History Documentary hosted by Dan Jones and Suzannah Lipscomb, published by Channel 5 in 2016 - English narration
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When a 17-year-old Henry VIII took the throne back in 1509, he would've expected to end up in the history books. That's what happens when you're the King of England. What he definitely couldn't have foreseen is that he'd become one of his country's most famous sovereigns, but largely due to his positively scandalous love life. The Tudor monarch started his own church, changed the constitution and became the first English king of Ireland - and yet it's his six wives (and some of their demises) that everyone remembers.
King Henry VIII's reign was defined by his marriages. Coercion, manipulation and ultimately murder were all employed. Wives were selected and discarded for political and religious reasons and in a desperate attempt to sire an heir. Famously he married six times over his 36 year reign. The six queens were formidable individuals. Some were ambitious, some brave, some ruthless - and between them they shaped the man who began as a Renaissance prince, became a monster and ended a regretful old man. In turn they shaped England itself.
Henry VIII's hunt for the perfect queen is one of the most shocking sagas in history. Across four decades he was driven by passion, obsession and vengeance - and wed six very different women. From the bold Katherine of Aragon to the ambitious Anne Boleyn, the saintly Jane Seymour to the shocking Anne of Cleves, and the seductive Catherine Howard to the dangerous Katherine Parr. This is the story of these six exceptional women, and how, together, they created a king - and changed history forever.
Join historians Dan Jones and Suzannah Lipscomb as they explore what these turbulent relationships tell us about England's legendary king. This 4-Part series is an original and enlightening look at the real people at the centre of the action during one of the most turbulent, passionate and violent periods in English history.
Series written and directed by Chris Holt ; An Oxford Film and Television and GroupM Entertainment Production For Channel 5
1) Part 1
The longest-serving of Henry's spouses and one that would not step down quietly - something that certainly wasn't typical of the time - the Spanish-born Catherine of Aragon sat by his side for a few weeks shy of 24 years. He wasn't the first of the Tudors she would wed, however. Previously, Catherine had been married - for just five months - to Henry's older brother, Arthur. Henry and Catherine's relationship was arranged so his father wouldn't have to return her substantial dowry.
During her stint as a popular queen, Catherine is credited with helping inspire an English win in a crucial battle against Scotland, but her status as a divorcee became her true legacy. After her husband fell for Anne Boleyn, he ripped England's religion away from Roman Catholicism so he could split from Catherine and take a new wife.
The life of the remarkable Catherine of Aragon, Henry's first wife, is detailed in this gripping history documentary. Historians Dan Jones and Suzannah Lipscomb reveal a canny, intelligent woman whose fortitude led to a religious and political schism that changed English history forever. Her failure to bear a son, and Henry's obsession with future wife Anne Boleyn, sealed her fate.
