0:00:12 > 0:00:15500 years after he was crowned King of England,
0:00:15 > 0:00:20Henry VIII remains the most recognisable of all our monarchs.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28When that iconic portrait - magnificent, omnipotent -
0:00:28 > 0:00:31was painted, Henry had already changed the course
0:00:31 > 0:00:32of English history,
0:00:32 > 0:00:35with the fallout from a string of failed marriages,
0:00:35 > 0:00:37and a religious revolution.
0:00:37 > 0:00:38But long before that,
0:00:38 > 0:00:41he'd already learnt the lessons of imagery and reputation.
0:00:45 > 0:00:49Crowned in 1509, Henry carried the golden promise of youth.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51He was athletic and charismatic.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54His court filled with colour and revelry.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59He hired the finest craftsmen and players from Renaissance Europe.
0:00:59 > 0:01:04Outwardly, a true king in all his glory.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10But two decades on, Henry was anxious about the future
0:01:10 > 0:01:12of the house of Tudor.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15He still had no son to succeed him.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23In his desperation for a new wife and a future heir,
0:01:23 > 0:01:26Henry had ditched his key advisors,
0:01:26 > 0:01:28broken away from Rome,
0:01:28 > 0:01:32divorced his Queen, Catherine of Aragon, and married Anne Boleyn.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42Henry was at a crossroads. He needed a new identity,
0:01:42 > 0:01:45one which underpinned his divine right to rule England,
0:01:45 > 0:01:48and show him as a powerful and controlling monarch
0:01:48 > 0:01:50and the guarantor of a successful dynasty.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54Henry would commission images...
0:01:56 > 0:01:57..tapestries...
0:01:57 > 0:02:01and build palaces to reflect his new role.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04But he would also destroy the English monasteries
0:02:04 > 0:02:06and plunder their treasures.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11If Henry was to find his way through this crisis
0:02:11 > 0:02:13and make his mark in history as a great king,
0:02:13 > 0:02:16a reforming monarch, a strong ruler,
0:02:16 > 0:02:19he didn't have long to seal his reputation.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21This new image of Henry would have to be forged quickly -
0:02:21 > 0:02:23his future depended on it.
0:02:43 > 0:02:48When Henry knelt to make his wedding vows to Anne Boleyn in January 1533,
0:02:48 > 0:02:49he knew he was headed for trouble.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52In his pursuit of his marriage to Anne
0:02:52 > 0:02:56he'd incurred the wrath of the Pope, and the European Catholic nations.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59And he'd also incurred the displeasure of his own subjects -
0:02:59 > 0:03:00the English people.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06Rome had refused to sanction Henry's divorce of Catherine.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08Henry now rejected Rome.
0:03:08 > 0:03:14He would not merely be King, but supreme head of the English Church.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18It was a drastic move. One which threatened invasion from abroad
0:03:18 > 0:03:20and revolution at home.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23Henry was now vulnerable and it was time for action.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27Henry would build sea forts and create the basis of the Royal Navy.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29But that wasn't all.
0:03:29 > 0:03:34He also had an army of builders, craftsmen, sculptors, painters,
0:03:34 > 0:03:38to reflect the King's growing authoritarian rule
0:03:38 > 0:03:41in the most splendid palaces and propagandistic paintings.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45I'm an architectural historian.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49For eight years, I looked after the best surviving of Henry's palaces
0:03:49 > 0:03:50at Hampton Court.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53And I'm fascinated by the way Henry used art.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56Art's not really a concept he'd have recognised.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59He never valued works of art according to who made them,
0:03:59 > 0:04:01or their material value,
0:04:01 > 0:04:04or their power of ornamentation.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07It was storytelling he was interested in.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11Every piece he ever commissioned told one aspect of a central story -
0:04:11 > 0:04:13self-glorification.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19The Tudor audience was exceptionally good at reading these signs.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22When you looked at a picture, you expected to learn something
0:04:22 > 0:04:25about the owner - who they were, how they wanted to be seen.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32I believe that by looking at Henry's palaces, tapestries,
0:04:32 > 0:04:33sculpture and paintings,
0:04:33 > 0:04:37it's possible to get a glimpse of what was going on inside his head,
0:04:37 > 0:04:39as he faced his darkest days on the throne.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47One of Henry's key recruits would become
0:04:47 > 0:04:50one of the most famous artists of his reign -
0:04:50 > 0:04:52the German painter, Hans Holbein.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56Holbein had been first lured to London in 1526.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59He was a true Renaissance man - skilled in designing jewellery,
0:04:59 > 0:05:04book illustrations, woodcuts, architecture and painting.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08His realistic style of portraiture was admired by Henry's new Queen,
0:05:08 > 0:05:10Anne Boleyn and her circle.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16His masterpiece of 1533 was entitled The Ambassadors.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20It had turned heads and now he found himself engaged to paint
0:05:20 > 0:05:21the King himself.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27His first known image of Henry would tackle the break with Rome.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32By declaring himself supreme head of the Church in England,
0:05:32 > 0:05:34Henry ended a millennium-long tradition
0:05:34 > 0:05:36of Anglo-Roman Catholicism.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40In arguing his own case for his divorce against Catherine,
0:05:40 > 0:05:42he claimed he'd come across ancient texts
0:05:42 > 0:05:46which showed that English kings had their own direct line to God.
