History Documentary hosted by David Starkey, published by Channel 4 in 2001 - English narration
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"Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived". Six lives summed up in a school rhyme. The women who married Henry VIII have become defined not the way they lived but the way their lives ended. They are seen as victims of a bloated tyrant, deserving pity, but not respect. However, have we under-estimated them and are historians right to have merely portrayed them as bit-part players in Henry's story?
In this series Dr DAVID STARKEY, the eminent historian and presenter, reveals them to be vibrant, powerful individuals who showed great dignity, when faced with exile from the King's favour, or even the executioner's axe in the Tower of London.
Queen, lover, mother, outcast, victim and survivor -- this is how historian and series narrator David Starkey assigns the roles of the six wives of Britain's most famous monarch Henry VIII in the sexual intrigue and cut-throat power politics of his long reign from 1509 to 1547. The series THE SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII takes a fresh approach and presents each wife's story from her perspective.
Perhaps no one in history had a more eventful career in matrimony than Henry VIII. His marriages were tumultuous and complicated, and made instant legends of six very different women. Henry took his first bride, Catherine of Aragon, when he was 17. Their 24-year marriage was a relatively stable prelude to what followed. Anne Boleyn, a pretty, French-educated Protestant who was the mother of Elizabeth I, was eventually beheaded. Jane Seymour served as a demure contrast to the vampish Boleyn, and gave birth to Henry's longed-for son (Edward VI). After a brief marriage to the plain Anne of Cleves, Henry married a flirtatious teenager, Catherine Howard, who would be the second of his brides to lose her head along with the king's favor. Finally, there was Catherine Parr, a shrewd Protestant bluestocking.
Through the women's own words and powerful dramatizations, we learn that the wives were not pitiful victims or pawns but rather knowing players in a high-stakes game and remarkable individuals who managed to show great dignity even when facing exile and death.
Using dramatic reconstruction and passionate narration, eminent historian and presenter Dr David Starkey focuses on the stories of the women themselves, revealing in intimate detail their experiences of sex, childbirth and the glamorous, dangerous life at court, including the deadly intrigues that dethroned them.
Series Producer: Mark Fielder ; United Productions for Channel Four Television
3) Jane Seymour and Anne of Cleves
Just a few days after Anne's execution, Henry marries Jane Seymour, a soft-spoken and obedient woman born from an aristocratic, political family. Jane had been one of Anne's ladies-in-waiting, and after her execution, she forbids anyone to wear revealing French dresses, which pleases Henry. Because of her strong Catholic beliefs, many hoped she would bring the king back to the Catholic faith. However, Henry remains strong on his religious stance and continues his position as Supreme Head of the Church of England. While Jane is submissive and obedient, she continues to be politically active, even going as far as to restore Henry's first daughter, Princess Mary, to the throne, which Henry greatly discourages. Still, his love for her stays strong, and when she gives birth to a son, Prince Edward, Henry is overjoyed. However, Jane dies from complications just twelve days after Edward's birth. Henry is devastated by the loss of his beloved wife. After a long period of mourning, Henry is encouraged to marry again in the hopes of producing another male heir. Thomas Cromwell, the king's advisor, feels the Catholic German princess Anne of Cleves would be a good match. Henry will not agree to marry without first seeing what his prospective bride looks like, so Cromwell sends artist Hans Holbein the Younger to Germany to create a portrait of the princess. When he presents the finished product to Henry, the king is very pleased and agrees to marry her. Unfortunately, when she arrives in England and Henry sees her in person, he is revolted by her appearance. Nevertheless, he marries her at Cromwell's convincing. The marriage only lasts six months, as Henry is unable to consummate their marriage because of Anne's looks. He divorces her and, as a favor, allows her to legally be made his sister.
