List of The Tudors characters

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The following is a list of characters from the Showtime television series The Tudors.

Contents 1 Contract 2 Recurring 3 Notes and references 4 External links

[edit] Contract

The main cast are listed in credits order.

Character name	Portrayed by	Historical basis	First appearance	Last appearance
Notes
King Henry VIII	Jonathan Rhys Meyers (2007-)	Henry VIII of England	Episode 1.01
The young, virile king of one of the most powerful nations in the world, King Henry VIII of England seems to have it all. However, he is troubled by religious unrest in his own kingdom, as well as political struggles and changing allegiances with other countries. And weighing most on his mind is his failure thus far to produce a male heir with his Queen, Katherine of Aragon; she is all that a Queen should be, and popular with the people, but the difficult pursuit of a divorce approved by the Pope becomes a seductive option. He secretly marries Anne Boleyn, and wants to be head supremacy of the Catholic Church.
Cardinal Wolsey	Sam Neill (2007)	Thomas Cardinal Wolsey	Episode 1.01	Episode 1.10
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey of York is King Henry VIII's primary and most trusted advisor, but the Cardinal's personal power (and influence over the King) has aroused the ire of several noblemen in Henry's court, and even Queen Katherine herself. He is arrested for treason against the King and commits suicide by slashing his neck during prayer. His name is mentioned again in the seventh episode of season two by Anne, alluding to his charitable work.
Anthony Knivert	Callum Blue (2007-)	Anthony Knivert	Episode 1.01	Episode 1.10(?)
Longtime friend to King Henry VIII; still alive.
Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk	Henry Cavill (2007-)	Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk	Episode 1.01
Longtime friend to King Henry VIII, although he briefly fell from grace when he secretly married Henry's widowed sister, Princess Margaret, after her brief stint as the Queen of Portugal. He then struck up an alliance with the Duke of Norfolk and Viscount Rochford in order to return to court, and together, brought about the downfall of Cardinal Wolsey. He is seen as a playboy in the show's first season, but has settled down and married Catherine Willoughby in the second season. He hates the new queen with a passion and has quarrels with the Boleyn family, mainly directing his rage at Thomas.
Duke of Norfolk	Henry Czerny (2007-)	Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk	Episode 1.01	Episode 1.10
Uncle of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII's fifth wife, Catherine Howard. He is very arrogant about his background, and he is the archnemesis of Cardinal Wolsey. He and his brother-in-law conspired to maneuver his niece, Anne Boleyn, into Henry's bed to gain his ear so as to denounce the Cardinal. Together, and later with the addition of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, they engineered first Wolsey's fall from grace, then his arrest (and indirectly, his subsequent death), and was jointly appointed with Suffolk to be the president of the Privy Council.
Anne Boleyn	Natalie Dormer (2007-2008)	Anne Boleyn	Episode 1.01	Episode 2.10
Daughter of Thomas Boleyn, and sister of George and Mary Boleyn. She had a brief chaste love affair with poet Thomas Wyatt, although that romance was terminated when Anne was sent to be a lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine, and as a pawn of her father and uncle's schemes to ruin Cardinal Wolsey. She attracted Henry VIII's attention at the masquerade where she, along with Henry's sister Margaret, played one of the graces. By her father's orders, she continually put herself in Henry's way, till Henry was so enamoured of her that he vowed he would take her as his only mistress if she would give herself to him. Anne, remembering how her sister was thrown aside after Henry tired of her, refused him, saying that she was saving her virginity for her eventual husband, causing Henry, already at odds with Queen Katherine for failing to produce a living son, to consider annulment or divorce. She admits to her father that while she didn't like the role of sacrificial lamb at first, she was growing to love Henry. At first the relationship was a secret, but more and more Henry honoured her as his consort rather than Katherine. The delay of the annulment proceedings frustrated Henry, and Anne used this opportunity to blame Wolsey for the delay, leaving him when she felt that the proceedings will never come to fruition. She also gradually turned him in favour of Protestantism so that, as head of the church in his realm, he could finally divorce Katherine without referring to the Roman Church. The second season sees her giving birth to her daughter, Elizabeth, which sets in motion the Act of Succession. She is more or less manipulated by her father to do everything to win Henry's love (which becomes evident after her miscarriage of her second child). She is accused of witchcraft and Henry removes Elizabeth from the line of succession, and dies from beheading.
Katherine of Aragon [1]	Maria Doyle Kennedy (2007-2008)	Catherine of Aragon	Episode 1.01	Episode 2.07
