All language subtitles for The.Boleyns.A.Scandalous.Family.S01E01.Ambition.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-NTb_[eng]

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- [bell tolls]
- [bird cackles]

[tense music]

FEMALE NARRATOR: She
was our most infamous Queen.

The second wife of Henry VIII.

Tried on his orders for
crimes of adultery and treason.

Anne Boleyn was led from her
rooms at the Tower of London

to her death by an
executioner's sword.

[heavy door clangs open]

[tense, dramatic music]

This Tudor saga is one
of the most familiar tales

in English history.

But to really understand
Anne's rise and fall,

we need to know more about
those who helped shape her.

Her tight-knit, cunning
and power-hungry family.

The Boleyns are one of the
great stories of British history.

It is an extraordinary
epic of hubris and pain,

the good and the
bad kind of ambition.

[dramatic swell]

NARRATOR: Every member
of the family had a part to play.

Thomas Boleyn, the
ambitious patriarch...

George, the fearless son...

His sisters - Mary,
the reluctant mistress...

Anne, the
calculating courtier...

And their brutal
uncle, Thomas Howard.

The Tudor public had always
been used to stories of tragic falls,

the stories of the falls
of kings and princes.

But even they might not
have imagined a fall as graphic

as the fall of the
Boleyn family.

NARRATOR: Based on rare
original letters and documents.

the Boleyns will tell this story
from their own perspectives.

The court could produce no
proof of my incestuous guilt,

other than I had spent hours in
the presence of my own sister.

ANNE: I will not say
your sentence is unjust.

My savior has
taught me how to die,

and he will
strengthen my resolve.

NARRATOR: The family
played a dangerous game

and paid the ultimate price.

But they left a
remarkable legacy,

changing the course
of British history

and taking their name from
obscurity to the apex of power.

[dramatic music]

[birds chirping]

NARRATOR: In 1508, the
first Tudor King, Henry VII,

is on the throne.

Anne Boleyn and her
siblings George and Mary

are growing up in
wealth and privilege.

Watched over by
their mother Elizabeth.

Anne and George
are thick as thieves.

They have the same temperament,
they have the same personality,

they are vibrant children,
they're precocious.

They really do take
after their father.

NARRATOR: Thomas
Boleyn is a career man

who has high hopes
for his children.

Thomas Boleyn
is highly educated.

He speaks French fluently.

He is also someone who
reads and and understands Latin,

and he's interested
in intellectual matters.

[speaking French]

Thomas Boleyn is a third
generation gentleman.

His grandfather really
came from nothing.

Very much, if you like,
nouveau in that respect.

NARRATOR: Thomas
Boleyn's grandfather Geoffrey

had climbed the greasy
pole of 15th-century society

all the way from a
lowly apprentice hatter

to Lord Mayor of London.

His son William
made a good marriage

and acquired further
wealth and lands.

But Thomas wanted more.

He wanted to become a
powerful player at the King's court.

LAUREN MACKAY: Thomas
Boleyn inherits this Boleyn legacy.

He is determined to improve
as well upon his own generation

and pass down to his children.

He's ambitious for his family.

What's the point of life if not
to rise above your standing?

NARRATOR: But when he started
his political career in the 1490s

he had a problem....

clearly mapped out in one
of the most influential books

of the day.

[dramatic music]

The go-to handbook if
you were a young hopeful

who wanted to become a courtier

was Baldassare
Castiglione's The Courtier,

Il Cortegiano.

This is a book that had
been printed and translated

across Europe.
It's hugely popular.

And it sets out rules
and expectations

of what a courtier
should be like.

THOMAS BOLEYN: The perfect
courtier should be nobly born...

For nobleness of
birth is like a clear lamp

that shows forth
and brings into light,

makes visible good and bad,

and inflames and
provokes virtue.

[bird caws]

NARRATOR: Thomas understood
that success at the Royal Court

was much easier for
those of noble birth.

Yet the Boleyn
family at this time

belonged to the
lower rank of gentry.

And class was everything
in Tudor society.

Numerous gentry families
vied with the Boleyns

for positions of influence,

such as the Herberts,
the Dudleys, and the Parrs.

But noble dynasties of Dukes
and Earls were firmly above them

in the pecking order.

The answer for Thomas
Boleyn was to align his family

with someone of noble birth

who could vastly increase
his chances of career success.

And that's why in around
1495, he made the smart

strategic decision to
marry Elizabeth Howard.

[dramatic music]

SUSAN DORAN: So what did they
bring each other in this marriage?

Well, for the Boleyns, it really
did establish the gentry status.

