the death of her first husband in 1618. From there she married several different noblemen, with each somehow advancing her station. She also converted to Catholicism in 1620 to match the faith of King James I and IV. The show captured her relentless ambition incredibly well, andJulianne Moore’s portrayal of heris one of the ways the Starz series most accurately follows theMary & Georgetrue story.
Mary & George
Cast
Based on the 2017 book The King’s Assassin, Mary & George is a historical drama television series created for Starz by D. C. Moore. The series follows the tale of the Countess of Buckingham, Mary, as she plots to influence England’s development from the shadows by training her son to seduce the king.
