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Documentary, Six Wives with Lucy Worsley S01E03 - Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr
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00:00Divorced. Beheaded. Died. Divorced. Beheaded. Survived. The story of Henry VIII and his six
00:17wives is one of the best known in history. There's Catherine of Aragon, the bitter,
00:23abandoned first wife. Anne Boleyn, the original other woman. Jane Seymour, a bit of a doormat.
00:31Then we've got Anne of Cleves. She was the ugly one. Catherine Howard, the one who slept around.
00:38And Catherine Parr, the saintly nurse. Then I'm going to tell you a very different story.
00:46I'm going to take you back in time and into the private lives of Henry's six wives.
00:53I'm going to see the story from their point of view. And I'll watch as events unfold.
01:00The fate of my soul is no longer your concern. It will always be my concern.
01:06These events all really happened and were recorded in historical documents or reported by eyewitnesses.
01:14They asked for his head, not his coat. They reveal six complex women who lived in a dangerous age
01:22as they struggled to survive being married to Henry VIII.
01:25I beg of you to tell the king that my heart is filled with sorrow and assure him of my repentance.
01:32Six wives whose names were tarnished by Henry's propaganda machine.
01:38Six queens whose stories I want to re-examine.
01:42Is she here?
01:45I'll observe their life at court.
01:49And I'll watch them romanced by a charismatic king.
01:53Tell me all the same.
01:55Always.
01:57This is the ultimate true story of love, loss and betrayal.
02:05Remember what happened to my last wife and queen.
02:24Henry VIII's first wife, warrior queen Catherine of Aragon,
02:29gave the king a daughter, Mary, but she failed to give him a son and heir.
02:33She has suffered a loss of the child.
02:36Get out!
02:37After 24 years of marriage, she was cast aside for the clever and sophisticated Anne Boleyn.
02:44And to marry her, Henry turned his back on the Roman Catholic Church.
02:49You, sir, face eternal damnation.
02:52You cannot defy the church in this way.
02:55Anne disappointed Henry by giving him another daughter, Elizabeth.
02:59Surely I deserve your respect, my lord.
03:02Worse still, she proved too challenging for the king.
03:07So he had his second wife executed.
03:10All this for so little, Anne.
03:12Your majesty.
03:14Madam.
03:14His third queen, Jane Seymour, always dutiful, succeeded where Catherine and Anne failed him.
03:21She delivered Henry a boy, Edward.
03:24He is thriving.
03:25Very much so.
03:26But within 12 days, she was dead.
03:31Lord God, why must you punish me this way?
03:33Henry VIII is now 48 years old.
03:55A visitor has arrived from Germany to see him.
04:02They've never met.
04:04So Henry's decided to play one of his favourite tricks, disguising himself as the rogue Robin Hood.
04:10She took the right to see him.
04:27My lady, welcome.
04:28I trust you find your new residence to be more than adequate.
04:48It's New Year's Day, 1540, and Henry VIII has just introduced himself to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves.
04:59So why was Henry getting married to somebody that he'd never even met before?
05:04This time, he was slightly pushed into it.
05:07After Jane Seymour's death, Henry's heart was broken.
05:11He also now had his son and heir, Edward.
05:14He could afford to relax and take his time.
05:17But Henry's advisers had other ideas.
05:20They thought it was time for a new queen.
05:53But Henry didn't have that great a reputation as a potential husband.
05:57After all, he was now three wives down, and each time it had ended badly.
06:02In fact, one prospective bride said,
06:05Yes, she would have married Henry VIII if she had two heads.
06:11The once handsome king was now obese and looked older than his age.
06:16The legacy of his passion for jousting was an ulcerous wound on his leg that refused to heal.
06:23Henry's advisers scoured Europe, searching for a noble family willing to provide a bride.
06:34The hunt took two whole years.
06:36But finally, in 1539, somebody said yes.
06:40Henry's wife would be a German noblewoman called Anne.
06:47She lived in the town of Cleve in Western Germany.
06:56This is the famous Anne of Cleve's cake, still baked here, in honour of Anne.
07:03Although she's still famous in Germany, English history has dismissed Anne as Henry's ugly wife.
07:10Famously, she's known as the Flanders' mare.
07:14But there was more to Anne than her looks.
07:17A gift for diplomacy and an instinct for survival
07:20probably make her the most successful of all Henry's wives.
07:25She was raised and educated here, at the castle Schwannenberg.
07:33She was the daughter of the Duke of Cleves, a powerful, noble family.
07:38And like Henry himself, the Duke of Cleves had rejected the authority of the Pope.
07:45Anne fitted the bill.