What about the
Howards after all?

They came from this
prestigious, ancient lineage.

What were they
getting out of it?

Well, the most important
thing they were getting out of it

was wealth.

The Boleyns were very wealthy.

So it was really a match
that was very advantageous

to both of them.

NARRATOR: But it was not
a match Thomas' new wife

had much say in.

Like all Tudor women,

she was simply a pawn
traded by the men around her.

Marriage was a contract,
and to seal the deal,

Elizabeth's wedding night
had to be played out in public,

surrounded by
members of both families.

For us, looking back,
there is a potentially

quite grotesque element to
the consummation ceremony.

These consummation
ceremonies are alien to us

because they are a
public celebration around

an inherently intimate
act between two people.

[knocking on door]

And these ceremonies
can be very awkward.

MAN #1: Get on with it!

MAN #2: Come on, lad!

This was a connection which was
going to benefit Thomas greatly.

The Howards are such a
powerful and influential family.

They would provide those
all-important connections.

NARRATOR: From that point,
Thomas Boleyn knew his future

would be entwined with
that of his new brother-in-law,

Thomas Howard.

GARETH RUSSELL; He is one of
the highest ranking peers in England,

he comes from a lot of money.

He is related to
anybody who matters

and quite a few who don't.

He has been described as
one of the most unpleasant men

in the 16th century, which
is quite the horse race to win.

ELIZABETH NORTON: Thomas Boleyn
of course knew that by marrying a Howard

he could expect
preferment at court,

he could expect
Elizabeth's brother maybe

to speak up for him,

to have a word
in the King's ear,

to maybe help get that
role at court that he wanted.

[bird caws]

NARRATOR: By the early
1500s, as the marriage progresses

and three children are born,

Thomas Boleyn is happy to
ride on the Howard family's

coat tails, waiting
for an opportunity.

[birds chirping]

And he gets one in around 1501

when he begins to appear on
the fringes of Henry VII's court.

It's probably easiest
to think about the court

like a concentric, kind of
spiral of circles of influence

and at the middle of it
is of course, the King,

like the spider at
the center of its net.

NARRATOR: Thomas
Boleyn is now in competition

with over a thousand
fellow courtiers.

Those with titles and status
are able to jump ahead.

The rest are involved
in a scramble for the top,

using every ounce of ingenuity
and cunning to advance.

Thomas will need to get past
powerful and dangerous men

like the Earl of Oxford
and Earl of Shrewsbury

who surround the King.

There is a very,
very strong sense

that if you want to
climb to that center,

you have to climb
over other bodies.

SUSAN DORAN: Almost
certainly because of the influence

of the Howards,

Thomas Boleyn becomes
an esquire of the body,

one of the six esquires

that attended on the
King for personal service.

NARRATOR: Exactly what
Thomas' new job entails

is set out in an
extraordinary document

that dates from the
time of Henry VII's

father-in-law, Edward IV.

These records are the
earliest attempt to set out

how the royal court functions,

and they describe hundreds
of jobs - including Thomas'.

THOMAS BOLEYN: The
duties of an Esquire of the Body

involve many secrets.

We must watch over the King
in his chamber, day or night,

bring soup or porridge
for his sustenance,

dress and undress him
and ensure no other man

touches the King's person.

Don't let the King's soup
get cold, that's most important!

It's not a fantastic position,
it's merely a stepping stone.

The most important thing is,
he's got his foot in the door.

Now all he needs to
do is make it through.

NARRATOR: Once inside the court,

with so many people
jockeying for favor,

making the right
alliances is critical.

GREG WALKER: Thomas
Boleyn is very dependent on

the extraordinarily volatile
personality of Thomas Howard.

Thomas Howard is
still technically senior

to Thomas Boleyn.

They're both climbing,
they're both ambitious,

they're both trying to
build their own reputations.

Thomas Howard is
building his as a soldier,

he's a good military commander.

LAUREN MACKAY:
He's not well liked at court.

All that matters to Thomas
Howard is are you noble or not?

What's your blood,
what's your lineage?

He's also about as
diplomatic as a bag of bricks.

If Howard is doing
well, Boleyn does well.

But the moment
Howard gets into trouble

his whole hierarchy of
patronage is vulnerable as well.

So Thomas Boleyn at this period
has to have a second option.

- [wind blows]
- [bell tolls]

NARRATOR: That second
option is the King's Chaplain.

Thomas Wolsey, possibly
is the son of a butcher,

a man who really
has unrivaled abilities.

He's far more intelligent
than the other two Thomases.

[inaudible]

Wolsey is already
beginning what's going to be

a meteoric rise to
power and influence.

