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Divorced, beheaded, died.
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Divorced, beheaded, survived.
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The story of Henry VIII and his six wives
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is one of the best known in history.
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There's Catherine of Aragon, the bitter, abandoned first wife.
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Anne Boleyn, the original other woman.
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Jane Seymour, bit of a doormat.
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Then we've got Anne of Cleves - she was the ugly one.
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Catherine Howard, the one who slept around.
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And Kathryn Parr, the saintly nurse.
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But I'm going to tell you a very different story.
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I'm going to take you back in time and into the private lives
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of Henry's six wives.
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I'm going to see the story from their point of view,
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and I'll watch as events unfold.
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The fate of my soul is no longer your concern.
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It will always be my concern.
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These events all really happened,
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and were recorded in historical documents
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or reported by eyewitnesses.
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I asked for his head.
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Not his coat.
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They reveal six complex women who lived in a dangerous age
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as they struggled to survive being married to Henry VIII.
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I beg of you to tell the King that my heart is filled with sorrow,
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and assure him of my repentance.
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Six wives, whose names were tarnished
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by Henry's propaganda machine.
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Six queens whose stories I want to re-examine.
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Is she here?
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I'll observe their life at court.
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And I'll watch them romanced by a charismatic king.
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- Tell me you're the same?
- Always.
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This is the ultimate true story of love, loss and betrayal.
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Remember what happened to my last wife and queen.
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Henry VIII's first wife,
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warrior queen Catherine of Aragon, gave the king a daughter, Mary,
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but she failed to give him a son and heir.
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She has suffered a loss of the child.
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Get out!
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After 24 years of marriage she was cast aside for the clever
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and sophisticated Anne Boleyn.
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And, to marry her, Henry turned his back on the Roman Catholic Church.
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You, sir, face eternal damnation.
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You cannot defy the church in this way.
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Anne disappointed Henry by giving him another daughter, Elizabeth.
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Surely I deserve your respect, my Lord?
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Worse still, she proved too challenging for the King,
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so he had his second wife executed.
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All this, for so little a neck.
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- Your Majesty.
- Madam.
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His third Queen, Jane Seymour, always dutiful,
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succeeded where Catherine and Anne failed him -
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she delivered Henry a boy, Edward.
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- He is thriving?
- Very much so.
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But within 12 days, she was dead.
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Lord God, why must you punish me this way?
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Henry VIII is now 48 years old.
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SHE SPEAKS GERMAN
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A visitor has arrived from Germany to see him.
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They've never met, so Henry's decided to play one of
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his favourite tricks, disguising himself as the rogue Robin Hood.
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Shh.
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BOISTEROUS YELLING
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My lady, welcome.
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I trust you find your new residence to be more than adequate?
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It's New Year's Day 1540,
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and Henry VIII has just introduced himself to his fourth wife,
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Anne of Cleves.
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So why was Henry getting married to somebody he'd never even met before?
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This time he was slightly pushed into it.
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After Jane Seymour's death, Henry's heart was broken.
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He also now had his son and heir, Edward.
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He could afford to relax and take his time.
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But Henry's advisers had other ideas -
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they thought it was time for a new queen.
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Politically, Henry was isolated.
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By breaking from Rome and making himself head of his own church,
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he'd made powerful enemies.
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But there were other leaders in Europe who also rejected
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the authority of the Pope.
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A strategic marriage could be just the thing to protect Henry
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and a like-minded ally against any possible retribution.
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The problem was that Henry didn't have that great a reputation
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as a potential husband.
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After all, he was now three wives down,
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and each time it had ended badly.
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In fact, one prospective bride said, yes,
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she would have married Henry VIII, if she had two heads!
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The once-handsome King was now obese,
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and looked older than his age.
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The legacy of his passion for jousting was an ulcerous wound
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on his leg that refused to heal.
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Henry's advisors scoured Europe searching for a noble family
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willing to provide a bride.
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The hunt took two whole years, but finally, in 1539, somebody said yes.
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Henry's fourth wife would be a German noblewoman called Anne.
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She lived in the town of Cleve in western Germany.
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This is the famous Anne of Cleves cake,
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still baked here in honour of Anne.
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Although she's still famous in Germany,
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English history has dismissed Anne as Henry's ugly wife.
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Famously, she's known as the Flanders Mare.
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But there was more to Anne than her looks.
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A gift for diplomacy and an instinct for survival probably make her
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the most successful of all Henry's wives.
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She was raised and educated here, at the Castle Schwanenburg.
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She was the daughter of the Duke of Cleves,
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a powerful, noble family.
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And like Henry himself,
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the Duke of Cleves had rejected the authority of the Pope.
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Anne fitted the bill.
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With the bit of reluctance, Henry did agree to consider Anne of Cleves
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as a bride. But first of all he wanted to know what she looked like.
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Was she going to be attractive enough for him?
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So he sent his top painter, Hans Holbein,
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over to Cleves to do a portrait.
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And this picture, combined with favourable reports
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from Henry's advisers, made up his mind.
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Yes, he was going to marry her.
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And so, without even meeting the King, Anne set off for England
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to marry him.
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Anne was 24 years old.
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She'd never been outside Germany before,
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and she didn't speak any English.
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It must all have been pretty daunting.
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But she did have the good sense to learn what she could
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from her English escort about what her new life would be like.
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After all, she must have known what had happened
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to her three predecessors. She would have been anxious
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to avoid making the same mistakes.
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Anne made sure to have dinner with her travelling companions,
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because she needed to know what happened when Englishmen
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were sitting at their meat.
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She needed to get up to speed really quickly with the etiquette
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of being a Tudor Queen.
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It took over a month for Anne and her entourage to reach
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the shores of England. When they arrived in Rochester,
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they were instructed to rest up and wait.
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There was just one vital thing her German advisers
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had forgotten to brief Anne about.
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An Englishman's sense of humour.
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My lady, welcome.
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I...
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Something wrong, madam?
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The King?
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My Lord, what do you think of the Lady Anne?
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Do you really need to ask?
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I put it to you this way.
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She's not the lady I was expecting.
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Anne's advisers had let her down badly.
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They might have taught her about the finer points of dining,
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but they'd neglected the essentials of English courtly romance.
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They should have warned Anne that Henry loved to dress up,
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to disguise himself and then to surprise people.
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By failing to recognise him, Anne caused grave offence.
