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
2) Part 2
Other than the obvious biblical figures, how many people can say they inspired a new church? Considered a temptress by some and a victim by others, Anne Boleyn could make that claim... for a few short years. Of course, it didn't end well. The English Reformation started in no small part thanks to the king's infatuation with her, however, such tumult didn't set their marriage up for happiness.
Queen Elizabeth I was the result of their union, but even giving birth to a future monarch couldn't save Anne once Henry did what he did best. After a series of miscarriages saw her fail to give the king the son and heir he wanted, he took up with Jane Seymour. Anne clashed with his chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, and charges of adultery, incest and treason were made. Everyone knows what happened next: Anne was sentenced to death and beheaded.
Henry married Anne Boleyn in 1533, after annulling his marriage to Katherine of Aragon in one of the most infamous divorce cases in English history. The second union revealed the contrasting extremes of Henry's character - incurable romantic and unhinged tyrant. As historians Suzannah Lipscomb and Dan Jones recount, Anne ultimately proved to be too flirtatious, possessive, ambitious and headstrong to conform to being Queen and her fate was sealed when she failed to provide a male heir.