NARRATOR: Thomas Boleyn is keeping
a close watch on Howard and Wolsey,

but he's also making clever
connections of his own.

SUSAN DORAN: He started
to build up a relationship

with Prince Henry

who is going to
become Henry VIII.

He sees in Thomas Boleyn
a man who is charming,

a man who is athletic.

They certainly shared
a love of tournaments

and also intellectual interests.

Henry thought this was a
man that I can have around me,

as a companion, that I
might enjoy his company.

- [waves lapping]
- [gulls squawking]

NARRATOR: This
burgeoning friendship happens

at the perfect time.

In April 1509,
King Henry VII dies,

leaving the court in disarray.

[waves lapping]

As 17-year-old Henry
VIII takes the throne,

many courtiers
lose their positions.

But Thomas's friendship
with the young King pays off.

He not only survives,
but is promoted

to become one of 26
Knights of the Bath.

NANDINI DAS: This
is an age-old ceremony,

it's already an old
custom by this point.

When the big day comes
for Boleyn and the others,

they would have
bathed and come into

the White Hall of the Tower.

The King then comes in,

dips his fingers into the water,

makes the sign of
the cross on them

and presents them with
the oath of allegiance

that they have taken.

THOMAS BOLEYN: I shall
honor God above all things;

I shall love and protect your
Majesty, my Sovereign Lord.

I shall defend the rights of
maidens, widows, and orphans.

I shall never abuse or
neglect the honor of this order,

as any other member
before or after me.

Thomas Boleyn is
made a Knight of the Bath

in these coronation festivities,

which is very nice, but it's
not anywhere near as nice

as Thomas Howard
getting inducted

into the most noble
Order of the Garter,

which is the highest chivalric
order in England at the time.

He is the Premier League
Knight, and Thomas is down there

in the Championship
waiting for promotion.

NARRATOR: But neither Thomas
Boleyn nor Thomas Howard

can match the meteoric
rise of the third Thomas,

Thomas Wolsey, who
has won himself a seat

in one of the highest
circles of Court:

the Royal Council.

What Henry needs, of course,

is people who will get
things done for him.

Kings need fixers
in this period,

because they don't have
a massive bureaucracy

to go and do their bidding.

They just need a few people
who are bloody good at their job.

And Wolsey was
that kind of person.

NARRATOR: The young
Henry VIII is hungry for glory,

and he hopes that Wolsey is
the man to help him achieve it.

His new Queen Katherine of
Aragon has already secured him

a valuable alliance
with the Spanish Empire.

But true glory
means triumph in war

and for that Henry
needs an enemy.

What they usually want
in an aggressive policy,

the obvious thing to
do is invade France.

So Wolsey is
prepared to back him

and to make that war possible,

so he becomes this
rather paradoxical figure

of the war-like priest.

NARRATOR: To
win a war with France,

the English need
to forge an alliance

with another European court.

The best option is the
powerful Holy Roman Empire,

ruled by the famously
difficult Emperor Maximilian I.

Wolsey needs an envoy
with charm and charisma

to take part in
the negotiations.

And there is someone waiting
in the wings to grab his chance.

LAUREN MACKAY:
He's about 35 at the time.

He has no diplomatic experience.

He is clearly gifted in French

and I think that's what
makes him very important

but I get the sense that
Wolsey is taking a chance

on this young man.

NARRATOR: Thomas Boleyn's
task is to win Margaret of Austria's

support for the war with
France, in the hope that she

can persuade her father,
Emperor Maximilian.

What they didn't really count
on was the fact that Maximilian

was going to stall his
way through negotiations

for months on end.

[birds chirping]

NARRATOR: It takes almost a year

but eventually, Margaret
is persuaded to convince

her father to support Henry.

Since my last dispatch,
we received news

that our agreement
was soon to be finalized!

Lady Margaret sent a
commission to her father

and estimated it would
take 20 days to conclude.

She asked me if I would
care to lay a wager on it.

I said it would take only ten.

She promised me
her Spanish courser

for her part of the wager.

And my horse should
be hers if she won.

We shook hands on it.

And today I am the victor.

Our mission is complete.

My lady can keep her horse.

I have another request of her.

NARRATOR: With
his mission finally over,

Thomas makes a move
designed to benefit not the King,

but his own family.

He recognizes that this
court is far more magnificent

than anything that he had
experienced in England.

And so he asks Margaret

whether his daughter
can come to her court

as a fille d'honneur,
as a maid of honor.

And Margaret, rather
surprisingly, agreed.