07:48With a bit of reluctance, Henry did agree to consider Anne of Cleves as a bride.
07:53But first of all, he wanted to know what she looked like.
07:58Was she going to be attractive enough for him?
08:01So he sent his top painter, Hans Holbein, over to Cleves to do a portrait.
08:06And this picture, combined with favourable reports from Henry's advisers, made up his mind.
08:13Yes, he was going to marry her.
08:15And so, without even meeting the king, Anne set off for England to marry him.
08:28Anne was 24 years old.
08:30She'd never been outside Germany before.
08:33And she didn't speak any English.
08:35It must all have been pretty daunting.
08:37But she did have the good sense to learn what she could, from her English escort, about what her new life would be like.
08:45After all, she must have known what had happened to her three predecessors.
08:50Been anxious to avoid making the same mistakes.
08:54Anne made sure to have dinner with her travelling companions.
08:57Because she needed to know what happened when Englishmen were sitting at their meet.
09:05She needed to get up to speed really quickly, with the etiquette of being a Tudor queen.
09:18It took over a month for Anne and her entourage to reach the shores of England.
09:23When they arrived in Rochester, they were instructed to rest up and wait.
09:29There was just one vital thing her German advisers had forgotten to brief Anne about.
09:36An Englishman's sense of humour.
09:42My lady, welcome.
09:46I...
09:47Something wrong, madam?
10:03Das ist der König.
10:07The King.
10:17My lord, do you think of the Lady Anne?
10:28Do you really need to ask?
10:30I put it to you this way.
10:34She's not the lady I was expecting.
10:39Anne's advisers had let her down badly.
10:42They might have taught her about the finer points of dining.
10:46But they'd neglected the essentials of English courtly romance.
10:51They should have warned Anne that Henry loved to dress up, to disguise himself and then to surprise people.
10:58By failing to recognise him, Anne caused grave offence.
11:03And Henry now turned against her, claiming to find her unattractive.
11:08The conventional story is that Henry blamed Holbein for having painted an overly flattering portrait of Anne.
11:17But there are first-hand accounts of Anne being very attractive, even beautiful.
11:24Whatever the rights and the wrongs of the situation, this has to be history's most awkward blind date.
11:32The next meeting took place a few days later, at Blackheath, up on the hill, behind Greenwich.
11:45This was a formal reception for Anne.
11:48Then they rode down the hill to the Tudor Palace of Greenwich, long since rebuilt.
11:54As they rode, they wore golden robes.
11:57There was a great procession, crowds of spectators.
12:00They must have looked like a golden couple.
12:04But all was not as it seemed.
12:08Behind the scenes, Henry was desperately trying to wiggle out of the wedding.
12:13But he quickly discovered that the marriage contract had been a complex diplomatic negotiation.
12:21Anne's family, back in Cleves, weren't going to let him off the hook that easily.
12:25And in any case, was it wise?
12:29He needed them as allies against his enemies.
12:33There was nothing for it.
12:35He was just going to have to marry Anne.
12:46Henry is on his way to Anne's bedchamber for the first time.
12:50The wedding night ritual is about to begin.
12:54Bless, O Lord, this marriage bed and those in it.
13:11Watch over your servants as they sleep, protecting them from all demonic dreams.
13:18And grant that they live in your love and multiply and grow old together in length of days.
13:25Heavenly Father, hear this prayer.
13:28Father, hear this prayer.
13:58Lord, hear this prayer.
14:00Lord, hear this prayer.
14:01Lord, hear this prayer.
14:02Lord, hear this prayer.
14:03Lord, hear this prayer.
14:04Lord, hear this prayer.
14:05Lord, hear this prayer.
14:06Lord, hear this prayer.
14:07Lord, hear this prayer.
14:08Lord, hear this prayer.
14:09Lord, hear this prayer.
14:10Lord, hear this prayer.
14:11Lord, hear this prayer.
14:12Lord, hear this prayer.
14:13Lord, hear this prayer.
14:14Lord, hear this prayer.
14:15Lord, hear this prayer.
14:16Lord, hear this prayer.
14:17Lord, hear this prayer.
14:18Lord, hear this prayer.
14:19Lord, hear this prayer.
14:20Lord, hear this prayer.
14:21Lord, hear this prayer.
14:22Lord, hear this prayer.
14:23Lord, hear this prayer.
14:24Lord, hear this prayer.
14:25Lord, hear this prayer.
14:26And the really awful thing is that everybody knows
14:29that it's not working out in the bedchamber.
14:32Courtiers literally listen in to hear if the deed's been done.
14:36In the morning, they'll check the sheets for evidence.