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And Henry now turned against her, claiming to find her unattractive.
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The conventional story is that Henry blamed Holbein
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for having painted an overly-flattering portrait of Anne.
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But there are first-hand accounts of Anne being very attractive,
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even beautiful.
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Whatever the rights and wrongs of the situation,
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this has to be history's most awkward blind date.
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Their next meeting took place a few days later at Blackheath,
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up on the hill behind Greenwich.
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This was a formal reception for Anne,
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then they rode down the hill to the Tudor palace of Greenwich,
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long since rebuilt.
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As they rode they wore golden robes.
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There was a great procession,
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crowds of spectators - they must have looked like a golden couple.
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But all was not as it seemed.
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Behind the scenes, Henry was desperately trying to wiggle out
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of the wedding. But he quickly discovered that
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the marriage contract had been a complex diplomatic negotiation.
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Anne's family back in Cleves weren't going to let him off the hook
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that easily.
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And, in any case, was it wise?
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He needed them as allies against his enemies.
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There was nothing for it -
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he was just going to have to marry Anne.
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Henry is on his way to Anne's bedchamber for the first time.
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The wedding night ritual is about to begin.
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Bless, oh Lord, this marriage bed, and those in it.
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Watch over your servants as they sleep,
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protecting them from all demonic dreams
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and grant that they live in your love
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and multiply and grow old together in length of days.
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Heavenly Father, hear this prayer.
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HENRY GRUNTS
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Poor Anne.
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And the really awful thing is that everybody knows
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that it's not working out in the bedchamber.
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Courtiers literally listen in to hear if the deed's being done.
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In the morning, they'll check the sheets for evidence.
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If the marriage isn't consummated, it's not legal.
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The very public nature of this ritual means that word
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starts flying around court immediately.
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Everybody wants to know, "Why hasn't the King sealed the deal
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"with his new Queen?"
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My theory is that Henry just couldn't manage it.
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After all, he was getting older, and fatter,
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and was quite possibly impotent.
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But Henry couldn't allow anybody to think this,
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it would undermine his masculine image.
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So he took action.
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He got his physician, Dr William Butts,
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to spread it around the court that the problem must be with Anne.
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"The King," Dr Butts said, "was absolutely fine.
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"He was well able to do the deed with other women,
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"and he was still experiencing nocturnal pollutions."
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They are what we would call wet dreams.
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Henry kept up the pretence of visiting Anne's bedchamber,
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but nothing was happening there apart from sleeping.
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By now malicious rumours were being deliberately spread around the court
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about what had gone wrong.
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Some people said that Anne hadn't been a virgin.
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Others that, on the contrary, she didn't know what sex was.
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Then again, maybe her body had disgusted the King.
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No-one dared suggest it might have been Henry's fault.
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Because Anne's English isn't great, she's in a poor position
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to defend herself against this gossip.
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But Anne is nobody's fool.
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She might not understand everything that's going on,
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but she can clearly see that her husband's eye is wandering.
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She's in a dangerous position,
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and she knows it.
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Henry and Anne have been married for just a few months,
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and already the King is infatuated with someone else.
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- If I may...
- A teenager, recently arrived at court.
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Her name is Catherine Howard.
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Madam, this is an outrage.
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Ambassador Harst, this is King Henry.
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You suspect he is...
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involved with this woman?
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A tight grip on the shaft...
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The King is a very sociable man.
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Is he not?
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And it does not grieve you?
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Pull back, pull back.
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Very good.
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Bit more, bit more.
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Pull back, pull back.
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Yes! Oh, yes!
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For Anne of Cleves, the arrival of Catherine Howard was very bad news.
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Her fears were well-founded.
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In June 1540,
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just six months after she'd arrived in England, Anne of Cleves
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was sent away from court.
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She was told to go and live at the Palace of Richmond,
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under the not very convincing excuse that the weather was better there.
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Henry wanted her out of the way
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so that he could marry Catherine Howard.
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Given Henry's past record, I think Anne must have been quite worried
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about what might happen to her next.
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But she knew that if he treated her too harshly there might be
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an international incident involving Cleves.
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00:19:22,120 --> 00:19:25,240
She also knew that Henry couldn't really afford that,
259
00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:27,840
so she held out for a settlement.
260
00:19:27,840 --> 00:19:30,440
In the end, Henry offered her a deal -
261
00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:34,560
in return for going away quietly Anne would get a special title -
262
00:19:34,560 --> 00:19:37,360
she'd become known as the King's Sister.
263
00:19:37,360 --> 00:19:41,360
But here's the good bit - she'd also get two palaces to live in,
264
00:19:41,360 --> 00:19:45,280
a huge entourage of servants, and loads of money.
265
00:19:45,280 --> 00:19:48,640
Anne thought about it, and she said yes.
266
00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:51,800
She sent back her wedding ring with a request
267
00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:53,840
that it be broken into pieces.
268
00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:05,080
The King paid Anne off handsomely.
269
00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:08,600
Her entourage and her wardrobe continued to grow,
270
00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:11,200
and so did her property portfolio.
271
00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:16,040
Henry even gave her Hever Castle, a family home of Anne Boleyn.
272
00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:17,920
She never remarried,
273
00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:21,400
but Anne did become one of the richest women in England.
274
00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:28,480
Anne outlived all the rest of Henry's wives,
275
00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:30,640
and Henry himself.
276
00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:34,240
When she finally died in 1557, at the age of 41,
277
00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:38,040
she was given a rather grand final resting place.
278
00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:41,840
It's here, in Westminster Abbey in London,
279
00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:44,840
and she's buried right by the High Altar.
280
00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:54,800
I think it's a fitting tribute to a brave and canny Queen,
281
00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:56,400
who at the age of 24 took on
282
00:20:56,400 --> 00:20:59,080
the powerful forces of the Tudor court...
283
00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:02,160
..and won.
284
00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:27,920
Since he'd made himself head of his own church, there'd been no-one
285
00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:31,360
to stop Henry ending his marriage to Anne of Cleves...
286
00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:38,120
..leaving him free to marry teenage lady-in-waiting Catherine Howard.
287
00:21:38,120 --> 00:21:40,760
She would be the King's fifth Queen.
288
00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:47,200
Henry married Catherine just two weeks after the ending
289
00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:49,680
of his marriage with Anne of Cleves.