[birds chirping]

For Anne Boleyn,
a 12-year-old girl

being sent to serve Margaret
of Austria, it's a huge honor.

But she must have been nervous.

She's still a young
girl in a foreign court.

We know that she doesn't
fully speak French at this point.

She's far from fluent.
And we know this because

we have a letter that
Anne wrote to her father

from Margaret's court.

"Sir, I understand by
your letter that you desire

that I shall be a worthy
woman in this Court

and you inform me that
Her Majesty, Lady Margaret

will take the trouble
to converse with me.

Which rejoices me greatly to
think of talking with a person

so wise and worthy."

OWEN EMMERSON:
This is a very touching letter.

It has very distinctive
crease lines in it.

I think this was a letter that
was read many times over.

This must have
been a very dear letter

to her father, Thomas, indeed.

Anne is very much wanting
to impress her father.

[speaking in French]

[speaking in French]

I beg you to excuse me if
my letter is badly written.

I promise you that my love is
based on such great strength

that it will never grow less.

And I will make
an end to my letter

after having humbly commended
myself to your good grace.

Written by your humble
and obedient daughter,

Anna de Boullan.

[speaking French]

The survival of that
letter is quite astonishing.

Very few documents
like it survived.

This is a really good
opportunity for Anne

to experience an
incredibly cultured court

that Margaret of
Austria has engendered.

She welcomes incredibly
progressive thinkers.

[speaking French]

NARRATOR: With Anne
impressing at Margaret's court,

and Thomas' new
success as a diplomat,

the Boleyn family's
prospects are looking bright.

But in the Tudor
world of foreign policy

and fragile alliances,

you can take
nothing for granted.

In 1514, Maximilian
pulls his support for Henry

and instead strikes a
deal with the French King.

Thomas's hard work seems
to have been for nothing -

and Henry doesn't get the
'glorious war' he wanted.

But Wolsey has a
plan to turn this failure

to Henry's advantage.

GLENN RICHARDSON: The
argument seems to have been, well,

if you can't make magnificent
war as you want to do,

then why not make
peace magnificently,

make it almost as
spectacular as warfare.

How do you make
peace in the 16th century?

Well, you try to find a way
to create a dynastic alliance,

and usually it's
through marriage.

So Thomas Boleyn and Wolsey
are suggesting to King Henry VIII

Mary Tudor, his younger sister,

and this old king of France,
of a way to make sure

that the peace is going to last.

NARRATOR: This new alliance
gives Henry VIII a foothold in France -

even though it means offering
up his 18-year-old sister Mary

to the 52-year-old King Louis.

And Thomas recognizes
that the marriage

could benefit his family, too.

He wants his daughters,
Mary and Anne, to get

the best education, but he also
wants them to forge networks,

political networks,
political alliances.

Thomas is something
of an opportunist.

He knows which way
the wind is blowing,

and Anne is best
placed in France.

[birds chirping]

NARRATOR: Thomas secures
his thirteen-year-old daughter

a position at the French court

as an attendant to
the new Queen Mary.

The court in France set the tone

in terms of courtly culture,

how a Monarch and
his retinue behave.

This display of
magnificence essentially.

And no one does it better
than those courts in France

as far as the English
are concerned.

Thomas is riding
pretty high, you know.

His daughter will be able
to build up a place for herself

at the French court,
learn the wonderful skills

of being a woman of the court.

It's like being a geisha
girl without the sex.

- [birds chirping]
- [ethereal music]

NARRATOR: As Anne settles
into her new life in France,

back in England the man who
suggested the French alliance

is riding high.

GLENN RICHARDSON:
Thomas Wolsey by 1514,

he's Archbishop of York.

By 1515, he's made a cardinal
at Henry VIII's insistence.

So he's a very
high ranking person,

the highest ranking person
in Henry's administration

effectively after the King

and he wants
everybody to know that.

NANDINI DAS: People
think he's an overreacher.

He is the classic example
of someone who's risen

too fast and too far.

Which is why quite often
there's murmurs and name calling

of Wolsey as the butcher's dog.

Um, he's the greasy cur,
some of them whisper,

um, who has followed his master

and now wants the
bone all to himself.

Basically, what Wolsey is
doing is rubbing their face in it.

And the courtiers don't like it.

NARRATOR: Particularly Thomas
Boleyn's hot-headed brother-in-law.

The first reported
moment of decided tension

between Thomas Howard and
Wolsey is when Thomas Howard

allegedly pulls a knife on him.

According to Polydore Vergil,

Thomas Howard took a
dagger and tried to stab Wolsey

in the middle of a
heated argument.