Youngest child of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, Katherine is the first wife and queen consort of Henry VIII, she was once married to Henry's older brother, Arthur, but that marriage was never consummated. Most of her children with Henry VIII were either miscarried or they died in infancy; her one surviving child was her daughter, Princess Mary. Because of her seeming inability to give him a son, Henry was worried that a queen regnant might throw England back to the days of civil war, as when the Empress Mathilda, daughter of Henry I, ascended the throne. And with the War of the Roses still fresh on his mind, he was determined to have a legitimate son to pass his throne to. He therefore preferred to believe that Katherine lied when she swore that her previous marriage was never consummated and that therefore his marriage to her was incestous and illegal. Katherine was very lonely at court, her only friend the ambassador of Spain, as Cardinal Wolsey dismissed her Spanish ladies-in-waiting for fear that they were spies for the Holy Roman Emperor. Nevertheless, she always does her duty as Queen of England admirably, even mingling with and donating to the common people after church services, and she is loved by the English people despite her Spanish background. She is banished to spend her final days in Lancaster House, without any contact from the king's staff or her daughter Mary. She is last seen dictating her will on her deathbed, read both aloud and, intercutting with, by a mournful Henry VIII; Anne smiles upon hearing the news and states that "Now I'm truly queen."
Thomas Boleyn	Nick Dunning (2007-2008)	Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire	Episode 1.01	Episode 2.10
Father of George, Mary, and Anne Boleyn, and brother-in-law to the Duke of Norfolk. Thomas Boleyn was the English ambassador to France, and sees his daughters only as a means to an end. He encouraged Mary when she caught the eye of Henry VIII, and when Henry tired of her, decided to use his other daughter, Anne as a tool to achieve power. Together with Norfolk and Suffolk, he engineered Cardinal Wolsey's downfall, and are now jointly handling the country's affairs. It is somewhat revealed in the second season of his true intention as he is manipulating his youngest daughter Anne into power. Thomas Boleyn is arrested in the conspiracy along with others, but is granted a reprieve by the king on the account that he never returns to court again or face death. Rather than watching his daughter die at the hands of the executioner, Thomas decides to leave court forever.
Thomas Cromwell	James Frain (2007-)	Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex	Episode 1.04
Although Thomas Cromwell was elevated by Cardinal Wolsey after the king's secretary was removed (see Richard Pace), he was secretly the ally of the Boleyn family. He is also the man who introduces Anne Boleyn to Lutheranism, which she subsequently introduced to Henry VIII. In the second season, Cromwell rises to the position of head chancellor after the spot was relinquished by Thomas More. Although More is later beheaded for refusing to acknowledge Henry as supreme chancellor, Cromwell takes a sympatethic approach towards him; he also orders swift and necessary action when allegations arise regarding Queen Anne Boleyn (which leads to her ultimate downfall)
Thomas More	Jeremy Northam (2007-2008)	Thomas More	Episode 1.01	Episode 2.05
Longtime friend of Henry VIII, Sir Thomas is a pious humanist who abhors war and tried to advise Henry against it. He nevertheless believes that stern action is required to combat the rise of Lutheranism. During his stint as Lord Chancellor after Wolsey, he burned six people found guilty of heresy, although he offered them the chance to recant. After it became apparent that the king was also changing his attitude towards Roman Catholicism, he was very worried and finally recalled that Wolsey once told him that he should have told the king what he ought to do, not what he can do, for "if the lion knows his own strength, no man could control him". He is married with four children (three daughters and a son). In the second season, he agrees with the king's private marriage to Anne Boleyn, but is beheaded when More doesn't recognize Henry as head supremacy of the church. Henry's guilt and remorse over More's death continues in the next episode, as he comes to the realization that his marriage to Anne caused his death (and that Anne herself killed him).
Thomas Cranmer	Hans Matheson (2007)	Thomas Cranmer	Episode 2.01
The Archbishop of Canterbury who was involved in handing the dispute over Henry's marriage of Katherine of Aragon as being "null and void" and recognize Anne Boleyn as the new queen, having everybody swear an oath to recognize their new queen.
Pope Paul III	Peter O' Toole (2008)	Pope Paul III	Episode 2.01	Episode 2.08(?)
The Pope of the Roman Catholic Church who declares Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn obselete, along with ex-communicating Henry from ever attending mass. He sends a "Soldier in Christ" to assassinate the new queen, with the promise that he will gain access into heaven no matter if it succeeds or fails. Paul is outraged and denounces the executions of both Bishop Fisher and Thomas More. Is seen in eight of the ten season two episodes.