0:05:46 > 0:05:51No longer would Henry need the Pope or even the saints he'd ratified,
0:05:51 > 0:05:54less still the Cardinals who represented him.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57From now on, Henry decided on doctrine.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59His was the word of God.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08Henry remained a Catholic, but in Europe, Protestant reformers
0:06:08 > 0:06:11were calling for a much more radical change to the old order.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15They believed the word of God could be found in the Bible alone.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19They decried the practice of paying the Church for a promise of forgiveness.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21And they denied the authority of the Pope.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25These ideas were starting to find favour in England.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27Even in Henry's court.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29But for the moment, Henry was driven
0:06:29 > 0:06:33more by the fallout of his divorce than by pure theology.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37It was precisely at this moment that Holbein was asked
0:06:37 > 0:06:40to make his first image of Henry.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47What Holbein painted gives us a vital clue
0:06:47 > 0:06:50to how Henry wanted to be seen.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54Holbein created an allegorical tableau in which Henry appears
0:06:54 > 0:06:57as the biblical hero, King Solomon,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00who is known for his wisdom, justice, wealth and power.
0:07:00 > 0:07:06The picture is very small. Just about 23cm x 18cm,
0:07:06 > 0:07:08painted on vellum.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10But I think it's fascinating.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15It's drawn in ink, coloured with watercolour, silver and gold.
0:07:16 > 0:07:22Henry, recognisable as Solomon, is receiving the Queen of Sheba.
0:07:22 > 0:07:23The queen represents the Church.
0:07:23 > 0:07:28In other words, the Church submits to Henry.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35And this is underlined by the biblical text over Solomon's head,
0:07:35 > 0:07:39which reads, "Blessed be the Lord thy God,
0:07:39 > 0:07:41"who delighteth in thee to set thee on his throne.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44"To be king by the Lord thy God."
0:07:47 > 0:07:50And look how Henry stares straight out at the viewer.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54This is a picture of Henry's confident authority over his realm.
0:07:58 > 0:08:00The message couldn't be much clearer.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02The King rules, as decreed by God himself.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04Forget the Pope and Rome.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09But this painting was just the beginning.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20Although there's no evidence of a formal campaign strategy,
0:08:20 > 0:08:24there's no doubt that a new image was being created for the King.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28Henry gathered around him a new group of advisors.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32His two most constant counsellors from the early years of his reign,
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Thomas More and Cardinal Wolsey, had fallen from favour
0:08:35 > 0:08:38over Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41But their places were soon taken by another.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47In the early 1530s, the man on the ascendant was this guy,
0:08:47 > 0:08:48Thomas Cromwell.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52Cromwell was the son of a Putney blacksmith who was well-educated
0:08:52 > 0:08:56and had travelled to Italy before he became Wolsey's solicitor.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59As one of the Cardinal's confidantes, he must have been aware
0:08:59 > 0:09:03that you could rise through the ranks of Henry's court rapidly.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05But your fall could be even quicker.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11Cromwell, who had encouraged Henry to declare himself
0:09:11 > 0:09:15supreme head of the Church, was a supporter of the ideals
0:09:15 > 0:09:16of the Reformation.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20And his first target was an area where he thought Henry would be sympathetic.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23The publication of a Bible in English.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28Until now, the Bible had been written in Latin.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31It was not meant to be read by the ordinary man.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34It was the priest's job to communicate the message.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38That began to change with the Protestant reformers,
0:09:38 > 0:09:41who argued that people should be able to read the word of God
0:09:41 > 0:09:44for themselves, in their own language.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46Some English-language Bibles had begun to appear.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50But in 1535, the first complete English Bible was published
0:09:50 > 0:09:52under the King's auspices.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58The translation was edited by one of Cromwell's associates,
0:09:58 > 0:09:59Myles Coverdale.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01The King didn't commission the Bible
0:10:01 > 0:10:04but his blessing to publish must have been expected,
0:10:04 > 0:10:08because he appears on the front page with the Royal coat of arms.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11And the designer of this incredible title page
0:10:11 > 0:10:13was once again Hans Holbein.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20Tania String has written extensively on the iconography of Henry VIII
0:10:20 > 0:10:22and how he used images as propaganda.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26This is a fascinating document, because what we've got here
0:10:26 > 0:10:30is the first demonstration of the new Royal supremacy
0:10:30 > 0:10:34of Henry as supreme head of both Church and state.
0:10:34 > 0:10:40We're looking at a demonstration of the ways the English Reformation
0:10:40 > 0:10:41is being presented,
0:10:41 > 0:10:42really for the first time,
0:10:42 > 0:10:44to the English people.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46So is this like a billboard? As soon as you open the Bible,
0:10:46 > 0:10:49it's supposed to give you all the messages the King intends.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51Only for sophisticated viewers.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54This is still very much an elite project,
0:10:54 > 0:10:58intended for those who would be in the know and sympathetic
0:10:58 > 0:11:00to the cause of the Reformation.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04And for those aristocrats who are, kind of, team players
0:11:04 > 0:11:07and can be convinced quite easily of Henry's new role.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11This is very much a collaborative project, between Thomas Cromwell,
0:11:11 > 0:11:14Myles Coverdale - the translator
0:11:14 > 0:11:18and the driving force between producing an English language Bible -
0:11:18 > 0:11:21and Hans Holbein the younger, who is finding his way
0:11:21 > 0:11:23into the Henritian court.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27In some ways, the whole Bible project
0:11:27 > 0:11:31was intended to reflect some of those Protestant concerns
0:11:31 > 0:11:37and have a vernacular Bible, which had happened in Germany in the 1520s.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40So what we've got is a revolutionary project here.
0:11:40 > 0:11:45And Holbein has been called in as a specialist woodcut designer
0:11:45 > 0:11:49to show us, in fact, how Henry, at the bottom of the page,
0:11:49 > 0:11:55is now disseminating the word of God to both his bishops and his laymen -
0:11:55 > 0:11:57the aristocrats.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59The main message is really very much about translation.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02This is what Myles Coverdale is contributing.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04He chooses the passages.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09"Pray for us that the word of God may have free passage and be glorified."
0:12:09 > 0:12:14Cromwell and Coverdale were very much trying to get Henry
0:12:14 > 0:12:18to sanction the production of English-language Bibles
0:12:18 > 0:12:21and their dissemination out into the English public.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23Here is Cromwell, using Holbein,
0:12:23 > 0:12:25who we think of as the King's painter,
0:12:25 > 0:12:29to actually give an image to the King about himself.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33So is this Henry actually manipulating art?