We're not sure if
this is true or not -

Vergil is the
only source for it.

If true, this is an
extraordinary event.

[chuckles]

You know, Thomas Wolsey
being stabbed by an aristocrat

does not happen every day.

Many of them might have
liked to try to stab him.

Few of them got the chance.

It demonstrates that there's
no love lost between them.

GARETH RUSSELL: Whatever happened
between Thomas Howard and Thomas Wolsey

at this time marks a
tumble for Howard's career.

He seems arrogant.

He seems aggressive.

And he's increasingly
being outshone

by the more talented and
the more level-headed Wolsey.

NARRATOR: Thomas Boleyn
needs to be extremely careful

about who he's seen to support.

LAUREN MACKAY: Thomas
Boleyn, he's aware that Howard

and Thomas Wolsey
are almost sworn enemies

and Thomas Boleyn quite
cleverly distanced himself

from his Howard brother-in-law.

He aligns himself with Wolsey.

Wolsey is his road to power
and to patronage and to favor.

NARRATOR: Being a diplomat,
away for long periods in Europe,

might sound impressive -

but not if your aim is
to get closer to the King.

LAUREN MACKAY: Thomas
Boleyn is angling for a position at court,

he's angling for a position
within the King's household

and he sets his sight
on the treasurership.

NARRATOR: The position
he covets is to become

Treasurer of the Household.

It would be a major promotion,

putting him in charge of
the Court's purse strings,

and bringing him one step
closer to the center of power.

It would give him a secure
place in the royal household,

but perhaps much more important,

it would give him a place
on the Royal Council.

And that's the place where
political decisions are made.

[squawking]

Unfortunately, Thomas
Boleyn discovers that Wolsey

has blocked the appointment,

that somebody else is going
to get the Office instead of him.

And I think he feels humiliated.

This is unfair.

And he writes a letter to Wolsey

that expresses
this disappointment.

THOMAS BOLEYN: For some
time I have hoped to serve the King

at court, rather
than from overseas.

I did entreat him to appoint me
as Treasurer of his Household.

And he did faithfully
promise me the position

when it became vacant.

I hear now the King will
appoint someone else.

If you would show
me favor in this matter,

I assure you will not regret it.

LAUREN MACKAY: In this
letter to Cardinal Wolsey,

suddenly, we see an
insecurity in Thomas Boleyn

that we've never
really had before.

He trusts that
Wolsey has his back.

Wolsey's really one of
the few people now at court

that can speak
for Thomas Boleyn.

So, he feels betrayed.

[indistinct chatter]

NARRATOR: But just as it looks
as though Thomas may never reach

the King's inner
circle, fate intervenes.

An Irish relative on his
mother's side has died,

and Thomas is one of
several claimants to his title,

the Earl of Ormond.

All he has to do
now is win the prize.

SUSAN DORAN: At the
moment he's merely a Knight.

It's much higher up the social
hierarchy to become an Earl.

OWEN EMMERSON: The Earldom of
course really would make Thomas stand out

in a way that none of his
previous Boleyn ancestors

had been able to do.

It really would help him
up that ladder to greatness.

NARRATOR: But before
he can grab this chance,

a cousin lays
claim to the title.

LAUREN MACKAY: Thomas
Boleyn does not like to be thwarted

in this matter.

He brings Henry
VIII into the dispute.

Unfortunately for Thomas Boleyn,

Henry VIII cannot afford
to alienate his Irish nobles.

And so the Earldom goes
to neither Thomas Boleyn

nor the Butler cousin.

But Thomas Boleyn
covets that title.

He sees it as rightfully his
and he's not going to let it go.

[dramatic music]

[birds chirping]

NARRATOR: Meanwhile,
the court in France

where Thomas'
daughter Anne is still living

has been thrown into chaos.

The old French King has died.

Henry's sister Mary
has been displaced.

Francis I and his wife Queen
Claude are now on the throne,

bringing with them their
own retinue of courtiers.

Thomas Boleyn is
thinking, oh gosh!

What's going to
happen for my daughter?

Anne was going
to be lady-in-waiting

at the French Court.

She was going to secure

important political
networks for me.

So he's thinking, I need
to request for Anne to stay.

NARRATOR: Thomas Boleyn
manages to persuade the new Queen

to keep Anne on as
one of her attendants.

[speaking French]

It's a pivotal intervention.

This is where she stays for
the formative years of her life.

During seven years
at the French court,

Anne Boleyn learned about
the customs of the country,

the language obviously.

She became
French in her attitude.

She became French
in her manners.

One source we have
is Lancelot de Carle

who wrote a poem about Anne,

and he was present
at the French embassy.

