The penultimate episode of season two of The Spanish Princess on Starz last night saw the demise of Lord Edward Stafford as he ended up in the Tower on charges of treason.
[Warning: Spoilers for The Spanish Princess.]
Last night, after King Henry VIII began to have suspicions, he ordered Thomas Wolsey to have Lord Edward Stafford arrested and charged with high treason.
Imprisoned in the tower, Catherine (Charlotte Hope) suggested he beg Henry for his life, and she put in a good word for him.
At his trial, Edward claims he is a loyal and supportive friend to Henry; however, this isn’t enough to stop him from getting his head chopped off. And the series has now lost another fine character.
But who was Lord Edward Stafford?
The real-life Lord Edward Stafford, 3rd duke of Buckingham, was born in 1478 and was executed by King Henry VIII for treason in 1521.
Stafford was one of Henry’s counselors and had been an immensely powerful figure in the Kingdom of England as a direct descendant of Edward III, who’d ruled England a century before Henry VIII.
What’s more, during the King’s father’s reign, Henry VII, Stafford had even been considered as a possible heir to the throne. It was probably for this reason that Henry VIII viewed him as a threat.
And just like the TV show, the real Wolsey agreed with the King, so they falsely accused him with some made-up allegations of plotting against Henry and had his head chopped off.
Who is Olly Rix, who plays Lord Stafford?
Lord Stafford has been portrayed in both seasons of The Spanish Princess by Olly Rix. Rix is an English actor who graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
Understandably, most of his TV performances were shown in Britain, and he is not so well known in America.
He is no stranger to a historical drama; in 2013, he starred in Death Comes to Pemberley, which was a murder mystery based on the style and characters of Jane Austen’s 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice.
He played the character of Cartwright.
Rix also appeared in the BBC’s 2015 adaptation of The Musketeers, and he appeared as a police officer in WPC 56.
In 2016, he finally made it onto American screens when he appeared alongside Ray Winstone in ABC’s Of Kings and Prophets. He starred in one of the leading roles as David, the future King of Israel.
In 2018, he returned to the BBC, where he played a soldier in the British Army in Our Girl.
Rix can be found on Instagram, where he posts lots of cool pics of himself on the set of various TV shows. Yesterday he posted a pic of himself in The Spanish Princess, and he thanked Charlotte Hope and the episode’s director, Rebecca Gatward.
View this post on Instagram
Many fans will be sorry to see him go.
The Spanish Princess airs at 8 on Starz.