290
00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:53,320
Marriage to Catherine seemed to take ten years off his age.
291
00:21:53,320 --> 00:21:56,520
Under her influence he even lost weight.
292
00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:59,120
He was visibly infatuated with her.
293
00:21:59,120 --> 00:22:04,200
One eyewitness said that, "He's so amorous of her that he caresses her
294
00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:06,400
"more than he did the others."
295
00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:10,320
Now, if we saw a middle-aged man acting up like that with a teenager
296
00:22:10,320 --> 00:22:13,480
we'd think, "Wow, that's really inappropriate."
297
00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:17,280
But in the 16th century it was perfectly acceptable,
298
00:22:17,280 --> 00:22:19,960
especially if you were King Henry VIII.
299
00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:27,640
So why did Henry get married for the fifth time?
300
00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:30,680
After all, he now had his son and heir, Edward -
301
00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:33,680
he could have just kept Catherine for his mistress.
302
00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:36,960
But don't forget, he only had the crown himself
303
00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:40,040
because of the death of his older brother.
304
00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:43,480
He knew better than anybody that you need two boys,
305
00:22:43,480 --> 00:22:45,040
the heir and the spare.
306
00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:50,120
So I think he probably looked at Catherine and thought,
307
00:22:50,120 --> 00:22:53,840
"Hmm, she looks nice and young and fertile.
308
00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:56,560
"Perhaps she's the mother of another boy."
309
00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:02,760
No-one knows exactly when Catherine was born -
310
00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:06,560
she could have been as young as 15 when she married Henry,
311
00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:10,560
and she is remembered as the Queen who slept around.
312
00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:15,400
But I think that hers is a much darker and more tragic story.
313
00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:25,400
Catherine has been married to the King for just a year.
314
00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:28,920
She's on her way to meet one of his advisers.
315
00:23:43,720 --> 00:23:45,320
I thought you were one of the King's men.
316
00:23:45,320 --> 00:23:48,760
I am. His Majesty's most loyal and faithful servant.
317
00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:51,240
We are in such danger.
318
00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:53,600
- This is madness.
- Are you alone?
319
00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:54,640
Then we are safe.
320
00:23:55,920 --> 00:23:58,080
I am the King's wife, we are never safe.
321
00:23:58,080 --> 00:23:59,880
My lady, we have no time to lose.
322
00:24:02,520 --> 00:24:05,200
Every second with the King is spent thinking of our next meeting.
323
00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:07,480
Why, he cannot please you the way I do?
324
00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:10,000
If the rumours are true he cannot please you at all.
325
00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:11,960
Don't talk like that.
326
00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:14,080
My heart dies when we're apart.
327
00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:15,800
- Tell me you're the same.
- Of course.
328
00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:18,200
- But if we're caught?
- We will not be caught.
329
00:24:19,960 --> 00:24:22,120
Madam, if you wish to end this...
330
00:24:22,120 --> 00:24:24,920
- No!
- Then place your trust in me.
331
00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:33,360
HENRY MUMBLES DRUNKENLY
332
00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:41,800
DRUNKEN SINGING
333
00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:05,520
Catherine's secret lover is courtier Thomas Culpeper,
334
00:25:05,520 --> 00:25:07,680
a notorious womaniser.
335
00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:23,280
One of Catherine and Thomas Culpeper's assignations
336
00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:26,800
took place here at Lincoln Castle.
337
00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:30,920
This is from a letter that Catherine wrote to Thomas Culpeper -
338
00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:33,480
it's quite steamy stuff.
339
00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:36,240
"When I think," she says,
340
00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:42,800
"that you shall depart from me again it makes my heart to die.
341
00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:49,240
"To think what fortune I have that I cannot be always in your company."
342
00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:51,080
And she signs it off,
343
00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:54,360
"Yours, as long as life endures."
344
00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:05,320
So why did Catherine risk an affair with Thomas Culpeper when she knew
345
00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:08,360
exactly how lethal Henry could be?
346
00:26:08,360 --> 00:26:11,480
After all, she was a cousin of Anne Boleyn,
347
00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:17,280
who'd been accused of adultery, and consequently lost her head.
348
00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:19,640
There are lots of different theories here.
349
00:26:19,640 --> 00:26:23,440
Some people think that Catherine was just a silly little slut,
350
00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:26,960
others that she really was in love with him.
351
00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:28,400
I don't believe either.
352
00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:32,640
I believe that Thomas Culpeper was a sexual predator,
353
00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:34,000
that he was pressurising,
354
00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:37,680
almost forcing a vulnerable young woman into having
355
00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:39,560
a sexual relationship with him.
356
00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:44,640
Thomas Culpeper had a terrible reputation.
357
00:26:44,640 --> 00:26:48,360
He'd been accused of raping a park-keeper's wife,
358
00:26:48,360 --> 00:26:51,440
and murdering a villager who tried to stop him.
359
00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:53,520
But he'd been pardoned by the King.
360
00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:59,760
It is true that the letter contains some pretty effusive phrases,
361
00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:02,800
when she talks about her heart dying for him,
362
00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:06,720
or how she will be his as long as life endures.
363
00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:09,800
But you can read it as placatory.
364
00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:14,480
Maybe she was telling him what he wanted to hear to keep him quiet.
365
00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:17,800
After all, Thomas Culpeper was a dangerous man.
366
00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:23,080
Catherine met him again three weeks later,
367
00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:25,520
but this time they were noticed.
368
00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:29,360
And gossip about the Queen began to swirl around the court.
369
00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:45,800
On the 2nd of November 1541, All Souls' Day,
370
00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:49,080
a letter was left for the King to find in the Chapel Royal
371
00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:51,360
at Hampton Court.
372
00:27:51,360 --> 00:27:55,000
It contained some quite extraordinary allegations.
373
00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:58,760
It said that when his wife Catherine had been growing up
374
00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:02,920
she'd had sex with a cousin of hers called Francis Dereham,
375
00:28:02,920 --> 00:28:06,640
and also with a man called Henry Manox,
376
00:28:06,640 --> 00:28:08,440
who was her music teacher.
377
00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:13,440
When Henry read the letter he was sceptical,
378
00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:15,600
but he ordered an investigation.
379
00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:20,880
And the investigation led back to Catherine's childhood.
380
00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:25,480
Her mother died when she was young.