He says that she
actively studied

the women around her at court

so that she herself
could appear as French

and very soon nobody would
know that she was English.

De CARLE: She grew in wisdom

knew how to banish sad thoughts

Enlarging her talents
and many exquisite graces

She was beautiful

And had the most attractive eyes

Which she knew well how to use.

She's flirtatious.
She's beautiful.

She knows how to handle men.

She is seen as a woman who
has made a big impression.

We can imagine that obviously
for her to stay seven years

in service of the Queen

that Francis I himself
must have liked this girl.

Francis I... he's dashing.

He loves pretty women,
he loves having mistresses,

and he loves, loves being
the center of attention.

Does that remind
you of someone else?

Henry VIII maybe?

[laughs]

NARRATOR: Henry and Francis
decide to meet to form a new alliance.

and underscore the peace
between their nations.

And Thomas Boleyn is
given the daunting task

of brokering the meeting.

He's stuck in a
position of trying to bring

those two powerful and
dashing young princes together.

Having a daughter who is in
the good books of everyone

is exactly what
Thomas Boleyn wanted.

So when Thomas is there,

he's obviously using
his daughter in a way.

When I say 'using',
it's not in a bad way,

it's just, "Yes,
I'm Anne's father.

Nice to meet you."

"Anne is remarkable!"
"Yes, I know!"

[birds chirping]

GREG WALKER: You can't be
a king in the early 16th century

without having an ego
the size of the planet.

And now you have two
young men, rival monarchs,

who are brothers in arms -

although they really
hate each other -

and there's a kind
of constant friction.

I mean, these are
not intellectual giants

in terms of their
kind of maturity.

So you, there's a bit
of nudging and shuffling

going on between them.

And there's a famous story of
Henry showing an ambassador

his calf and saying,

"Francis I hasn't got a
leg like that, has he?"

NARRATOR: It's not just Europe's
peace hanging in the balance,

it's Thomas' reputation
at the English court.

In a letter to Wolsey,
Thomas reports the petty rivalry

between the two Kings that
he is struggling to mediate.

THOMAS BOLEYN: The
friendship between my master

and the French King Francis
has taken a rivalrous turn.

They agreed to grow
their beards, in competition,

for their planned meeting.

Then I was told recently that
Henry has put off his beard!

Not an easy task to relate
this to the French King.

I told him, as I supposed,

it must have been
Queen Katherine's doing,

for whenever His Majesty
has worn his beard long,

she has scolded
him to put it off.

The French King was
well appeased by this

and did say to me, "Our
love is not in our beards

but in our hearts."

[lively music]

NARRATOR: Thomas' clever
intervention saves the two Kings

from a serious disagreement.

And on the 7th of June 1520,

Henry and Francis rendezvous

at a spectacular
17-day festival,

the Field of Cloth of Gold.

It was the big
event of the year,

of the decade in both
England and in France.

Instead of going to war,
Henry VIII and Francis

decided to show off how
peaceful they could be.

GREG WALKER: Somewhat, I
suspect, to Thomas Boleyn's chagrin,

he was withdrawn
before the final details

were organized for
this great meeting.

And he wasn't the
French ambassador

when the Field of
Cloth of Gold took place.

And Henry wrote rather
pointedly to Francis

saying, Thomas Boleyn
has been great so far,

but I'm now going to send
you someone who can convey

from my very heart my
feelings towards you.

So, poor old Thomas
tromps back home

and gets ready to go
as an English guest

rather than the resident
French ambassador.

ELIZABETH NORTON: It's a
sign that he hadn't quite made it.

He may have married
into the aristocracy,

but he's still
not an aristocrat.

He's not the man that
brings the King over

and presents him to Francis.

He's there but he's there as
one of the King's attendants

and nothing more.

NARRATOR: Despite Thomas'
personal disappointment,

the meeting is hailed as
an international triumph.

But in Tudor politics,
nothing is as it seems.

Even as Henry and
Francis celebrate peace,

Thomas Wolsey is
secretly negotiating

a more powerful alliance
with the new leader

of the Holy Roman
Empire, Charles V.

Knowing relations with
France are soon to sour,

Thomas removes Anne from
her position at the French Court

and brings her home.

There must have been
some concern on Thomas' part

for Anne's safety
and for her future

because the tide is turning
away from a French alliance.

And it's something of a
warning shot for Francis.

He notices Anne's absence

and discerns from this
that something is not right.

ESTELLE PARANQUE:
And he thinks, wait...

Why would you remove the
ladies in waiting to Queen Claude

if we are at peace, if
we are good friends?