0:12:33 > 0:12:35Or is it art manipulating Henry?
0:12:35 > 0:12:39In some way, flattering the King, persuading the King,
0:12:39 > 0:12:44hoping that this will be seen as something that is
0:12:44 > 0:12:49so elegantly performed that he can see himself in that role.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52It's a heady mix. You've got the intellect of Coverdale,
0:12:52 > 0:12:55- as the translator...- Yes. - ..and linguist,
0:12:55 > 0:12:57- you've got the political nous of Cromwell...- Yes.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00..and the artistic skill of Holbein.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03That must have created quite a persuasive package.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05What was Henry's response?
0:13:05 > 0:13:08Henry's response was that, immediately after this,
0:13:08 > 0:13:11the idea of an English language Bible was accepted.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14So what we've got is almost a self-fulfilling prophecy.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21Within four years, Henry officially commissioned the first English Bible
0:13:21 > 0:13:25under Royal Licence - The Great Bible. A copy was placed in each
0:13:25 > 0:13:30parish church, chained to the pulpit. In many cases, a reader
0:13:30 > 0:13:33was even provided. Now every man could read, or hear,
0:13:33 > 0:13:36the word of God in his own native language.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41Henry was astute enough to know you didn't have to be in a pulpit
0:13:41 > 0:13:42to make a point.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51The court was the centre of his life, filled with the noblemen
0:13:51 > 0:13:54and ambassadors who could best convey his chosen message.
0:13:54 > 0:13:59Here, alongside the daily diet of politics and prayer, there was entertainment too.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03Henry's advisors and spin merchants used one art form
0:14:03 > 0:14:05to deliver vivid political messages
0:14:05 > 0:14:06to captive audiences.
0:14:06 > 0:14:07That was drama.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14In Henry's early reign, the medieval tradition of moral plays,
0:14:14 > 0:14:18religious plays, folk plays and revels were standard entertainment.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22But as his reign progressed, drama became more politicised.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24And just as with visual art,
0:14:24 > 0:14:28Henry was always at the centre, always the hero.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33Didst thou never know the manner of our senses?
0:14:33 > 0:14:36I was never with them acquainted by St Denis...
0:14:36 > 0:14:41Any nobleman or courtier of influence had his own acting troupe
0:14:41 > 0:14:44or sponsored one. It says volumes that a man like Cromwell,
0:14:44 > 0:14:46who essentially ran the country,
0:14:46 > 0:14:48had time to cultivate drama.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51It wasn't just entertainment. It was an aspect of government.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57But by what name? Tell me, I heartily pray thee.
0:14:57 > 0:15:02To win the people, I appoint each man his place...
0:15:02 > 0:15:05John Heywood was a Catholic playwright
0:15:05 > 0:15:07employed at Henry's court.
0:15:07 > 0:15:13His challenge was to produce plays which would both entertain and make clear political points.
0:15:13 > 0:15:19Here at Hampton Court, rehearsals of Heywood's The Play Of The Weather are under way.
0:15:19 > 0:15:25..by them engendered, the full of their powers for term everlasting.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29In this play, Henry is represented by no historical character
0:15:29 > 0:15:35but by a celestial body - Jupiter, the planet of jollity, benevolence and moderation.
0:15:35 > 0:15:40Each of Jupiter's subjects approaches him to ask what kind of weather they need to live,
0:15:40 > 0:15:43and Jupiter then decides how to allocate it -
0:15:43 > 0:15:47what a picture of omnipotence. The opening lines have a lot to say
0:15:47 > 0:15:49about the split from Rome.
0:15:49 > 0:15:54..With one voice agreeable, we have clearly finished our foresaid parliament.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58To your great wealth which shall be firm and stable,
0:15:58 > 0:16:02and to our honour, far inestimable,
0:16:02 > 0:16:07for since their powers as ours added to our own,
0:16:07 > 0:16:14who can we say know us as we should be known?
0:16:16 > 0:16:18Now, what was that passage all about?
0:16:18 > 0:16:21Jupiter is a representation of Henry.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23Jupiter is saying in that speech,
0:16:23 > 0:16:26"Thank you for all these extra powers.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30"I don't need them, I'll take them because you want me to take them,
0:16:30 > 0:16:35"but I'm only taking them because you want me to. It's nothing to do with what I need -
0:16:35 > 0:16:37"I have all the power I need already."
0:16:37 > 0:16:41Would Henry want to be Jupiter? What are the attributes of Jupiter,
0:16:41 > 0:16:44that make it appropriate for a king?
0:16:44 > 0:16:47It allows him to be represented as a god,
0:16:47 > 0:16:49but obviously not in any kind of sacrilegious way.
0:16:49 > 0:16:55Also, for Heywood, it allows him to reflect on Henry's power,
0:16:55 > 0:17:00Henry's kingship, in a way which is safe, a kind of comic space.
0:17:01 > 0:17:06By my faith, his Lordship is right busy with a piece of work that needs must be done.
0:17:06 > 0:17:11Even now, is he making of a new moon...
0:17:11 > 0:17:14'He creates a Jupiter who, at times, is very funny,
0:17:14 > 0:17:18'at times is slightly bawdy, but is always in complete control.'
0:17:18 > 0:17:19..Shall make a thing spring...
0:17:19 > 0:17:24'How would Heywood have got away with this?'
0:17:24 > 0:17:28He had licence. He had a very close relationship with Henry in some ways.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32Part of being a Renaissance monarch is being able to laugh at yourself.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36It's that old thing of Heywood having to walk the line.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38I think him wise enough for he looketh oldly...
0:17:38 > 0:17:40He doesn't want to produce boring art.