381
00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:29,680
Aged ten, Catherine was sent to live with her step-grandmother,
382
00:28:29,680 --> 00:28:31,800
the dowager Duchess of Norfolk,
383
00:28:31,800 --> 00:28:36,280
who ran a sort of boarding school for young ladies destined for court
384
00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:37,960
here at Chesworth Manor.
385
00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:41,720
She wasn't given much of a formal education,
386
00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:43,840
though she did get music lessons.
387
00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:47,080
She was meant to pick up a bit of polish from being part
388
00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:48,640
of a large household.
389
00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:54,160
Catherine and the other girls slept in a dormitory called
390
00:28:54,160 --> 00:28:55,960
the Maidens' Chamber.
391
00:28:57,080 --> 00:29:00,920
It was supposed to be locked up at night to keep them safe,
392
00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:04,440
but the arrangements in this household were a bit lax.
393
00:29:04,440 --> 00:29:08,200
The Duchess can be said to have failed in her duty of care
394
00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:12,360
towards these girls, because certain men of the household
395
00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:14,760
knew how to get hold of the key.
396
00:29:18,560 --> 00:29:21,200
When Catherine's family connections took her to court,
397
00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:22,840
none of this was mentioned.
398
00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:26,400
And of course, it would have been dangerous to talk about it
399
00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:27,840
once she was the Queen.
400
00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:42,000
After just 15 months as Queen, Catherine is to be interrogated
401
00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:46,680
about her past by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer.
402
00:29:50,840 --> 00:29:54,000
You must speak nothing but the truth, my child.
403
00:29:56,800 --> 00:29:58,680
Be calm.
404
00:29:58,680 --> 00:29:59,720
Take your time.
405
00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:03,480
We are here in God's company.
406
00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:05,640
There is no rush.
407
00:30:09,640 --> 00:30:11,080
Francis Dereham.
408
00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:16,800
You know this man well?
409
00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:20,040
Knew him, sir.
410
00:30:21,760 --> 00:30:24,280
It was many years ago, and I've not seen nor...
411
00:30:24,280 --> 00:30:29,640
Please, just simply explain your involvement with him.
412
00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:34,240
Long ago...
413
00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:37,960
..before I met the King,
414
00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:40,880
there was the possibility that Francis Dereham and I would marry.
415
00:30:40,880 --> 00:30:41,920
Indeed.
416
00:30:42,880 --> 00:30:47,800
There is talk that you referred to one another as husband and wife.
417
00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:49,680
Not by law.
418
00:30:49,680 --> 00:30:51,000
Not in the eyes of God.
419
00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:54,520
The King has been my true and only husband.
420
00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:58,200
Did you lie with Dereham?
421
00:31:02,080 --> 00:31:03,280
Yes, my lord.
422
00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:07,120
I must be truthful.
423
00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:08,240
You must.
424
00:31:10,920 --> 00:31:12,320
Have there been others?
425
00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:15,800
Before the King, apart from Dereham?
426
00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:19,200
Henry Manox perhaps?
427
00:31:20,240 --> 00:31:21,360
Please.
428
00:31:23,320 --> 00:31:24,480
Sit back down.
429
00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:33,280
Have you anything to say about this man?
430
00:31:33,280 --> 00:31:35,520
The choice to lie with him was not mine.
431
00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:38,480
I was a child.
432
00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:41,480
Yet, still...
433
00:31:43,640 --> 00:31:46,880
..the accusations are not without weight?
434
00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:52,400
They are not.
435
00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:56,960
I see.
436
00:31:56,960 --> 00:31:58,440
Please, my lord,
437
00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:01,920
I beg of you to tell the King that my heart is filled with sorrow,
438
00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:04,440
and assure him of my repentance.
439
00:32:04,440 --> 00:32:07,800
The fear of death is not as bad as this, my lord.
440
00:32:20,520 --> 00:32:24,200
Henry Manox had been her music teacher.
441
00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:25,800
And her cousin, Francis Dereham,
442
00:32:25,800 --> 00:32:29,040
he'd been one of those men with access to the key
443
00:32:29,040 --> 00:32:31,200
to the Maidens' Chamber.
444
00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:35,360
These two men had taken advantage of Catherine,
445
00:32:35,360 --> 00:32:38,440
and that's why it's so unfair that historians have called her
446
00:32:38,440 --> 00:32:43,360
a goodtime girl. Today, we'd call her an abused child.
447
00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:51,080
Henry Manox and Francis Dereham were arrested and sent
448
00:32:51,080 --> 00:32:52,920
to the Tower of London.
449
00:32:54,240 --> 00:32:57,440
They were interrogated by the Archbishop's men.
450
00:32:59,880 --> 00:33:04,680
And quite possibly, under torture, Catherine's cousin Francis Dereham
451
00:33:04,680 --> 00:33:07,400
admitted that he had had sex with her,
452
00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:11,040
he'd lain with her several times.
453
00:33:11,040 --> 00:33:14,200
This was a detail that was corroborated by ladies
454
00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:17,240
from Catherine's grandmother's household.
455
00:33:17,240 --> 00:33:20,480
What Cranmer and the King's advisers wanted to know next was,
456
00:33:20,480 --> 00:33:25,760
had the affair continued, even after Catherine had become Queen?
457
00:33:25,760 --> 00:33:29,440
No, said Francis Dereham, absolutely not.
458
00:33:29,440 --> 00:33:32,480
But that was only because she'd dumped him.
459
00:33:32,480 --> 00:33:36,760
He'd been replaced in Catherine's affections by somebody else -
460
00:33:36,760 --> 00:33:37,960
Thomas Culpeper.
461
00:33:40,440 --> 00:33:44,600
Culpeper, the serial seducer, had pressurised this vulnerable
462
00:33:44,600 --> 00:33:47,800
and abused girl into committing adultery.
463
00:33:47,800 --> 00:33:50,960
He denied the affair, but he wasn't believed.
464
00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:54,200
Catherine's love letter to him was found.
465
00:33:54,200 --> 00:33:56,000
This sealed their fate.
466
00:34:10,640 --> 00:34:12,720
Henry was devastated.
467
00:34:12,720 --> 00:34:16,600
But, as always, he gave his orders, and then he slipped away.
468
00:34:16,600 --> 00:34:19,840
Kings don't have to have difficult conversations.