14:42If the marriage isn't consummated, it's not legal.
14:48The very public nature of this ritual
14:51means that word starts flying around court immediately.
14:55Everybody wants to know,
14:57why hasn't the king sealed the deal with his new queen?
15:05My theory is that Henry just couldn't manage it.
15:09After all, he was getting older and fatter
15:12and was quite possibly impotent.
15:15But Henry couldn't allow anybody to think this.
15:17It would undermine his masculine image.
15:20So he took action.
15:22He got his physician, Dr William Butts, to spread it around the court
15:27that the problem must be with Anne.
15:29The king, Dr Butts said, was absolutely fine.
15:32He was well able to do the deed with other women.
15:36And he was still experiencing nocturnal pollutions.
15:40They're what we would call wet dreams.
15:43Henry kept up the pretense of visiting Anne's bedchamber.
15:49But nothing was happening there apart from sleeping.
15:52By now, malicious rumours were being deliberately spread around the court
15:57about what had gone wrong.
15:59Some people said that Anne hadn't been a virgin.
16:03Others, that on the contrary, she didn't know what sex was.
16:07Then again, maybe her body had disgusted the king.
16:10No-one dared suggest it might have been Henry's fault.
16:14Because Anne's English isn't great, she's in a poor position
16:19to defend herself against this gossip.
16:21But Anne is nobody's fool.
16:24She might not understand everything that's going on,
16:27but she can clearly see that her husband's eye is wandering.
16:31She's in a dangerous position and she knows it.
16:48Henry and Anne have been married for just a few months
16:52and already the king is infatuated with someone else.
16:56A teenager recently arrived at court.
17:00Her name is Catherine Howard.
17:09Madam, this is an outrage.
17:11Ambassador Haast, this is King Henry.
17:15You suspect he is involved with this woman?
17:20The king is a very sociable man, is he not?
17:26And it does not grieve you?
17:30This bond was from beginning an a catastrophe.
17:33Oh my God!
17:35The king wants to leave the Hof.
17:39You shouldn't let us do that.
17:41My lady, if it's between you and the king of the Trennung
17:43should be a disaster.
17:45You should not be afraid of the alliance between our two countries.
17:55It might be a traumatized catastrophe, but I won't let it be a person.
18:05Is it really so easy to give up?
18:07Give up my wife.
18:09I doubted that I had to speak with your words.
18:13And what does it do to me, is a different topic.
18:17And I won't give up my wife.
18:20Boom, boom, boom.
18:23Yes! Oh, yes!
18:37For Anne of Cleves, the arrival of Catherine Howard was very bad news.
18:42Her fears were well-founded.
18:44In June 1540, just six months after she'd arrived in England, Anne of Cleves was sent away from court.
18:51She was told to go and live at the Palace of Richmond, under the not very convincing excuse that the weather was better there.
19:00Henry wanted her out of the way, so that he could marry Catherine Howard.
19:05Given Henry's past record, I think Anne must have been quite worried about what might happen to her next.
19:15But she knew that if he treated her too harshly, there might be an international incident involving Cleves.
19:21And she also knew that Henry couldn't really afford that, so she held out for a settlement.
19:27In the end, Henry offered her a deal.
19:30In return for going away quietly, Anne would get a special title.
19:34She'd become known as the King's Sister.
19:37But here's the good bit.
19:38She'd also get two palaces to live in, a huge entourage of servants, and loads of money.
19:45Anne thought about it, and she said yes.
19:48She sent back her wedding ring, with a request that it be broken into pieces.
19:55The King paid Anne off handsomely.
20:04Her entourage and her wardrobe continued to grow, and so did her property portfolio.
20:11Henry even gave her Hever Castle, the family home of Anne Berlin.
20:16She never remarried, but Anne did become one of the richest women in England.
20:26Anne outlived all the rest of Henry's wives, and Henry himself.
20:30When she finally died in 1557, at the age of 41, she was given a rather grand final resting place.
20:38It's here, in Westminster Abbey in London.
20:41And she's buried right by the high altar.
20:49I think it's a fitting tribute to a brave and canny queen,
20:54who at the age of 24 took on the powerful forces of the Tudor court.
21:00And won.
21:01And won.
21:02Since he'd made himself head of his own church, there'd be no one to stop Henry ending his marriage to Anne of Cleves.
21:05Since he'd made himself head of his own church, there'd be no one to stop Henry ending his marriage to Anne of Cleves.
21:06Since he'd made himself head of his own church, there'd be no one to stop Henry ending his marriage to Anne of Cleves.
21:07Since he'd made himself head of his own church, there'd be no one to stop Henry ending his marriage to Anne of Cleves.