0:17:40 > 0:17:45Henry doesn't want to be known as a king who only has boring plays, boring art.
0:17:45 > 0:17:50He wants to be known as the King who allows licence, allows comedy, within limits.
0:17:56 > 0:18:01The comedy provided welcome relief from the merry monarch's darker concerns.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04Not everyone was buying into Henry's vision of a new England.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08Rebellion was fermenting in the north of his kingdom.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14And France and Spain were preparing to attack England
0:18:14 > 0:18:16in retaliation for the break with Rome.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19Henry was going to need a substantial war chest,
0:18:19 > 0:18:25and Cromwell was warning the King the royal coffers were running out fast.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28Where could Henry get money quickly?
0:18:28 > 0:18:32The answer was the monasteries, which had amassed vast wealth
0:18:32 > 0:18:35and were potential hotbeds of support for Rome.
0:18:38 > 0:18:45Early in 1535, Henry commissioned Thomas Cromwell to find out exactly how much the monasteries were worth.
0:18:45 > 0:18:51Cromwell reported back in this document - the Valor Ecclesiasticus.
0:18:51 > 0:18:57Written in Latin, it was lavishly illustrated by the Flemish artist Lucas Horenbout.
0:18:57 > 0:19:02The title page shows Henry in a position of absolute authority.
0:19:02 > 0:19:07He's the central focus of the picture, sitting with his limbs outstretched.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10His courtiers appear timid in the background.
0:19:10 > 0:19:15Inside, Cromwell's text detailed the monasteries' monetary value.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19It equalled or surpassed the Crown's own wealth.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25A separate inventory listed the religious houses supposed corruptions -
0:19:25 > 0:19:30popery, buggery and fornication.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33The abbeys were accused of being awash with sin.
0:19:33 > 0:19:38Their power was about to come crashing down
0:19:38 > 0:19:42and, with it, the most wonderful architectural legacy.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51When Henry came to the throne, he inherited a medieval England
0:19:51 > 0:19:54whose land was shaped by the monastic houses, over 200 of them.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58Benedictines, Franciscans, Dominicans and many others
0:19:58 > 0:20:00were all here farming and tending the land,
0:20:00 > 0:20:03maintaining beautiful buildings,
0:20:03 > 0:20:08providing comfort for the poor and a place of spiritual seclusion.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12In 1536, he changed all that.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19Henry wants money and glory.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22Had the monks of England been prepared to go full steam ahead,
0:20:22 > 0:20:24support his reformation, then we'd probably
0:20:24 > 0:20:27still have monasteries in some form today.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29But a lot of them are upset about it,
0:20:29 > 0:20:32a lot are connected to foreign orders abroad,
0:20:32 > 0:20:33so not too sure whom they serve.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36So Henry's wobbly about monks and Thomas Cromwell,
0:20:36 > 0:20:40his main advisor and hit man, really doesn't like them very much -
0:20:40 > 0:20:42he's a reformer.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45He's also going to gain the King's goodwill by delivering him
0:20:45 > 0:20:49a fantastic quantity of cash and loot.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52In many ways, this is in response to an emergency.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56The rulers of Spain and France have made peace, sensationally,
0:20:56 > 0:20:58for about the first time in generations,
0:20:58 > 0:21:03in order to destroy England as a heretic, non-Catholic country.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07Lots of cash is needed for ships and for fortresses to protect us,
0:21:07 > 0:21:10so there's a good argument now that the monasteries should come down
0:21:10 > 0:21:14to release wealth in a hurry to defend the nation.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17Now, where did art stand in all of this?
0:21:17 > 0:21:19The monasteries are houses of God
0:21:19 > 0:21:22and the art here is to direct people's attention to God.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26Now, this is contentious because Protestants would say
0:21:26 > 0:21:28that they are traps set by the devil
0:21:28 > 0:21:31to take your mind away from the real God that's in the Bible
0:21:31 > 0:21:33to the fake God who's in material things.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37Catholics would say these material things are vested with holiness,
0:21:37 > 0:21:39God is present in them.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42And Henry, being Henry, wobbles between the two positions.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44Henry's reformation is not Protestant.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48It's officially for a new, better, slicker kind of Catholicism.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51So you're not actually getting rid of images under Henry,
0:21:51 > 0:21:55you're getting rid of the few images which have been worshiped as idols,
0:21:55 > 0:21:57and the Bible definitely comes down hard on that,
0:21:57 > 0:22:02and you keep the other images, not as sacred things themselves,
0:22:02 > 0:22:05but as means of turning your mind to heaven and the saints.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12How many monasteries around Britain were affected?
0:22:12 > 0:22:15We lose them all which means several hundred,
0:22:15 > 0:22:18and so it's a wholesale demolition, there are no survivors.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24This was Henry at his most ruthless.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27The monasteries of England and all their treasures
0:22:27 > 0:22:30were looted, plundered and abandoned.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34Cromwell reportedly promised Henry
0:22:34 > 0:22:37he would make him the richest man in Christendom.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40The lands, buildings and glorious religious treasures
0:22:40 > 0:22:43of the monasteries became the property of Henry.
0:22:43 > 0:22:48A few books and tapestries were added to the King's own collections,
0:22:48 > 0:22:50but most of the contents were simply melted down,
0:22:50 > 0:22:55burned, sold on or given to others to buy their loyalty.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12What I'm drawing is Jervaulx Abbey's east end,
0:23:12 > 0:23:16the altar platform would have been just behind these windows
0:23:16 > 0:23:18which are straight ahead of me.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22And then, amongst those ruins, is the Chapter House,
0:23:22 > 0:23:26still with beautiful little columns and florid cut capitals,
0:23:26 > 0:23:29and it shows the quality of the architecture which was here.