469
00:34:19,840 --> 00:34:23,280
He left Hampton Court, said he was going hunting,
470
00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:25,280
and Catherine never saw him again.
471
00:34:27,080 --> 00:34:31,160
For several days she was left alone at the Palace.
472
00:34:31,160 --> 00:34:35,240
The King's absence must have told her that something was wrong.
473
00:34:36,280 --> 00:34:39,560
So cheerful and sociable in normal times,
474
00:34:39,560 --> 00:34:42,120
Catherine wasn't in the mood for merry-making.
475
00:34:43,680 --> 00:34:47,080
When musicians came to the Palace to play for the Queen
476
00:34:47,080 --> 00:34:50,520
they were sent away again. The exact words of the order,
477
00:34:50,520 --> 00:34:53,040
and this is really poignant, were,
478
00:34:53,040 --> 00:34:56,000
"Now is not the time for dancing."
479
00:35:01,760 --> 00:35:04,280
Finally, Catherine was arrested.
480
00:35:13,800 --> 00:35:17,120
Meanwhile, Thomas Culpeper and Francis Dereham
481
00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:20,720
were tried for treason and found guilty.
482
00:35:20,720 --> 00:35:23,960
Somehow Catherine's music teacher Henry Manox managed
483
00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:27,560
to get away with it, but the other two were less lucky.
484
00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:30,520
Francis Dereham was hung, drawn and quartered,
485
00:35:30,520 --> 00:35:33,880
and Thomas Culpeper, as his social superior,
486
00:35:33,880 --> 00:35:37,000
was given the rather more elegant death of beheading.
487
00:35:39,400 --> 00:35:43,520
The heads of the men who'd abused Catherine ended up on spikes
488
00:35:43,520 --> 00:35:46,160
on London Bridge.
489
00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:49,760
When the teenage Queen was taken to the Tower of London,
490
00:35:49,760 --> 00:35:52,320
she would have seen their rotting heads.
491
00:35:59,640 --> 00:36:02,960
It's the 12th of February, 1542.
492
00:36:04,640 --> 00:36:07,800
Catherine has also been convicted of treason,
493
00:36:07,800 --> 00:36:10,320
and is sentenced to die by beheading.
494
00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:41,640
It is a much more ordinary thing than I had imagined.
495
00:36:53,240 --> 00:36:54,360
No, my lady.
496
00:36:54,360 --> 00:36:56,400
Please, move away from me.
497
00:37:26,440 --> 00:37:28,560
I shall surrender myself to God.
498
00:37:54,520 --> 00:37:58,000
The next day, Catherine was brought to the scaffold
499
00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:00,520
erected on this spot.
500
00:38:00,520 --> 00:38:03,760
Her last words were extremely penitent.
501
00:38:03,760 --> 00:38:07,880
She spoke about her just and worthy punishment.
502
00:38:07,880 --> 00:38:12,440
She said that she'd offended God heinously ever since her youth,
503
00:38:12,440 --> 00:38:16,600
and she prayed for the preservation of her husband the King.
504
00:38:16,600 --> 00:38:20,200
Then she knelt down exactly as she'd practised,
505
00:38:20,200 --> 00:38:24,600
and her head was removed with a single blow of the axe.
506
00:38:51,600 --> 00:38:55,240
After the breakdown of his fifth marriage, it took Henry a whole year
507
00:38:55,240 --> 00:38:59,280
to recover. The Spanish ambassador reported that,
508
00:38:59,280 --> 00:39:02,800
"He certainly shows more sorrow at her loss
509
00:39:02,800 --> 00:39:05,960
"than at the loss of his previous wives."
510
00:39:05,960 --> 00:39:10,400
Henry was now old and ill and tired.
511
00:39:10,400 --> 00:39:13,160
Why not just remain a widower?
512
00:39:13,160 --> 00:39:15,280
But it simply didn't suit him.
513
00:39:15,280 --> 00:39:18,040
He craved female company.
514
00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:20,840
It was time for yet another new wife.
515
00:39:24,960 --> 00:39:28,960
Henry's sixth Queen would be Kathryn Parr.
516
00:39:28,960 --> 00:39:33,680
She may have a reputation for being the dullest of them all,
517
00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:37,000
but the real woman is altogether more intriguing.
518
00:39:38,360 --> 00:39:41,640
Kathryn had already got through two husbands.
519
00:39:41,640 --> 00:39:46,000
She was twice a widow, but she was a very merry one.
520
00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:47,920
She was witty, and pretty.
521
00:39:47,920 --> 00:39:50,320
She loved music and dancing.
522
00:39:50,320 --> 00:39:54,120
Although she came from a northern family, she'd grown up in London -
523
00:39:54,120 --> 00:39:57,320
her family's townhouse was here in Blackfriars.
524
00:39:58,320 --> 00:40:00,280
Kathryn was already involved
525
00:40:00,280 --> 00:40:03,000
with one of the court's most eligible bachelors,
526
00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:05,920
Jane Seymour's older brother, Thomas.
527
00:40:05,920 --> 00:40:09,520
But when Henry's eye fell on her, she couldn't say no.
528
00:40:12,040 --> 00:40:17,440
Henry was now 52, pretty old for Tudor times.
529
00:40:17,440 --> 00:40:19,440
He had his heir, Edward,
530
00:40:19,440 --> 00:40:22,680
and he may still have been holding out hope for a second son.
531
00:40:24,360 --> 00:40:26,880
But his health was deteriorating.
532
00:40:26,880 --> 00:40:31,400
He could no longer walk without help because of the ulcers on his legs.
533
00:40:31,400 --> 00:40:35,480
So the 30-year-old Kathryn would be more companion than lover,
534
00:40:35,480 --> 00:40:37,400
and a mother figure to his children.
535
00:40:39,600 --> 00:40:43,440
Henry must have been attracted to her warm personality,
536
00:40:43,440 --> 00:40:46,520
her sense of humour, maybe her intelligence.
537
00:40:46,520 --> 00:40:49,400
She was definitely the most intellectually curious
538
00:40:49,400 --> 00:40:50,880
of all of his wives.
539
00:40:50,880 --> 00:40:55,080
She was one of those people who just can't stop reading books.
540
00:40:55,080 --> 00:40:59,400
Their marriage was a small affair, there were only 20 people present,
541
00:40:59,400 --> 00:41:02,480
but they included Henry's daughters Mary and Elizabeth.