21:22Leaving him free to marry teenage lady-in-waiting Catherine Howard.
21:25She would be the king's fifth queen.
21:29Henry married Catherine just two weeks after the ending of his marriage with Anne of Cleves.
21:36Marriage to Catherine seemed to take ten years off his age.
21:40Under her influence, he even lost weight.
21:43He was visibly infatuated with her.
21:45One eyewitness said that he's so amorous of her that he caresses her more than he did the others.
21:52Now, if we saw a middle-aged man acting up like that with a teenager, we think, well, that's really inappropriate.
21:59But in the 16th century, it was perfectly acceptable, especially if you were King Henry VIII.
22:05Why did Henry get married for the fifth time?
22:22After all, he now had his son and heir, Edward.
22:27He could have just kept Catherine for his mistress.
22:32his mistress but don't forget he only had the crown himself because of the death of his older
22:39brother he knew better than anybody that you need two boys the heir and the spare so i think he
22:47probably looked at catherine and thought hmm she looks nice and young and fertile perhaps she's
22:54the mother of another boy no one knows exactly when catherine was born she could have been as
23:03young as 15 when she married henry and she's remembered as the queen who slept around but
23:10i think that hers is a much darker and more tragic story catherine has been married to the king for
23:23just a year she's on her way to meet one of his advisors
23:43i thought you're one of the king's men i am his majesty's most loyal and faithful son
23:48we are in such danger this is madness are you alone then we are safe i'm the king's wife we
23:57are never safe my lady we have no time to lose
24:02every second that the king has been thinking of our next meeting well he cannot please you the way i do
24:07if the rumors are true he cannot please you at all don't talk like that my heart dies when we're
24:13apart tell me you're the same of course but if we're caught we will not be caught
24:19madam if you wish to enter no then place your trust in me
24:27in the city
24:33in the city
24:37in the city
24:41in the city
24:47Catherine's secret lover is courtier Thomas Culpeper, a notorious womaniser.
25:17One of Catherine and Thomas Culpeper's assignations took place here, at Lincoln Castle.
25:26This is from a letter that Catherine wrote to Thomas Culpeper.
25:30It's quite steamy stuff.
25:33When I think, she says, that you shall depart from me again, it makes my heart to die.
25:41To think what fortune I have, that I cannot be always in your company.
25:49And she signs it off, yours as long as life endures.
26:00So why did Catherine risk an affair with Thomas Culpeper when she knew exactly how lethal Henry could be?
26:08After all, she was a cousin of Anne Boleyn, who'd been accused of adultery and consequently lost her head.
26:16There are lots of different theories here.
26:19Some people think that Catherine was just a silly little slut.
26:23Others, that she really was in love with him.
26:26I don't believe either.
26:28I believe that Thomas Culpeper was a sexual predator, that he was pressurising, almost forcing, a vulnerable young woman into having a sexual relationship with him.
26:41Thomas Culpeper had a terrible reputation.
26:44He'd been accused of raping a park keeper's wife and murdering a villager who tried to stop him.
26:50But he'd been pardoned by the king.
26:55It is true that the letter contains some pretty effusive phrases.
26:59When she talks about her heart dying for him, or how she will be his as long as life endures.
27:06But you can read it as placatory.
27:09Maybe she was telling him what he wanted to hear, to keep him quiet.
27:13After all, Thomas Culpeper was a dangerous man.
27:19Catherine met him again three weeks later.
27:22But this time they were noticed, and gossip about the queen began to swirl around the court.
27:29On the 2nd of November, 1541, All Souls Day, a letter was left for the king to find in the chapel royal at Hampton Court.
27:51It contained some quite extraordinary allegations.
27:54It said that when his wife Catherine had been growing up, she'd had sex.
28:00With a cousin of hers called Francis Durham, and also with a man called Henry Mannox, who was her music teacher.
28:10When Henry read the letter, he was sceptical, but he ordered an investigation.
28:16And the investigation led back to Catherine's childhood.
28:20Her mother died when she was young.
28:25Aged 10, Catherine was sent to live with her step-grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk,
28:31who ran a sort of boarding school for young ladies destined for court, here at Chesworth Manor.
28:39She wasn't given much of the formal education, though she did get music lessons.
28:43She was meant to pick up a bit of polish from being part of a large household.
28:50Catherine and the other girls slept in a dormitory called the Maiden's Chamber.
28:56It was supposed to be locked up at night to keep them safe.
29:00But the arrangements in this household were a bit lax.
29:04The Duchess can be said to have failed in her duty of care towards these girls,
29:09because certain men of the household knew how to get hold of the key.