What are you
plotting against me?

GLENN RICHARDSON: It puts
Wolsey in a very difficult position.

It's virtually inconceivable
that it wouldn't be seen

as a sort of
diplomatic incident.

To put Francis off the scent,
Wolsey actually suggests

that Anne is being recalled
for a marriage proposal.

And there is a grain of
truth in Wolsey's response

because a match is
being proposed for Anne -

not by her father,
but by her uncle.

- [gulls squawking]
- [waves lapping]

NARRATOR: Thomas
Howard has been sent to Ireland

to quell unrest among
the Irish nobility.

One of those nobles is Thomas
Boleyn's cousin, Piers Butler,

who has laid claim to
the title Earl of Ormond.

[bird caws]

In a flurry of letters to
Wolsey and the King,

Howard lays bare a scheme to
take advantage of the situation.

THOMAS HOWARD: Piers
Butler desires to claim the most

profitable Earldom of Ormond.

The title is also claimed by
my kinsman Thomas Boleyn.

To that end I have
devised a marriage plan

between my niece Anne
Boleyn and Butler's son James.

This union will give
Butler the earldom

and his help in bringing
Ireland under our control.

This arrangement will
require my presence, naturally.

And, uh, I do so long
to return to England.

GARETH RUSSELL: Thomas
Howard shows that when he is in

a difficult position, family
loyalty to the Boleyns

counts for absolutely
nothing to him.

[door clangs open]

LAUREN MACKAY: Thomas
Boleyn has coveted the prestigious

Irish Earldom of Ormond

and it irks him to no
end that of all people

his brother-in-law Thomas Howard

who has nothing to
do with the situation

tries to actually broker a
match between Anne Boleyn

and a Butler cousin.

[inaudible]

This is my
business... [inaudible]

ELIZABETH NORTON:
She was quite horrified

when she was told
about the match.

Ireland in that time was
generally seen by the English

as a wild, fairly
inhospitable place,

and the idea that the courtier
Anne Boleyn would go and live

there must have
been horrifying for her.

This puts Thomas Boleyn
in a very difficult position

because Thomas Howard
seems to get Cardinal Wolsey's

support for the plan.

Anne Boleyn is her
father's legal property,

she can't be married without
her father's permission.

So Thomas is under
pressure to give his blessing

to a marriage that will
effectively disinherit him.

NARRATOR: Around this
time, Wolsey finally offers

Thomas Boleyn the job
he so desperately wants.

And perhaps the
timing is no coincidence.

OWEN EMMERSON: We
know that Thomas is promoted

to the Treasurership
at this point.

I think what actually
is happening here is

he is being placated
with this coveted position.

THOMAS BOLEYN: I am made
Treasurer of the Household,

second in charge of
running this honorable court.

The Treasurer must set
an example to all others,

of good governance
and modest expenditure.

He is granted to take
supper daily in the King's hall

or anywhere else he pleases.

This was an absolutely vital
stepping stone in his career.

It paved the way for
much more lucrative

and important
positions at court.

NARRATOR: Thomas
Boleyn, who began as a wealthy

Norfolk gentleman beyond
the fringes of the Tudor Court,

has finally gained a
seat on the Royal Council.

Slowly but surely, he
is advancing towards

the King's inner circle.

For Thomas Boleyn
to achieve this in 1522

is such a mark of
where he had come

but it also is
important for his family.

George Boleyn was
finally given a court position

which means he has
day-to-day access to Henry VIII.

[dramatic music]

NARRATOR: Not only
is George doing well

but Thomas's elder daughter Mary

is now married to a senior
courtier William Carey.

But the ace in
Thomas' hand is Anne.

NARRATOR: With the
prospect of an Irish marriage

still hanging over her,
Anne takes center stage

with her sister Mary at
a lavish court pageant

hosted by Thomas Wolsey

known as the Chateau Vert.

This pageant is going
to change the fortunes

of the Boleyn family,

for better - and also for worse.

NARRATOR: All the young
women on show take the parts

of feminine virtues.

Mary is 'Kindness';

Anne, 'Perseverance'.

GLENN RICHARDSON: It's
the kind of pageant to which

the Tudor court is by
then well accustomed.

With women - married,
single - all playing their part

to big up the King.

Wolsey is the host,
he wants it to go well.

He's a man who enjoys
spectacle, entertainment,

who knows that you've
got to put on a show.

[applause]

ELIZABETH NORTON: It
was a lavish entertainment.

It involved a mock castle
being built in the hall.

Ladies defended this
castle from a group of knights

who attempted to attack it.