542
00:41:02,480 --> 00:41:07,560
It took place in July 1543, here at Hampton Court.
543
00:41:11,400 --> 00:41:14,240
What was Kathryn herself thinking?
544
00:41:15,400 --> 00:41:19,680
Well, we do know that she had hoped to marry somebody else.
545
00:41:19,680 --> 00:41:23,240
But also, she had a very highly developed sense of duty.
546
00:41:24,600 --> 00:41:27,160
And her duty was to God.
547
00:41:27,160 --> 00:41:30,080
She had her own reasons for marrying the King.
548
00:41:39,880 --> 00:41:42,680
It's wedding night number six for Henry,
549
00:41:42,680 --> 00:41:46,200
and he's waiting for his new Queen to arrive.
550
00:41:46,200 --> 00:41:49,240
- My Lord.
- Oh, sweet lady.
551
00:41:49,240 --> 00:41:51,520
- There you are.
- Always, my Lord.
552
00:42:06,080 --> 00:42:07,480
Gently, sister.
553
00:42:13,720 --> 00:42:15,080
Leave us.
554
00:42:20,520 --> 00:42:21,680
Thank you.
555
00:42:27,520 --> 00:42:31,240
It's just over a year after Catherine Howard's execution,
556
00:42:31,240 --> 00:42:34,040
and Henry is delighted with his new bride.
557
00:42:36,480 --> 00:42:39,480
Kathryn Parr was a model queen.
558
00:42:39,480 --> 00:42:42,280
Henry trusted her to rule in his absence,
559
00:42:42,280 --> 00:42:45,720
as he had done with his first Catherine, of Aragon.
560
00:42:45,720 --> 00:42:49,520
Today Kathryn Parr has rather a dowdy, nursey image.
561
00:42:49,520 --> 00:42:52,640
This isn't fair - she was actually rather glamorous.
562
00:42:52,640 --> 00:42:57,040
As soon as she got married she spent a lot of money on sumptuous clothes
563
00:42:57,040 --> 00:42:58,240
in bright colours.
564
00:42:58,240 --> 00:43:01,160
She bought satin for her nightgowns.
565
00:43:01,160 --> 00:43:04,680
Kathryn Parr's stepdaughter, the Princess Elizabeth,
566
00:43:04,680 --> 00:43:08,880
spent a lot of time watching and learning from her about
567
00:43:08,880 --> 00:43:13,560
how to be a queen. Yes, in matters of image, but also intellectually,
568
00:43:13,560 --> 00:43:16,920
Kathryn Parr was a real role model.
569
00:43:16,920 --> 00:43:20,760
There was only one problem with this picture of a happy family -
570
00:43:20,760 --> 00:43:22,800
Kathryn's religious views.
571
00:43:26,280 --> 00:43:30,520
England was still settling in to a new religious order as a result
572
00:43:30,520 --> 00:43:32,560
of Henry's split from Rome.
573
00:43:35,240 --> 00:43:39,280
He'd made himself head of his new church in England, but in his own
574
00:43:39,280 --> 00:43:44,200
personal religious beliefs, Henry was surprisingly old school.
575
00:43:44,200 --> 00:43:45,560
It's funny, isn't it?
576
00:43:45,560 --> 00:43:49,880
Because we think of him as having broken with Rome, but in his heart,
577
00:43:49,880 --> 00:43:52,480
Henry remained a Catholic.
578
00:43:52,480 --> 00:43:55,920
But there was a revolutionary new religion in England,
579
00:43:55,920 --> 00:43:59,920
it was growing in popularity, it would end up as Protestantism.
580
00:43:59,920 --> 00:44:03,360
And Henry's new wife Kathryn Parr was a believer.
581
00:44:03,360 --> 00:44:07,280
Now, Protestants thought that the Bible ought to be published
582
00:44:07,280 --> 00:44:10,360
in English, not Latin, that preaching ought to be
583
00:44:10,360 --> 00:44:13,640
done in English so that people could understand it.
584
00:44:13,640 --> 00:44:16,920
Not surprisingly, this was proving pretty popular
585
00:44:16,920 --> 00:44:18,360
with Henry's subjects.
586
00:44:19,760 --> 00:44:21,320
But not with Henry.
587
00:44:21,320 --> 00:44:24,440
He was quite horrified by the thought of people having
588
00:44:24,440 --> 00:44:29,280
direct access to the Bible. He complained about this in Parliament.
589
00:44:29,280 --> 00:44:33,360
He said that this most precious jewel, the word of God,
590
00:44:33,360 --> 00:44:39,000
was now being disputed, rhymed, sung and jangled
591
00:44:39,000 --> 00:44:41,720
in taverns and alehouses.
592
00:44:41,720 --> 00:44:45,200
And one person who was doing more jangling than anyone else
593
00:44:45,200 --> 00:44:47,400
was Henry's own wife, Kathryn Parr.
594
00:44:52,040 --> 00:44:55,320
Kathryn was an out and out evangelist.
595
00:44:55,320 --> 00:44:58,880
She believed that God had chosen her to marry Henry,
596
00:44:58,880 --> 00:45:02,640
just so she could spread the good news about the new religion.
597
00:45:02,640 --> 00:45:06,960
She even published a book - it was called Prayers Or Meditations.
598
00:45:06,960 --> 00:45:08,760
This was unprecedented -
599
00:45:08,760 --> 00:45:12,560
it was the first book to be published in English by a woman,
600
00:45:12,560 --> 00:45:15,280
let alone queen, and it was a bestseller.
601
00:45:17,240 --> 00:45:20,200
Now, Henry wasn't particularly bothered that she'd done this.
602
00:45:20,200 --> 00:45:23,160
He thought that it was a nice little hobby for her to have,
603
00:45:23,160 --> 00:45:24,680
that it was woman's work.
604
00:45:25,760 --> 00:45:29,280
But it did raise eyebrows in conservative circles
605
00:45:29,280 --> 00:45:30,760
close to the King.
606
00:45:30,760 --> 00:45:34,040
What Kathryn had done was, technically, illegal -
607
00:45:34,040 --> 00:45:37,680
women weren't supposed to preach the Word of God.
608
00:45:37,680 --> 00:45:41,360
And it would turn out that Kathryn wasn't the only female in the family
609
00:45:41,360 --> 00:45:44,920
with these potentially subversive religious views.