29:14When Catherine's family connections took her to court, none of this was mentioned.
29:22And of course, it would have been dangerous to talk about it once she was the Queen.
29:27After just 15 months as Queen, Catherine is to be interrogated about her past
29:43by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer.
29:46You must speak nothing but the truth, my child.
29:56Be calm.
29:58Take your time.
30:01We are here in God's company.
30:04There is no rush.
30:05Francis Deerham.
30:15You know this man well?
30:18Knew him, sir.
30:21It was many years ago, and I've not seen nor...
30:24Please, just simply explain your involvement with him.
30:32Long ago.
30:33Before I met the King,
30:37there was the possibility that Francis Deerham and I would marry.
30:40Indeed.
30:42There is talk that you referred to one another as husband and wife.
30:47Not by law.
30:49Not in the eyes of God.
30:52The King has been my true and only husband.
30:55Did you lie with Deerham?
31:02Yes, my lord.
31:03I must be truthful.
31:06Oh, you must.
31:10Have there been others?
31:13Before the King, apart from Deerham?
31:17Henry Mannox, perhaps.
31:19Please, sit back down.
31:24Have you anything to say about this man?
31:33The choice to lie with him was not mine.
31:36It was a child.
31:37Yet, still, the accusations are not without weight.
31:51They are not.
31:55I see.
31:56Please, my lord, I beg of you to tell the King that my heart is filled with sorrow and assure him of my repentance.
32:04The fear of death is not as bad as this, my lord.
32:06Henry Mannox had been her music teacher.
32:23And her cousin, Francis Deerham, he'd been one of those men with access to the key to the maiden's chamber.
32:31These two men had taken advantage of Catherine.
32:35And that's why it's so unfair that historians have called her a good-time girl.
32:39Today, we'd call her an abused child.
32:46Henry Mannox and Francis Deerham were arrested and sent to the Tower of London.
32:53They were interrogated by the archbishop's men.
32:57And quite possibly under torture, Catherine's cousin, Francis Deerham, admitted that he had had sex with her.
33:07He'd lain with her several times.
33:10This was a detail that was corroborated by ladies from Catherine's grandmother's household.
33:17What Cranmer and the King's advisors wanted to do next was,
33:20had the affair continued even after Catherine had become queen?
33:25No, said Francis Deerham.
33:27Absolutely not.
33:29But that was only because she'd dumped him.
33:32He'd been replaced in Catherine's affections by somebody else, Thomas Culpepper.
33:40Culpepper, the serial seducer, had pressurised this vulnerable and abused girl into committing adultery.
33:47He denied the affair, but he wasn't believed.
33:51Catherine's love letter to him was found.
33:54This sealed their fate.
33:57Henry was devastated.
34:12But as always, he gave his orders and then he slipped away.
34:16Kings don't have to have difficult conversations.
34:18He left Hampton Court, said he was going hunting, and Catherine never saw him again.
34:26For several days, she was left alone at the palace.
34:31The King's absence must have told her that something was wrong.
34:35So cheerful and sociable in normal times, Catherine wasn't in the mood for merrymaking.
34:43When musicians came to the palace to play for the Queen, they were sent away again.
34:48The exact words of the order, and this is really poignant, were,
34:52Now is not the time for dancing.
35:01Finally, Catherine was arrested.
35:04Meanwhile, Thomas Culpepper and Francis Deerham were tried for treason and found guilty.
35:20Somehow, Catherine's music teacher, Henry Mannix, managed to get away with it.
35:24But the other two were less lucky.
35:27Francis Deerham was hung, drawn and quartered.
35:30And Thomas Culpepper, as his social superior, was given the rather more elegant death of beheading.
35:39The heads of the men who'd abused Catherine ended up on spikes on London Bridge.
35:45When the teenage Queen was taken to the Tower of London, she would have seen their rotting heads.
35:52It's the 12th of February, 1542.
36:04Catherine has also been convicted of treason and is sentenced to die by beheading.
36:10It's a much more ordinary thing.
36:15I'm sorry.
36:16It is a much more ordinary thing than I had imagined.
36:46No, my lady.
36:54Please, move away from me.
37:16I shall surrender myself to God.
37:26I shall surrender myself to God.
37:54The next day, Catherine was brought to the scaffold, erected on this spot.
38:00Her last words were extremely penitent.
38:03She spoke about her just and worthy punishment.
38:07She said that she defended God heinously ever since her youth, and she prayed for the preservation
38:14of her husband, the king.
38:16Then she knelt down exactly as she'd practiced, and her head was removed with a single blow
38:23at the axe.