0:23:29 > 0:23:35Jervaulx was founded in 1146 and so, for almost 400 years,
0:23:35 > 0:23:38this place had been here, serving a community,
0:23:38 > 0:23:41a place of burial where people thought they would rest forever.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44It's a very fine piece of architecture indeed.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51But Henry, the Royal patron of painters and playwrights,
0:23:51 > 0:23:52pulled it down.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01We lost a little image of heaven.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03Remember that people in the Middle Ages
0:24:03 > 0:24:05live in a world of generally drab colours and filth
0:24:05 > 0:24:07and vermin and foul smells.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10They come into a church like this in its glory days
0:24:10 > 0:24:13and virtually every inch of stonework is painted in vivid colours.
0:24:13 > 0:24:18You have more colour splashing down from the stained glass windows,
0:24:18 > 0:24:20the air is thick with incense,
0:24:20 > 0:24:23the voices of the monks are sounding every couple of hours,
0:24:23 > 0:24:26it's a view of paradise upon Earth.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29And what we have here is battered stonework
0:24:29 > 0:24:31with rooks and crows cawing over it.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40Anne Boleyn, though sympathetic to the reformers,
0:24:40 > 0:24:43was horrified at the destruction of the monasteries.
0:24:43 > 0:24:47Within a few months of their demise, she faced her own.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53January, 1536, was the blackest month.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56Henry was badly injured in a jousting accident.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02Almost overnight, the athlete became the invalid.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08And five days later, worse was to come.
0:25:08 > 0:25:09Anne miscarried.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11The child would have been a boy.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13That was disastrous for Anne.
0:25:13 > 0:25:18The whole point of marrying this young woman was to deliver a son.
0:25:18 > 0:25:19She'd given birth to Elizabeth,
0:25:19 > 0:25:22but now the storm clouds were gathering against her.
0:25:22 > 0:25:23Amongst the evidence,
0:25:23 > 0:25:26was the fact that she dropped a handkerchief at Greenwich,
0:25:26 > 0:25:28a sure fire symbol of infidelity.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35On the 19th of May 1536,
0:25:35 > 0:25:37Anne was sent to the executioner's block
0:25:37 > 0:25:41accused of multiple acts of treason including adultery,
0:25:41 > 0:25:43incest with her brother Lord Rochford,
0:25:43 > 0:25:46and plotting to overthrow Henry.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50The passion of his life had fatally fallen from grace.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01The very next day, he was betrothed to Jane Seymour.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05Jane was the daughter of a Wiltshire nobleman
0:26:05 > 0:26:09and had been a lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn.
0:26:09 > 0:26:14As Jane replaced Anne, the Seymour family swept the Boleyns from court.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21England was now sober, sombre, riddled with religious divide.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24And the destruction continued.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34A lone candle in Canterbury Cathedral
0:26:34 > 0:26:38marks the spot where Thomas Becket's shrine had stood for 300 years.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43Thousands of pilgrims from across Europe made their way here
0:26:43 > 0:26:44to pay homage to the saint.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48Henry would have his shrine dismantled,
0:26:48 > 0:26:52he even turned a huge ruby which had adorned it
0:26:52 > 0:26:54into a thumb ring for himself.
0:26:58 > 0:27:03Many of his people didn't care for Henry's brave new England.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06In small parish churches, local people saved treasures
0:27:06 > 0:27:09from their monasteries rather than watch their destruction.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12This rood screen was rescued from Jervaulx Abbey.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16Revolution was in the air.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21As 1536 wore on,
0:27:21 > 0:27:25Henry and his henchman, Cromwell, became increasingly unpopular.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28They pulled down perfectly beautiful and useful buildings,
0:27:28 > 0:27:30burned the furniture inside them
0:27:30 > 0:27:32which had sustained those communities,
0:27:32 > 0:27:36and the painted and graven image which supported their beliefs.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40This was enough to cause an uprising led by one Robert Aske,
0:27:40 > 0:27:43a London barrister, who, with 9,000 men, stormed York.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47Henry sent representatives to negotiate an amnesty
0:27:47 > 0:27:50if they would disband, but he didn't keep to his word.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53By July, 1537, many had been executed
0:27:53 > 0:27:56and the Abbot of Jervaulx himself ended up in the Tower.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03The uprising in York was known as The Pilgrimage of Grace.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06Across the north of England, noblemen and servants joined forces
0:28:06 > 0:28:09to demand the restoration of the monasteries
0:28:09 > 0:28:11and the return of the old Church.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15At their height, these pilgrims numbered 40,000 men.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19This was the greatest civil challenge to Henry's rule.
0:28:23 > 0:28:27The money from the monasteries would be spent on coastal defences.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30France and Spain were a constant threat.
0:28:30 > 0:28:34The Pope, infuriated by Henry's independence,
0:28:34 > 0:28:36was pushing for invasion.
0:28:38 > 0:28:42Henry planned an enormous programme of fortifications which would run
0:28:42 > 0:28:46from Milford Haven to the Humber. And he began to build a great navy,
0:28:46 > 0:28:49his warships weighed down with powerful cannons.
0:28:52 > 0:28:56And Henry still had no heir, no future for the Tudor dynasty.
0:28:56 > 0:29:00It was crucial he reasserted his power and regained stability.
0:29:00 > 0:29:04Once again, Holbein, by now officially the King's painter
0:29:04 > 0:29:09and on a handsome salary, reveals the state of Henry's mind.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13He was about to create the most shocking, most effective,
0:29:13 > 0:29:17and most memorable portrait of Henry to date.
0:29:22 > 0:29:25This painting was called the Whitehall Mural.
0:29:25 > 0:29:29It was destroyed in a fire which swept the palace in 1698,
0:29:29 > 0:29:32but a copy remains in the Royal Collection.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36Kate, this watercolour copy of the Whitehall Mural is what,
0:29:36 > 0:29:38a foot and a half square?
0:29:38 > 0:29:41How closely does it resemble the original?