610
00:45:49,440 --> 00:45:52,920
The 12-year-old Princess Elizabeth is intelligent,
611
00:45:52,920 --> 00:45:56,240
devout and fluent in five languages.
612
00:45:58,280 --> 00:46:02,240
To Elizabeth it seems perfectly natural that she should start
613
00:46:02,240 --> 00:46:06,080
translating religious works, just like her stepmother does.
614
00:46:06,080 --> 00:46:09,000
It's New Year's Day 1546,
615
00:46:09,000 --> 00:46:12,000
and Elizabeth has decided to give her father
616
00:46:12,000 --> 00:46:13,960
a home-made New Year's gift.
617
00:46:13,960 --> 00:46:16,440
It's a translation that she's done herself.
618
00:46:19,960 --> 00:46:21,960
A gift from Elizabeth,
619
00:46:21,960 --> 00:46:24,600
made by her own fair hand.
620
00:46:24,600 --> 00:46:26,360
Happy New Year, Your Majesty.
621
00:46:26,360 --> 00:46:28,200
And what a precious gift it is.
622
00:46:30,320 --> 00:46:31,440
Oh!
623
00:46:45,080 --> 00:46:47,240
Do you recognise it, my Lord?
624
00:46:47,240 --> 00:46:48,920
The Queen's book, sire.
625
00:46:48,920 --> 00:46:50,360
Prayers Or Meditations.
626
00:46:57,480 --> 00:46:59,600
You seem unhappy, sire.
627
00:46:59,600 --> 00:47:02,360
And you cannot possibly guess why that might be?
628
00:47:05,320 --> 00:47:08,480
This is heresy.
629
00:47:08,480 --> 00:47:11,080
The Word of God defiled.
630
00:47:11,080 --> 00:47:14,760
It is a gift, made with love by your daughter.
631
00:47:14,760 --> 00:47:16,080
MY daughter.
632
00:47:19,680 --> 00:47:22,240
Were you aware that Elizabeth had committed herself to this,
633
00:47:22,240 --> 00:47:23,400
in spite of my beliefs?
634
00:47:23,400 --> 00:47:24,680
Sire, if I may say so,
635
00:47:24,680 --> 00:47:27,800
I see no reason why a difference of opinion on this matter
636
00:47:27,800 --> 00:47:29,800
should cause such upset between us.
637
00:47:29,800 --> 00:47:31,800
You see no reason?
638
00:47:31,800 --> 00:47:34,600
To deliberately provoke and insult me,
639
00:47:34,600 --> 00:47:37,000
and impose your faith on my child?
640
00:47:40,160 --> 00:47:41,440
The fault is mine, Father.
641
00:47:42,560 --> 00:47:44,280
Forgive me if I have offended you.
642
00:47:45,840 --> 00:47:49,200
I am thankful for your efforts, child.
643
00:47:50,320 --> 00:47:53,240
Of course, YOU are forgiven.
644
00:48:05,360 --> 00:48:08,000
So Kathryn is spreading the new religion
645
00:48:08,000 --> 00:48:10,840
through her impressionable stepdaughter.
646
00:48:10,840 --> 00:48:14,160
But on top of that, her work is also being read
647
00:48:14,160 --> 00:48:16,200
throughout the royal household,
648
00:48:16,200 --> 00:48:17,280
by her friends...
649
00:48:18,800 --> 00:48:20,560
..and her enemies.
650
00:48:27,640 --> 00:48:31,280
There was a faction at court plotting against Kathryn.
651
00:48:31,280 --> 00:48:35,160
They were conservatives, supporters of the old religion.
652
00:48:35,160 --> 00:48:38,120
They were worried about her reforming tendencies,
653
00:48:38,120 --> 00:48:41,160
and her growing influence on the elderly King.
654
00:48:42,960 --> 00:48:45,960
They whispered in Henry's ear and exploited
655
00:48:45,960 --> 00:48:48,360
his impatience with his wife.
656
00:48:48,360 --> 00:48:51,440
The Queen was getting too powerful, they warned.
657
00:48:51,440 --> 00:48:54,120
She was a Protestant, a heretic.
658
00:48:54,120 --> 00:48:55,920
She must be burnt at the stake.
659
00:48:57,040 --> 00:48:59,360
But Kathryn was one step ahead of them.
660
00:49:08,560 --> 00:49:10,600
Take these and destroy them as soon as possible.
661
00:49:10,600 --> 00:49:11,880
My lady, that's sacrilege.
662
00:49:11,880 --> 00:49:14,080
Would you rather be destroyed yourself?
663
00:49:14,080 --> 00:49:17,440
Please, let us not suffer the pain of death for our convictions.
664
00:49:17,440 --> 00:49:20,360
As ever, place your trust in God.
665
00:49:20,360 --> 00:49:21,560
KNOCK AT DOOR
666
00:49:28,200 --> 00:49:29,720
Do not let fear consume you.
667
00:49:29,720 --> 00:49:31,080
Go about your business as usual,
668
00:49:31,080 --> 00:49:34,040
but speak not a single word of this to anybody.
669
00:49:35,880 --> 00:49:38,160
Take comfort in the Lord.
670
00:49:38,160 --> 00:49:39,240
It shall pass.
671
00:49:49,600 --> 00:49:52,680
Kathryn knows how much danger she's in,
672
00:49:52,680 --> 00:49:54,160
but she doesn't panic.
673
00:49:54,160 --> 00:49:57,280
She and her ladies have acted quickly and decisively -
674
00:49:57,280 --> 00:50:00,200
they've destroyed their heretical books.
675
00:50:00,200 --> 00:50:03,160
But now Kathryn needs to save herself.
676
00:50:03,160 --> 00:50:05,600
She needs to confront the King.
677
00:50:05,600 --> 00:50:09,040
She's heard that the King's been persuaded to sign a warrant
678
00:50:09,040 --> 00:50:10,720
for her arrest.
679
00:50:13,760 --> 00:50:16,720
It seems such a time since we sat together like this.
680
00:50:18,520 --> 00:50:20,680
I have missed your company.
681
00:50:20,680 --> 00:50:23,240
There has been much to cloud the mood of late.
682
00:50:24,720 --> 00:50:28,080
Please speak freely, sire, I have nothing to hide from you.
683
00:50:29,600 --> 00:50:32,040
You're fully aware of my concerns.