38:25After the breakdown of his fifth marriage, it took Henry a whole year to do that.
38:34After the breakdown of his fifth marriage,
38:53it took Henry a whole year to recover.
38:57The Spanish ambassador reported
38:58that he certainly shows more sorrow at her loss
39:02than at the loss of his previous wives.
39:06Henry was now old and ill and tired.
39:10Why not just remain a widower?
39:13But it simply didn't suit him.
39:15He craved female company.
39:18It was time for yet another new wife.
39:25Henry's sixth queen would be Catherine Parr.
39:28She may have a reputation for being the dullest of them all.
39:33But the real woman is altogether more intriguing.
39:38Catherine had already got through two husbands.
39:41She was twice a widow, but she was a very merry one.
39:46She was witty and pretty.
39:48She loved music and dancing.
39:49Although she came from a Northern family,
39:52she'd grown up in London.
39:54Her family's townhouse was here in Blackfriars.
39:58Catherine was already involved
39:59with one of the court's most eligible bachelors,
40:03Jane Seymour's older brother, Thomas.
40:05But when Henry's eye fell on her,
40:08she couldn't say no.
40:11Henry was now 52,
40:14pretty old for Tudor times.
40:17He had his heir, Edward,
40:19and he may still have been holding out hope for a second son.
40:24But his health was deteriorating.
40:26He could no longer walk without help
40:28because of the ulcers on his legs.
40:31So the 30-year-old Catherine would be more companion than lover
40:35and a mother figure to his children.
40:39Henry must have been attracted to her warm personality,
40:42her sense of humour,
40:45maybe her intelligence.
40:46She was definitely the most intellectually curious
40:49of all of his wives.
40:50She was one of those people
40:51who just can't stop reading books.
40:55Their marriage was a small affair.
40:57There were only 20 people present,
40:59but they included Henry's daughters,
41:01Mary and Elizabeth.
41:02And it took place in July 1543
41:05here at Hampton Court.
41:07What was Catherine herself thinking?
41:15Well, we do know that she had hoped to marry somebody else,
41:19but also she had a very highly developed sense of duty.
41:24And her duty was to God.
41:27She had her own reasons for marrying the king.
41:37It's wedding night number six for Henry,
41:42and he's waiting for his new queen to arrive.
41:46My lord.
41:47Oh, sweet lady.
41:49There you are.
41:50Always, my lord.
41:51Oh.
41:52Gently, sister.
42:13Leave us.
42:22It's just over a year after Catherine Howard's execution,
42:31and Henry is delighted with his new bride.
42:36Catherine Parr was a model queen.
42:39Henry trusted her to rule in his absence,
42:42as he had done with his first Catherine of Aragon.
42:45Today, Catherine Parr has rather a dowdy,
42:48nursey image.
42:49This isn't fair.
42:50She was actually rather glamorous.
42:52As soon as she got married,
42:53she spent a lot of money on sumptuous clothes in bright colours.
42:58She bought satin for her nightgowns.
43:01Catherine Parr's stepdaughter,
43:03the Princess Elizabeth,
43:04spent a lot of time watching and learning from her
43:08about how to be a queen.
43:10Yes, in matters of image,
43:11but also intellectually.
43:13Catherine Parr was a real role model.
43:15There was only one problem with this picture of a happy family.
43:21Catherine's religious views.
43:26England was still settling into a new religious order,
43:30as a result of Henry's split from Rome.
43:32He'd made himself head of his new church in England,
43:38but in his own personal religious beliefs,
43:41Henry was surprisingly old school.
43:44It's funny, isn't it,
43:45because we think of him as having broken with Rome,
43:48but in his heart,
43:50Henry remained a Catholic.
43:52But there was a revolutionary new religion in England.
43:55It was growing in popularity.
43:57It would end up as Protestantism.
44:00And Henry's new wife, Catherine Parr, was a believer.
44:03Now, Protestants thought that the Bible
44:05ought to be published in English, not Latin.
44:08That preaching ought to be done in English,
44:11so that people could understand it.
44:13Not surprisingly,
44:14this was proving pretty popular with Henry's subjects.
44:19But not with Henry.
44:21He was quite horrified
44:22by the thought of people having direct access to the Bible.
44:26He complained about this in Parliament.
44:29He said that this most precious jewel,
44:31the Word of God,
44:33was now being disputed,
44:35rhymed,
44:36sung,
44:37and jangled
44:38in taverns and ale houses.
44:41And one person
44:42who was doing more jangling than anyone else
44:44was Henry's own wife,
44:46Catherine Parr.
44:47Catherine was an out-and-out evangelist.