0:29:41 > 0:29:43Well, it's a huge difference in size,
0:29:43 > 0:29:46the original was about three metres high, we think,
0:29:46 > 0:29:49so this is a small, pocket-sized version of the original.
0:29:49 > 0:29:53And how was this first seen by Henry's intended audience?
0:29:53 > 0:29:55The original audience of the mural
0:29:55 > 0:29:58would have been quite a small group of people
0:29:58 > 0:30:01because it was placed in the Privy Chamber at Whitehall Palace
0:30:01 > 0:30:04and only a select group of people were allowed to go in.
0:30:04 > 0:30:09They will have seen Henry VIII standing at their own height,
0:30:09 > 0:30:10standing before them almost,
0:30:10 > 0:30:13they came into the presence of the King in that way.
0:30:13 > 0:30:15Certainly one commentator says that people were
0:30:15 > 0:30:17"stricken with fear" as they looked at it.
0:30:17 > 0:30:19So what does it tell us?
0:30:19 > 0:30:23Well, it tells us that Henry VIII is a powerful and important king
0:30:23 > 0:30:26because it has this inscription in the centre
0:30:26 > 0:30:30which defines the message of the painting very clearly.
0:30:30 > 0:30:34It says Henry VII was the King who brought peace to England
0:30:34 > 0:30:37and who established the dynasty of the Tudors
0:30:37 > 0:30:39and his son Henry is even greater
0:30:39 > 0:30:42because he showed his rule over the Church,
0:30:42 > 0:30:45he established England as separate from the Pope.
0:30:45 > 0:30:50So it gives us a very clear message of Henry's own power as a king.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53So Henry's really saying, "I'm better than my dad."
0:30:53 > 0:30:56"Dad was great, but I'm even better."
0:30:56 > 0:30:59Now what about those fabulous clothes and grand architecture,
0:30:59 > 0:31:00what do they tell us?
0:31:00 > 0:31:03Well, they absolutely proclaim Henry's wealth and status
0:31:03 > 0:31:07because they're the most fashionable things you can have in England or indeed Europe.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10Not only the latest fashion, but the most expensive -
0:31:10 > 0:31:13the cloth of gold, the carpet that he's standing on.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16But it again, it proclaims power.
0:31:16 > 0:31:18When the mural was painted in 1537,
0:31:18 > 0:31:23what were Henry's circumstances and what did he really want to say?
0:31:23 > 0:31:26Well, Henry's had a bad time in 1536.
0:31:26 > 0:31:29He's lost his two previous wives -
0:31:29 > 0:31:32Catherine of Aragon has died, Anne Boleyn has been executed.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34He has married Jane Seymour in May,
0:31:34 > 0:31:36but in October, a big rebellion breaks out
0:31:36 > 0:31:39as a reaction to his church reforms and he is very much under threat
0:31:39 > 0:31:42from the rebellion known as The Pilgrimage of Grace.
0:31:42 > 0:31:47So in 1537, you can see Henry trying to re-establish his position,
0:31:47 > 0:31:51to re-assert Henry as the big, important monarch who is in charge.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54Without this son and heir in place,
0:31:54 > 0:31:58is claiming he's better than his own dad the best he can do?
0:31:58 > 0:32:01Absolutely, he's giving a sense of promise and hope,
0:32:01 > 0:32:03but he has got nothing to show for it
0:32:03 > 0:32:06as he has nobody to pass the throne on to,
0:32:06 > 0:32:08so, yes, saying, "Look how fabulous I am,"
0:32:08 > 0:32:12takes the emphasis off, "Where are we going next?"
0:32:12 > 0:32:15How far do you think that a mural would have helped him?
0:32:15 > 0:32:20Well, we have the answer to that in the immediate copies are made.
0:32:20 > 0:32:22This view of Henry, we've been talking about how
0:32:22 > 0:32:25it would have only been seen by a closed group,
0:32:25 > 0:32:27but it's how we see Henry VIII today,
0:32:27 > 0:32:29it's our immediate image of Henry
0:32:29 > 0:32:31and that's done by almost immediate copies
0:32:31 > 0:32:34of the figure which are circulated
0:32:34 > 0:32:38and it becomes the iconic image of the King.
0:32:38 > 0:32:40So while the mural was only seen by a few people,
0:32:40 > 0:32:42those people were very influential,
0:32:42 > 0:32:45they were ambassadors who were going back to kings of other countries,
0:32:45 > 0:32:50they were the most important men in government - so very important.
0:32:50 > 0:32:52And is that by design?
0:32:52 > 0:32:56Is that by the King wanting to circulate the images of himself?
0:32:56 > 0:33:00We don't have any evidence that Henry tried to control his image
0:33:00 > 0:33:02in the way Elizabeth I did.
0:33:02 > 0:33:05Holbein is one of the leading artists,
0:33:05 > 0:33:08if not THE leading artist of the period,
0:33:08 > 0:33:11and many of the early copies seem to originate
0:33:11 > 0:33:12with artists around Holbein.
0:33:12 > 0:33:15But at the same time, Henry is King
0:33:15 > 0:33:18and he's the man you're going to want a picture of.
0:33:18 > 0:33:20So that's probably why they circulate.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23There's no simple answer, is there, with this picture?
0:33:23 > 0:33:26It's so complex because it was in a private space
0:33:26 > 0:33:28and yet it became incredibly familiar.
0:33:28 > 0:33:31There's Henry looking every inch the confident King,
0:33:31 > 0:33:33but it's made to cover his vulnerability.
0:33:33 > 0:33:38Absolute myriad of contradictions - so typical of Henry.
0:33:41 > 0:33:44But this picture hides two big secrets,
0:33:44 > 0:33:47and in both cases it's what the viewer DOESN'T see that matters.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53Holbein would not have simply painted the family group
0:33:53 > 0:33:54straight onto the wall of the palace.