684
00:50:32,040 --> 00:50:34,680
I feel no need to go over them again.
685
00:50:34,680 --> 00:50:39,960
Indeed, perhaps it is the fact that you possess no inclination
686
00:50:39,960 --> 00:50:43,920
to hide your opinions from me that has become the problem.
687
00:50:43,920 --> 00:50:47,680
You wish for a queen who will remain impassive and obedient
688
00:50:47,680 --> 00:50:50,960
at all times? I shall forever be obedient, my Lord,
689
00:50:50,960 --> 00:50:53,120
but I cannot be impassive.
690
00:50:53,120 --> 00:50:57,240
It is this which allows me to serve you to the best of my capabilities.
691
00:50:57,240 --> 00:51:01,160
To vigorously defend and protect our marriage
692
00:51:01,160 --> 00:51:03,080
by attending to your every need...
693
00:51:04,560 --> 00:51:06,040
..is my greatest joy.
694
00:51:08,200 --> 00:51:09,880
That is not in question.
695
00:51:11,680 --> 00:51:12,880
The problem...
696
00:51:13,880 --> 00:51:17,200
..is the articulation of your new-found belief,
697
00:51:17,200 --> 00:51:19,240
and its contradiction with mine.
698
00:51:22,360 --> 00:51:24,240
Do not forget your place, madam.
699
00:51:25,280 --> 00:51:30,280
If I engage in debate,
700
00:51:30,280 --> 00:51:35,200
it is only so that I may benefit from your clear instruction,
701
00:51:35,200 --> 00:51:38,680
not because I look to defy or contradict you.
702
00:51:41,600 --> 00:51:45,680
Forgive me, my lord, your happiness is above everything else.
703
00:51:47,200 --> 00:51:48,240
Please.
704
00:51:50,280 --> 00:51:51,680
Keep your faith with me.
705
00:52:04,840 --> 00:52:06,600
What is it?
706
00:52:06,600 --> 00:52:10,520
Your Majesty, I have here a warrant for the arrest of Queen Kathryn.
707
00:52:12,040 --> 00:52:14,040
On what charge?
708
00:52:14,040 --> 00:52:15,480
Heresy, my lord.
709
00:52:31,320 --> 00:52:33,200
You may leave now.
710
00:52:34,320 --> 00:52:37,040
Your Majesty, my instructions are...
711
00:52:37,040 --> 00:52:42,160
Your instructions come from your King, and I instruct you to leave.
712
00:52:42,160 --> 00:52:43,320
Now.
713
00:52:46,240 --> 00:52:47,840
Get away from here!
714
00:53:06,920 --> 00:53:12,640
So Kathryn has succeeded where all Henry's previous wives have failed.
715
00:53:12,640 --> 00:53:16,280
She's been to the brink of disaster, but somehow,
716
00:53:16,280 --> 00:53:19,800
she's managed to soothe his suspicions.
717
00:53:19,800 --> 00:53:23,040
This is partly Kathryn's own cleverness and good sense,
718
00:53:23,040 --> 00:53:27,600
but it's also because Henry's old now, and frail.
719
00:53:27,600 --> 00:53:30,600
Kathryn suits him pretty well.
720
00:53:30,600 --> 00:53:33,840
And in his own funny way, he loves her.
721
00:53:33,840 --> 00:53:38,720
He doesn't have the energy now to go hunting for yet another wife.
722
00:53:51,600 --> 00:53:54,920
Harmony is restored to the royal household,
723
00:53:54,920 --> 00:53:57,800
and Kathryn wisely keeps her faith to herself.
724
00:54:00,040 --> 00:54:02,560
But Henry's health is rapidly declining.
725
00:54:04,400 --> 00:54:07,480
He's spending more and more time apart from Kathryn
726
00:54:07,480 --> 00:54:11,960
and his children, closeted away with only his most trusted advisers.
727
00:54:13,480 --> 00:54:17,480
It's almost as if he's ashamed of his impending mortality.
728
00:54:21,920 --> 00:54:28,120
Henry VIII died in the small hours of the 28th of January, 1547,
729
00:54:28,120 --> 00:54:31,040
and his nine-year-old son, Edward, was crowned king.
730
00:54:33,040 --> 00:54:37,240
Kathryn was charged with bringing up the young Princess Elizabeth,
731
00:54:37,240 --> 00:54:40,840
and four months later Kathryn married Thomas Seymour,
732
00:54:40,840 --> 00:54:44,040
the man she'd been in love with before she became Queen.
733
00:54:46,720 --> 00:54:48,920
Finally, at the age of 36,
734
00:54:48,920 --> 00:54:51,960
everything came together for Kathryn Parr.
735
00:54:51,960 --> 00:54:53,280
She got pregnant.
736
00:54:53,280 --> 00:54:56,920
She had the life she wanted, she had the man she wanted.
737
00:54:56,920 --> 00:55:00,080
But then, like so many Tudor women,
738
00:55:00,080 --> 00:55:03,240
it was childbirth that got her in the end.
739
00:55:03,240 --> 00:55:07,560
Her daughter was born, and a week later Kathryn died.
740
00:55:24,800 --> 00:55:28,280
But that's not the end of the story.
741
00:55:28,280 --> 00:55:32,520
After all the efforts that Henry's six wives made to give him a son,
742
00:55:32,520 --> 00:55:35,680
young King Edward would only rule for six years,
743
00:55:35,680 --> 00:55:37,600
and he too died.
744
00:55:37,600 --> 00:55:40,320
And so Henry's daughters became Queen -
745
00:55:40,320 --> 00:55:45,120
Mary, born to Catherine of Aragon, and Elizabeth, born to Anne Boleyn.
746
00:55:45,120 --> 00:55:50,040
Queen Elizabeth I would rule England for 44 years,
747
00:55:50,040 --> 00:55:53,760
and you've got to agree that she was our greatest monarch ever.
748
00:55:56,000 --> 00:56:00,480
Isn't it ironic that despite the infidelities,
749
00:56:00,480 --> 00:56:05,000
and despite the miscarriages, and the divorces, and the beheadings,
750
00:56:05,000 --> 00:56:09,160
despite all that drama that the six queens endured
751
00:56:09,160 --> 00:56:11,760
to try to give Henry a male heir,
752
00:56:11,760 --> 00:56:15,840
that, in the end, the Tudor dynasty was secured by a woman?
58276
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