44:55She believed that God had chosen her to marry Henry
44:58just so that she could spread the good news
45:00about the new religion.
45:02She even published a book.
45:04It was called Prayers or Meditations.
45:07This was unprecedented.
45:08It was the first book to be published in English
45:11by a woman,
45:12let alone a queen,
45:14and it was a bestseller.
45:15Now, Henry wasn't particularly bothered
45:18that she'd done this.
45:20He thought that it was
45:21a nice little hobby for her to have,
45:23that it was woman's work.
45:25But it did raise eyebrows
45:27in conservative circles
45:29close to the king.
45:30What Catherine had done
45:31was technically illegal.
45:34Women weren't supposed
45:35to preach the Word of God.
45:37And it would turn out
45:38that Catherine wasn't the only female
45:40in the family
45:41with these potentially subversive
45:43religious views.
45:45The 12-year-old princess Elizabeth
45:51is intelligent,
45:53devout,
45:53and fluent
45:54in five languages.
45:58To Elizabeth,
45:59it seems perfectly natural
46:00that she should start translating
46:02religious works
46:03just like her stepmother does.
46:05It's New Year's Day, 1546,
46:08and Elizabeth has decided
46:10to give her father
46:10a homemade New Year's gift.
46:14It's a translation
46:14that she's done herself.
46:19A gift from Elizabeth
46:21made by her own fair hand.
46:24Happy New Year, Your Majesty.
46:26And what a precious gift it is.
46:28Do you recognise it, my lord?
46:46The Queen's book, sire.
46:48Prayers or meditations?
46:50You seem unhappy, sire.
46:59You cannot possibly guess
47:00what that might be?
47:01This is heresy,
47:08the word of God defiled.
47:11It is a gift
47:11made with love
47:13by your daughter.
47:14My daughter?
47:19Were you aware
47:20that Elizabeth
47:21had committed a softness
47:22in spite of my beliefs?
47:23Sire, if I may say so,
47:24I see no reason
47:25why a difference of opinion
47:26on this matter
47:27should cause such upset
47:28between us.
47:29You see no reason
47:31to deliberately provoke
47:33and insult me
47:34and impose your faith
47:36on my child.
47:39The fault is mine, father.
47:42Forgive me
47:43if I have offended you.
47:45I am thankful
47:47for your efforts, child.
47:50Of course,
47:51you are forgiven.
47:55So Catherine
48:06is spreading
48:06the new religion
48:07through her impressionable
48:09stepdaughter.
48:11But on top of that,
48:12her work is also being read
48:14throughout the royal household
48:15by her friends
48:17and her enemies.
48:25There was a faction
48:28at court
48:29plotting against Catherine.
48:31They were conservatives,
48:33supporters of the old religion.
48:35They were worried
48:35about her reforming tendencies
48:37and her growing influence
48:39on the elderly king.
48:42They whispered in Henry's ear
48:44and exploited his impatience
48:47with his wife.
48:48The queen was getting
48:49too powerful,
48:50they warned.
48:51She was a protestant,
48:53a heretic.
48:54She must be burnt
48:55at the stake.
48:57But Catherine
48:57was one step ahead of them.
49:08Take these and destroy them
49:09as soon as possible.
49:10My lady, that's sacrilege.
49:11Would you rather be destroyed yourself?
49:14Please, let us not suffer
49:15the pain of death
49:15for our convictions.
49:17As ever,
49:18place your trust
49:19in God.
49:27Do not let fear consume you.
49:29Go about your business
49:30as usual,
49:31but speak not a single word
49:32of this to anybody.
49:35Take comfort in the Lord.
49:38It shall pass.
49:49Catherine knows how much danger
49:51she's in,
49:52but she doesn't panic.
49:54She and her ladies
49:55have acted quickly
49:56and decisively.
49:57They've destroyed
49:58their heretical books.
50:00But now Catherine
50:01needs to save herself.
50:03She needs to confront
50:04the king.
50:05She's heard that
50:06the king's been persuaded
50:07to sign a warrant
50:08for her arrest.
50:10It seems such a time
50:14since we sat together
50:15like this.
50:18I have missed your company.
50:20There's been much
50:21to cloud the mood
50:22of late.
50:24Please speak freely,
50:25sire.
50:26I have nothing
50:26to hide from you.
50:29You're fully aware
50:30of my concerns.
50:31I feel no need
50:33to go over them again.
50:34Indeed,
50:35perhaps it is the fact
50:37that you possess
50:38no inclination
50:39to hide your opinions
50:41from me
50:42that has become
50:43the problem.
50:43You wish for a queen
50:44who will remain
50:45impassive and obedient
50:47at all times.