[edit] Recurring

Character name	Portrayed by	Historical basis	First appearance	Last appearance
Notes
Duke of Buckingham	Steven Waddington (2007)	Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham	Episode 1.01	Episode 1.02
Direct descendent of Edward II, Buckingham was often complaining to Norfolk that the crown of England should be his and not Henry VIII. He also hates Cardinal Wolsey. After unsuccessfully humiliating Wolsey, he recklessly planned assassinating Henry. However, this plan was reported by Thomas Boleyn, whom Buckingham tried to recruit, to the Cardinal. Buckingham was subsequently tried and convicted for treason, and beheaded. He left behind a daughter, who had a brief romance with Charles Brandon (also one of the reasons he was at odds with Henry VIII).
Anna Buckingham	Anna Brewster (2007)	Anne Hastings née Stafford, Countess of Huntingdon	Episode 1.01	Episode 1.02
The Duke of Buckingham's daughter was the former lover of Charles Brandon, and catalyst for her father's attempted assassination of the King of England.
Princess Margaret Tudor	Gabrielle Anwar (2007)	Mary Tudor, Queen of France	Episode 1.03	Episode 1.09
Engaged to the elderly King of Portugal, this fiesty sister to King Henry VIII asks her brother to reconsider the match. He refuses, and she is further irritated that he has chosen his common-born friend Charles Brandon to accompany her to Portugal and present her to her future husband. Margaret then pressures Henry to agree that, once her husband is dead, she may marry whomever she chooses. He seems to concede, and Brandon proves an interesting distraction on the long sea voyage. She died of consumption, or what was later believed to be tuberculosis.
William Compton	Kristen Holden-Ried (2007)	William Compton	Episode 1.01	Episode 1.07
Longtime friend to King Henry VIII. He had a common law wife, but also had a romance with Thomas Tallis. He was the first to catch the sweating sickness and die of it.
Thomas Tallis	Joe Van Moyland (2007-)	Thomas Tallis	Episode 1.01
Young composer Thomas Tallis comes to London with good references and secures a position with the Chapel Royal. He soon attracts the attention of Sir William Compton, a close friend of King Henry VIII. After William died, he tried to court two sisters.
Ambassador Mendoza	Declan Conlon (2007)	Iñigo López de Mendoza y Zúñiga	Episode 1.03
The Spanish ambassador to England, Mendoza serves as a link between Queen Katherine and her nephew, Charles V, as her letters are being opened by Cardinal Wolsey. He is also the one friend Katherine has at court, since her Spanish ladies-in-waiting were dismissed by Wolsey, and her English ladies-in-waiting were either bribed or seduced by the Cardinal, to say nothing of being seduced by the king himself. He bore the brunt of Henry VIII's attack when Charles V broke the treaty between England and Spain by setting free Francis I of France without consulting Henry, as Charles's ally, and also marrying Isabella of Portugal when he is betrothed to Princess Mary.
Bishop John Fisher	Bosco Hogan (2007)	Bishop John Fisher	Episode 1.05	Episode 2.05
Bishop of Rochester and legal counsel to Katherine. Historically, he was confessor and good friend to Henry's mother, and one of few men who little feared him. He suffered terribly for his convictions. He was created Cardinal for his steadfastness and was later canonized in the Roman Catholic church. His feast day is the same as Saint Thomas More.
Mary Boleyn	Perdita Weeks (2007-2008)	Mary Boleyn	Episode 1.01	Episode 2.05
Daughter of Thomas Boleyn and sister to George and Anne Boleyn. Also the onetime mistress to King Henry VIII. Seen more as a recurring character in the show's second season, although she is banished from court after revealing her secret marriage.
Lady Elizabeth Blount	Ruta Gedmintas (2007)	Elizabeth Blount	Episode 1.01	Episode 1.05
Married mistress to King Henry VIII, and mother to his first (though illegitimate) son who survived infancy. He dies in the fifth episode at the young age of four, as both her and the King weep over the loss. (Her son's death contradicts history, as her son survived through his teenage years.)
Richard Pace	Matt Ryan (2007)	Richard Pace	Episode 1.01	Episode 1.04
A widower who was the secretary of Henry VIII. He was framed by Cardinal Wolsey of spying for the French, and sentenced to the London Tower. He lost his mental facilities before he was released from the Tower.
George Boleyn	Padraic Delaney (2007-2008)	George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford	Episode 1.04	Episode 2.09