0:33:54 > 0:33:58The composition would have been carefully prepared
0:33:58 > 0:34:00in sections like this, before it was transferred
0:34:00 > 0:34:02to its permanent location.
0:34:07 > 0:34:11This sort of original sketch is known as the cartoon.
0:34:15 > 0:34:17I've drawn Henry exactly as he appears
0:34:17 > 0:34:19in the Whitehall Mural, head on.
0:34:19 > 0:34:23And you'd expect that's what Holbein did too,
0:34:23 > 0:34:26but the cartoon reveals an extraordinary difference.
0:34:26 > 0:34:30In Holbein's original sketch, Henry's head is turned to the side.
0:34:30 > 0:34:33It's a much softer, less confrontational look.
0:34:37 > 0:34:41In the final painting, he's staring boldly ahead,
0:34:41 > 0:34:45transforming Henry into the imposing figure we still recognise today.
0:34:45 > 0:34:49Whose idea was it? Holbein's or Henry's himself?
0:34:49 > 0:34:52We'll never know, but it was a master stroke.
0:34:56 > 0:35:00During the 15th century, portraits tended to be head and shoulders.
0:35:00 > 0:35:03You could choose which way you looked to get your best side.
0:35:03 > 0:35:04They're quite intimate.
0:35:04 > 0:35:08It's a much harder game to paint someone full height, square on.
0:35:08 > 0:35:11It's in your face, it has to be done with confidence
0:35:11 > 0:35:14and Holbein's portraits of Henry standing like that
0:35:14 > 0:35:17are amongst the greatest depictions of confidence ever painted.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23And now the second surprise.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25Perhaps there's another reason
0:35:25 > 0:35:28why Henry looked so confident in this picture.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31Confident of something which would give him renewed hope.
0:35:31 > 0:35:33There's no hint of it in the painting,
0:35:33 > 0:35:37but this mural of 1537 was almost certainly painted
0:35:37 > 0:35:40during Jane Seymour's pregnancy.
0:35:45 > 0:35:48After almost three decades of bleakness
0:35:48 > 0:35:50in which Henry was longing for a son and heir,
0:35:50 > 0:35:53eventually, in October 1537, Jane Seymour gave him a son.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56It was Prince Edward, the future King Edward VI.
0:35:56 > 0:35:59Henry was overjoyed. And amongst the artistic responses
0:35:59 > 0:36:03was a painting of the young prince, aged two, made by Holbein
0:36:03 > 0:36:06to be given to the King on New Year's Day, 1540.
0:36:06 > 0:36:10Here's the little fella, decked out in cloth of gold
0:36:10 > 0:36:11with a feather in his cap.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14The cap, now a brown-ish colour,
0:36:14 > 0:36:17would once have been a dazzling scarlet,
0:36:17 > 0:36:19a red glaze painted over silver leaf.
0:36:19 > 0:36:23Such precious materials state that this was a very important infant.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26The background, now a grey-ish brown,
0:36:26 > 0:36:28would have been a striking blue.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31This painting would have glistened in its day.
0:36:31 > 0:36:33It's also notable that there are
0:36:33 > 0:36:35no traditional religious images in the portrait
0:36:35 > 0:36:37and yet it IS a religious painting.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40Edward is the religious symbol,
0:36:40 > 0:36:43the future supreme head of the Church in England.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46His rattle is effectively a sceptre.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50We see the head looking forward, once more.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53It's very bold, if completely unrealistic,
0:36:53 > 0:36:55for a child to hold such an upright stance,
0:36:55 > 0:36:59but it's stressing Edward is a baby groomed to be King.
0:36:59 > 0:37:03He will be head of both Church and state.
0:37:05 > 0:37:09Given Henry's notorious track record for mistreating family members,
0:37:09 > 0:37:13you always have to wonder what lies behind the image.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16Well, the Latin text underneath young Edward tells us that
0:37:16 > 0:37:18although this prince is destined for great things,
0:37:18 > 0:37:20he can never surpass his father.
0:37:20 > 0:37:21Surprise, surprise(!)
0:37:28 > 0:37:31The arrival of a son and heir changed everything for Henry.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36The house of Tudor now had a future.
0:37:40 > 0:37:44Although Henry still had enemies, they could be overcome.
0:37:44 > 0:37:46The important thing was that the bloodline
0:37:46 > 0:37:50with the properties and the policies could all be handed down.
0:37:53 > 0:37:55Henry's response to his new fatherhood
0:37:55 > 0:37:58is captured in an extraordinary commission.
0:37:58 > 0:38:00A magnificent work of art
0:38:00 > 0:38:02which is, today, priceless.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08The Great Hall at Hampton Court is home to the Abraham tapestries.
0:38:08 > 0:38:12Ten scenes depicting the biblical story of Abraham.
0:38:12 > 0:38:16The palace furnishings played a key role in emphasising
0:38:16 > 0:38:19the King's majesty and other personal attributes
0:38:19 > 0:38:24and these enormous images were an awe inspiring way to do it.
0:38:24 > 0:38:29At a total length of 88 yards, and a height of 15 feet,
0:38:29 > 0:38:31they're extraordinarily rich,
0:38:31 > 0:38:34woven with a high percentage of silk and gold metallic thread.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37They took around three years to produce.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40It was one of the most lavish sets ever made in Brussels
0:38:40 > 0:38:44and, without doubt, Henry's most expensive tapestry acquisition.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54Henry would not have chosen the story of Abraham by chance.
0:38:54 > 0:38:58Biblical characters had played an important part in his imagery
0:38:58 > 0:39:02for many years, but now Henry identified himself with Abraham,
0:39:02 > 0:39:03first of the great patriarchs.
0:39:03 > 0:39:07The symbolism is unmistakable, especially in this tapestry,
0:39:07 > 0:39:10The Circumcision Of Isaac.