GREG WALKER: Essentially this
battle between the men outside the castle

and the women inside the
castle is about courtship,

it's about wooing.

Women fall into two categories.

They have to resist men
and be virtuous and chaste,

but ultimately
they have to give in

when they find the right
man who's usually the King.

[crowd shouting]

ESTELLE PARANQUE: Because
of those seven years in France,

Anne Boleyn is seen as
being a bit different and exotic.

ELIZABETH NORTON: She's
stylish, fashionable, graceful,

and she really causes a stir.

She's like no one else
at Henry VIII's Court.

ELIZABETH NORTON: This is
really the first time that we know

with absolute certainty that
Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn

are in the same room together.

NARRATOR: But Anne
isn't interested in the King.

Her sights are set on a
young nobleman, Henry Percy.

ELIZABETH NORTON: Although there was
still talk of her marrying her Irish cousin

and one day becoming
Countess of Ormond,

Henry Percy was heir to
one of the oldest Earldoms

in the country.

Hugely wealthy,
very, very high status,

and a match that was far outside

anything that Anne
Boleyn could hope for.

It's clear that she
encouraged Henry Percy.

Thomas Boleyn would
certainly approve.

It's a far better
prospect for his daughter

than the Ormond marriage,

partly because of course
Thomas Boleyn has designs

on the Earldom himself.

But Henry Percy, it
was a stellar match.

NARRATOR: The King, of course,
has the pick of the women at court.

And he has his eye
on one in particular:

the wife of one
of his inner circle.

GREG WALKER: People tend to
look at the Chateau Vert as the first time

Henry would have seen Anne
who's playing Perseverance,

but what's more interesting
is who plays Kindness,

and that's Mary Boleyn.

And so when Henry
is besieging the castle,

it's Mary he's besieging.

LEANDA de LISLE:
Now why is she Kindness?

It's not a role she would
have chosen herself.

It would have been
chosen for her.

Wolsey had already been
called 'the king's bawd'.

That is, his pimp.

A man who finds the
most wholesome women

and those of the best
complexion for Henry.

Henry had usually a single
mistress alongside the Queen

at any one point.

Mary Boleyn was
definitely the royal mistress,

and it's not in her
power to resist the King.

- [bird caws]
- [wind blows]

NARRATOR: Unlike
Mary, a decade in Europe

has taught Anne
how to fend for herself.

Now in her early twenties,
she knows her own mind.

SUSAN DORAN: Anne does
not want to marry James Butler.

Her sights are on a
romantic marriage,

marriage to Henry Percy
whom she sees, loves,

and he seems to feel
exactly the same about her.

ELIZABETH NORTON: Henry
VIII heard about the relationship

and was shocked by
it because of course,

it was not a suitable
marriage for Henry Percy at all.

He instructs Cardinal Wolsey

to bring the
relationship to an end.

She doesn't necessarily
know of the King's involvement,

but she knows that Cardinal
Wolsey has played a major role

in dashing her hopes.

The Cardinal called my
Lord Percy into his presence,

and reviled him
for tangling himself

with a foolish girl at court.

Wolsey has since set
about dissolving our match,

saying it is disagreeable

and determining another
woman as a more appropriate

marriage prospect.

If it ever lies in my power, I
will work as much displeasure

for Wolsey as he has shown me.

NARRATOR: And as Anne laments
the frustration of her ambitions,

her sister Mary must endure
emotional turmoil of her own.

LEANDA de LISLE: Around
the same time, Mary's husband

starts getting all these
rather generous royal grants.

As if to make up
for the fact the King

is sleeping with his wife.

I think for Mary, it
must have all been

incredibly difficult
and painful.

Oh Lord, let me not
have a proud look.

Turn away all
voluptuousness from me.

Take me from lusts of the body.

Let not the desire of
cleanliness take hold upon me.

Amen.

ELIZABETH NORTON: Thomas
Boleyn's feelings are likely mixed

about Mary Boleyn's
relationship with Henry VIII.

On the one hand, it's
shameful in that his daughter,

a married woman, is
sleeping with another man,

a married man at that.

But her lover is the King

and generally the benefits
outweigh the disadvantage.

GREG WALKER: I do
think getting your daughters

into the King's bed is
probably a good idea

if you want political influence.

NARRATOR: Mary Boleyn's
affair might be what yields

the biggest reward yet
for her father Thomas.

Henry makes him
Viscount Rochford.

His rise through the Tudor
court has been remarkable.

But in his daughter Anne
he has raised a woman

whose ambitions will soon
outstrip even her father's.

[dramatic music]