The Six Wives of Henry VIII (TV series)
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- Not to be confused with The Six Wives of Henry VIII (documentary), a more recent Channel 4 documentary series on the subject by David Starkey.
The Six Wives of Henry VIII was a series of six teleplays produced by the BBC and first transmitted between 1 January and 5 February 1970. One of the first major British television series to be videotaped in colour, it was a huge success, propelling its previously little-known star, Keith Michell, into the limelight.
Each of the series of plays was devoted to one of the wives of King Henry VIII of England, and all were of equal length, regardless of the enormous variation in the length of their respective marriages. Each episode was written by a different dramatist. The series was produced by Mark Shivas and Ronald Travers.
The wives were as follows:
- Catherine of Aragon played by Annette Crosbie
- Anne Boleyn played by Dorothy Tutin
- Jane Seymour played by Anne Stallybrass
- Anne of Cleves played by Elvi Hale
- Catherine Howard played by Angela Pleasence
- Catherine Parr played by Rosalie Crutchley
Contents |
[edit] Series summary
[edit] Catherine of Aragon
The episode starts with Catherine being married to Arthur who dies. Then, Catherine faces trouble as she is poor and arrangements to marry Prince Henry are not clear. When Henry VII dies, Henry VIII chooses Catherine, as his wife, as the deathwish of his father and they marry. After a short scene of Catherine's son's death and her weeping in Henry's arms, the programme goes to her older days where Henry falls in love with Anne Boleyn. She is heartbroken when Henry tells her he wants to divorce her. There are several court scenes discussing the annulment until Catherine is told that Henry married Anne. She is moved to Wolsey's house until she dies while Maria de Salinas is by her side. And the episode ends with her lying in her bed, Maria de Salinas sitting beside her and her (Catherine's) face fading away. Then you see Henry reading a letter written by her to him she is the voiceover reading it, then it shows Henry crushing it and standing dominatingly as a Hans Holbein portrait.
[edit] Anne Boleyn
The episode focuses primarily on Anne's downfall, documenting the disintegration of her marriage in the face of frequent miscarriages and the king's infidelities. The storyline was heavily influenced by academic theories which believed Anne was the victim of a factional and political plot, concocted by her many enemies, who capitalised on the king's disillusionment with her. As with most media treatments of Anne's destruction, the episode followed the historical research which has all but proved her innocence; the scriptwriter used Anne's final confession to suggest her total innocence on charges of adultery, incest, treason and witchcraft. A notable exception to this general rule was the later BBC adaptation of the The Other Boleyn Girl.
[edit] Jane Seymour
This episode starts with Jane giving birth to Prince Edward. When she is taken to her child's christening, she is in pain and is near death; while lying in her sickbed, the events of her life flash before her in a fever dream. She remembers how Henry fell in love with her and her relatives schemed to bring about the downfall of Anne Boleyn and the subsequent rise of Jane. Directly after Anne is executed, Henry and Jane are married. During her short time as queen, Jane tries with some success to reconcile the princess Mary with Henry. Her pregnancy is a guilt-filled one. She is tormented by the fact that her predecessor was innocent; the victim of false witness. After Jane gives birth to the prince, she falls ill; this brings the episode full circle. Jane dies, and the last images we see here are her body lying in state, arrayed like a queen and Henry being consoled by his daughter Mary.
[edit] Anne of Cleves
Henry is confronted by Thomas Cromwell, who tells him that an alliance with Germany is imperative so he should marry one of the Duke of Cleves' sisters, Anne or Amelia. He sends artist Hans Holbein, who paints both girls, and chooses Anne because of her flattering portrait. Anne is sent to marry Henry. When she reaches England, Henry wishes to surprise her, so he goes to see her for the first time in disguise, but when he arrives, Anne is not properly dressed and is shocked when she finds out who he really is. Henry, meanwhile, is disappointed that she is not as beautiful as her portrait. They are married, but the marriage is never consummated. Politics then take center stage as Thomas Howard, the Duke of Norfolk, plans Cromwell's downfall by playing on Henry's infatuation with his young niece Catherine. Soon, Cromwell knows he is doomed and Anne realizes her marriage will soon be ended. She tells Henry that he must listen to her conditions: to be given a household of her own and to be able to see Henry's children, whom she loves. She also suggests that she should be called his sister, and points out that since their marriage was never consummated, it could be ended quickly by an annulment instead of a divorce. Henry is delighted by this idea, saying "Good night, my dear sister," and the episode ends showing Anne's saddened face.
[edit] Catherine Howard
The episode begins with The Duke of Norfolk visiting his mother to see if one of his nieces would be an eligible suit for the king. His ambition is clear. He wants a Howard on the throne of England. We meet Catherine Howard, a vain, cruel and egotistical teenager, who confides in her roommate that she has had a romantic tryst with a young man named Francis Dereham. She is taken by her governess, Lady Rochford, to her uncle who informs her that she is to be the next Queen of England. She states her worries because of what happened to her cousin, Anne Boleyn, but Norfolk assures her if she listens to him, all will be well. Norfolk is concerned though that she is not virginal and Catherine lies that she is untouched. She is taken to meet the king. King Henry, already ill with an ulcer on his leg, is immediately taken with the pretty, young girl. She nurses and flirts with him and Norfolk's dream seems closer. The king decides to take her as his wife but on their wedding night, Henry's impotence is an obstacle. Another obstacle comes when the young Dereham comes to visit the Queen and blackmails her regarding their romance the summer before. To secure her future, Norfolk insists she produce a male heir, in any way possible. Catherine, with the help of Lady Rochford, begins a torrid affair with Thomas Culpepper, Henry's young and dashing personal aide. But months pass with no sign of a child and the court begins to know about the affair. Norfolk then decides to betray his niece to the king before his enemies can. Culpepper and Dereham are taken to the Tower and Norfolk falls out of favor with the king. There is then a dramatic scene where Norfolk and the king's guards come to arrest Catherine and the Lady Rochford. Catherine demands to see the king but is denied. She is taken to the Tower where she rehearses the speech she will give at her execution. The episode ends with the king banishing Norfolk from his sight, and from the royal court.
[edit] Catherine Parr
The episode begins with the Catherine Parr, the recently widowed Lady Latimer, about to receive an audience with the king. Henry, old, corpulent, sick and lonely, takes to the mature widow; and her honesty and beauty entice him. She turns down his offer of marriage, however - only to be persuaded by the ambitious Seymour brothers to accept it. Catherine soon becomes Queen of England, and her natural maternal instinct is put into practice with the king's children: Mary, Elizabeth and Edward. However, Bishop Gardiner takes a dislike to Catherine's religious views as he is a staunch Catholic. He plots her downfall, and questions his ladies; even putting one woman, Anne Askew, on the rack. Catherine is horrified by Askew's story, and confronts her husband and Gardiner. Henry becomes frustrated by her constant want for debate, and angrily rejects her. Soon, a death warrant is signed for the queen but Henry forgives her and they make their rapprochement. Soon after, Henry suddenly collapses, obviously near death. After a long wait, the king dies, and Thomas Seymour asks Catherine to marry him. Still in her mourning clothes, Catherine accepts, and the episode ends.
[edit] Reception
The series was so successful that it was adapted into the 1973 film The Six Wives of Henry VIII, and spawned a successful sequel, Elizabeth R, starring Glenda Jackson, and a prequel Shadow of the Tower starring James Maxwell, and Norma West as Henry's Parents.