50:49I shall forever
50:49be obedient, my lord,
50:50but I cannot be impassive.
50:53It is this which allows me
50:54to serve you
50:55to the best
50:55of my capabilities,
50:57to vigorously defend
50:59and protect our marriage
51:01by attending
51:01to your every need
51:03is my greatest joy.
51:08That is not in question.
51:11The problem
51:12is the articulation
51:15of your newfound belief
51:17and its contradiction
51:18with mine.
51:21Do not forget
51:23your place, madam.
51:25If I engage
51:27in debate,
51:28it is only so that
51:31I may benefit
51:32from your clear instruction,
51:34not because I look
51:36to defy
51:37or contradict you.
51:41Forgive me, my lord.
51:43Your happiness
51:43is above everything else.
51:47Please,
51:48keep your faith with me.
51:51what is it?
52:06Your majesty,
52:07I have here a warrant
52:09for the arrest
52:09of Queen Catherine.
52:11On what charge?
52:12Heresy, my lord.
52:31You will leave, no.
52:34Your majesty,
52:35my instructions are...
52:37Your instructions
52:37come from your king,
52:39and I instruct you
52:40to leave
52:41now.
52:45Get away from here!
52:47So Catherine
53:07has succeeded
53:08where all Henry's
53:10previous wives
53:11have failed.
53:12She's been to the
53:13brink of disaster,
53:14but somehow
53:15she's managed
53:16to soothe
53:17his suspicions.
53:19This is partly
53:20Catherine's own
53:21cleverness
53:21and good sense,
53:22but it's also
53:23because Henry's
53:24old now
53:25and frail.
53:27Catherine suits him
53:29pretty well,
53:30and in his own
53:31funny way,
53:32he loves her.
53:33He doesn't have
53:34the energy now
53:35to go hunting
53:36for yet another
53:38wife.
53:44Harmony is
53:52restored to
53:53the royal household,
53:55and Catherine
53:55wisely keeps
53:56her faith
53:57to herself.
53:59But Henry's
54:00health is
54:01rapidly declining.
54:03He's spending
54:05more and more
54:05time apart
54:06from Catherine
54:07and his children,
54:08closeted away
54:09with only
54:09his most
54:10trusted advisors.
54:11It's almost
54:14as if he's
54:14ashamed
54:15of his
54:16impending
54:16mortality.
54:21Henry VIII
54:22died
54:23in the small
54:24hours of
54:25the 28th
54:25of January
54:261547,
54:28and his
54:28nine-year-old
54:29son Edward
54:29was crowned
54:30king.
54:33Catherine
54:33was charged
54:34with bringing
54:34up the young
54:35princess Elizabeth,
54:37and four months
54:38later,
54:39Catherine
54:39married Thomas
54:40Seymour,
54:40the man
54:41she'd been
54:41in love
54:42with before
54:42she became
54:43queen.
54:46Finally,
54:47at the age
54:48of 36,
54:49everything came
54:49together for
54:50Catherine Park.
54:51She got pregnant.
54:53She had the
54:53life she wanted,
54:54she had the
54:55man she wanted.
54:56But then,
54:58like so many
54:59Tudor women,
55:00it was childbirth
55:01that got her
55:02in the end.
55:03Her daughter
55:03was born,
55:04and a week
55:05later,
55:06Catherine died.
55:07but that's
55:25not the
55:26end of the
55:26story.
55:28After all
55:28the efforts
55:29that Henry's
55:30six wives
55:30made to give
55:31him a son,
55:32young King
55:33Edward would
55:33only rule
55:34for six years,
55:35and he too
55:36died.
55:37And so,
55:38Henry's daughters
55:39became queen,
55:40Mary born to
55:41Catherine of
55:41Aragon,
55:42and Elizabeth
55:43born to
55:43Anne Boleyn.
55:45Queen Elizabeth
55:46I would rule
55:47England for
55:4844 years,
55:50and you've got to
55:50agree that she
55:52was our greatest
55:52monarch ever.
55:53Isn't it ironic
55:57that despite the
55:59infidelities,
56:00and despite the
56:01miscarriages,
56:02and the divorces,
56:04and the beheadings,
56:05despite all that
56:06drama that the
56:07six queens endured
56:08to try to give
56:09Henry a male heir,
56:11that in the end,
56:12the Tudor dynasty
56:13was secured by a
56:15woman.
56:15What's in a
56:25name?
56:26Quite a lot if
56:27you want to win
56:27Sue Perkins'
56:28panel game.
56:29A new series of
56:30Insert Name Here,
56:32starting now over
56:33on BBC Two.
56:45takim
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