Son of Thomas Boleyn and brother to Mary and Anne Boleyn.
Princess Mary Tudor	Blathnaid McKeown (2007) Sarah Bolger (2008-)	Mary I of England	Episode 1.01 (McKeown) Episode 2.03 (Bolger)	Episode 1.07 (McKeown)
Daughter and only surviving child of King Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon. Was once betrothed to the Dauphin of France, her cousin, Charles V of Spain, and Francis I's youngest son, the Duke of Orléans. After Henry's illegitimate son received titles and his own household, she too received her household, but far away in the Welsh marshes, under the care of her lady governess, Lady Salisbury. After the annulment of her parents' marriage, she was known only as "Lady Mary", and any contact with her mother was forbidden. When her sister Elizabeth was born Mary was expelled from Court, her servants dismissed from her service, and she was forced to serve as a lady-in-waiting. Mary's place in the line of succession was also transferred to Elizabeth. Mary is relieved when she learns that her future stepmother, Jane Seymour, hopes to convince the King to restore her to the succession.
Lady Jane Howard	Slaine Kelly (2007)		Episode 1.01	Episode 1.01
Mistress of Henry VIII for a short period, though of no historical basis. Named after the granddaughter of the Duke of Norfolk, Jane Neville née Howard, Countess of Westmoreland.
King Francis of France	Emmanuel Leconte (2007-)	Francis I of France	Episode 1.02
King of France, and alternately the adversary and ally of King Henry VIII.
Queen Claude of France	Gabriella Wright (2007-)	Claude of France	Episode 1.02
Queen consort of Francis I of France. Rejected the Duke of Suffolk's advances because she believed that making love for revenge (at her husband, who flaunts his mistresses much like Henry VIII) kills the soul.
Thomas Wyatt	Jamie King (2007-)	Thomas Wyatt	Episode 1.03
The former love of Anne Boleyn, poet Thomas Wyatt befriends and collaborates with composer Thomas Tallis while both are on a trip to France with Cardinal Wolsey. He claims to have had carnal relations with Anne, although this is at odds with Anne saying that her maidenhead was only for her husband to claim. He makes few appearances in the first season, but appears as a regular in the second season. He still holds and proclaims his feelings for Anne even though she has married and moved on. Wyatt is arrested and charged with being unfaithful to the king, but is released in time to see Anne's execution. It remains a mystery if he will return for season three, since he is still in court.
Emperor Charles	Sebastian Armesto (2007-)	Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor	Episode 1.02
Alternately the ally and adversary of King Henry VIII, Charles is Holy Roman Emperor and the nephew of Henry's first wife, Queen Katherine. He was betrothed to Princess Mary, although he later broke the betrothal to marry Isabella of Portugal.
Lady Salisbury	Kate O'Toole (2007)	Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury	Episode 1.05
Noblewoman charged as governess and guardian to Princess Mary, daughter of King Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon, when the princess earned her own household in the Welsh marches.
Catherine Willoughby	Rebekah Wainwright (2007)	Catherine Willoughby	Episode 1.10
The Duchess of Suffolk who marries Charles Brandon. With her sharp-tongued wit, she motivates Brandon to "keep his pretty head" despite the fact that he hates Queen Anne Boleyn with a passion. She agrees with the King's decision to entertain the French royals for a couple of days, but has doubts which are soon revealed that Brandon had a one-time affair with the French ambassador's mistress. She forgives Brandon, saying that he was the only one who made her cry.
Jane Seymour	Anita Briem (2008)	Jane Seymour	Episode 2.07
Henry's new mistress whom he takes extreme liking to after Anne Boleyn fails to produce an heir for his throne. She accepts the king's proposal and quickly moves in the queen's quarters. Henry briefly sends her away while the matter of Anne Boleyn is resolved, but later proposes to her in front of her father, John. Will be seen as a central character in season three.
Eustace Chapuys	Anthony Brophy (2007-)	Eustace Chapuys	Episode 1.09
Holy Roman Emperor Charles V's ambassador to the court of Henry VIII. As the Emperor is the nephew to Katherine of Aragon, his Ambassador acts as her ally and plots against Anne Boleyn, but his conspiracies achieve little.

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] External links

• The Tudors characters ~ Showtime