0:39:17 > 0:39:19You can see the parallels between Abraham and Henry.
0:39:19 > 0:39:23Abraham, the founder of the Hebrew nation and a biblical hero,
0:39:23 > 0:39:25is the parallel to Henry, the leader of England
0:39:25 > 0:39:28and the founder of the new English Church.
0:39:28 > 0:39:30He sees himself as a bit of a religious hero,
0:39:30 > 0:39:33despite having just pulled down most of the medieval monasteries.
0:39:33 > 0:39:36But at this time, when he commissions these,
0:39:36 > 0:39:39Henry is a new father, as Abraham was father to Isaac.
0:39:39 > 0:39:43The young Prince Edward is a parallel to Isaac then.
0:39:45 > 0:39:50These tapestries were intended to dazzle everyone who saw them,
0:39:50 > 0:39:53and leave them in no doubt about Henry's new biblical authority.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57Imagine arriving at a state occasion in the great hall of Hampton Court
0:39:57 > 0:40:00and being surrounded by these tapestries,
0:40:00 > 0:40:04under a great roof which shone with the same brilliant colours.
0:40:04 > 0:40:09I'm not talking about any brilliant colours - not just vivid greens and blue and red,
0:40:09 > 0:40:13but in each of these tapestries is gold thread - real gold.
0:40:13 > 0:40:15It's woven right the way through.
0:40:15 > 0:40:18These things are incredibly expensive.
0:40:21 > 0:40:22Given they're about 500 years old,
0:40:22 > 0:40:26the tapestries are in pretty good condition, but their original
0:40:26 > 0:40:29natural colours have now faded to shades of brown.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33Upstairs, there's an experiment to try and bring them back to their former glory.
0:40:35 > 0:40:40Henry's tapestries enhanced the King's reputation through glorious, sumptuous colour.
0:40:40 > 0:40:44Kathryn Hallett of Historic Royal Palaces wants visitors
0:40:44 > 0:40:49to experience the richness of the Abraham tapestries as they were seen in the 1540s.
0:40:51 > 0:40:57As a conservator, I have the privilege of looking and studying the back of the tapestries,
0:40:57 > 0:41:02and we wanted to find a way to show the incredible bright colours on the reverse to our visitors.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05So they've been protected from sunlight and degradation
0:41:05 > 0:41:07and kept their original...?
0:41:07 > 0:41:09Absolutely right, yes.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12They've been protected from light for 500 years, so they're still
0:41:12 > 0:41:15- splendidly bright on the reverse. - What will you do? Re-weave this?
0:41:15 > 0:41:20No, in fact, we're using the latest digital technology to measure, digitally,
0:41:20 > 0:41:24the colour on the back of the tapestry and then to project that missing colour,
0:41:24 > 0:41:30- the faded colour, back onto the front of the tapestry. - All right, let's have a look then.
0:41:30 > 0:41:32Oh, my Lord!
0:41:39 > 0:41:44It gives you an idea of just how bright the colours on the reverse really are,
0:41:44 > 0:41:47and also of the original intention of the tapestries
0:41:47 > 0:41:51to inspire awe and wonder to the visitors to the palace,
0:41:51 > 0:41:54and certainly we know that that worked.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01What else have you got in your box of tricks?
0:42:01 > 0:42:05What we can do is mask off individual features within the tapestry
0:42:05 > 0:42:09to show visitors the story behind the incredible scene you see here.
0:42:09 > 0:42:13So for example, we can show visitors the figure of Abraham
0:42:13 > 0:42:20here on the left, the star of the story and perhaps the character with which Henry most closely identified.
0:42:21 > 0:42:25Here you can see Eliezer, Abraham's faithful servant.
0:42:25 > 0:42:31He is being charged by Abraham to go and find a wife for Abraham's son, Isaac.
0:42:31 > 0:42:34Now, that I like as an interpretive device,
0:42:34 > 0:42:39cos you can pick out the figures, tell the story, and bring the message alive for people.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42Absolutely. These are not just wall hangings -
0:42:42 > 0:42:46they're Tudor propaganda. They really tell a story that was resonant to Henry.
0:42:51 > 0:42:55But Henry's happy family life was tragically short-lived.
0:42:55 > 0:43:01Edward was baptised in the Royal Chapel at Hampton Court just three days after his birth.
0:43:01 > 0:43:05His delighted mother Jane Seymour received 300 guests.
0:43:05 > 0:43:09But 48 hours later, septicaemia raged through her body,
0:43:09 > 0:43:14she became delirious and the last rites were performed.
0:43:14 > 0:43:19She died when her baby son was only 12 days old.
0:43:21 > 0:43:28The King wrote that divine providence had mingled his joy with the bitterness of her death.
0:43:28 > 0:43:33The fragility of life could never have been so obvious to Henry.
0:43:33 > 0:43:37He must have known that Edward could be snatched away just as abruptly.
0:43:43 > 0:43:47To secure his dynasty, the King needed an insurance policy.
0:43:47 > 0:43:52He began an urgent search to find a new wife who could deliver a second son.
0:43:52 > 0:43:57Henry needed an heir and a spare. Once again he called on the services
0:43:57 > 0:43:59of his trusted painter Holbein.
0:44:03 > 0:44:07Henry VIII could hardly travel around Europe in search of a bride,
0:44:07 > 0:44:13so he wanted the next best thing - a beauty parade in Calais so he could pick for himself.
0:44:13 > 0:44:15It didn't go down well. The Constable of France
0:44:15 > 0:44:21wrote to the French Ambassador in England, Castillon, and said, "It's not the custom of France
0:44:21 > 0:44:24"to send damsels to be passed in review as if they were hackneys for sale."
0:44:26 > 0:44:31But Henry pushed the matter further. Castillon, shocked that Henry seemed
0:44:31 > 0:44:36to be searching for a new wife as he would a new horse, retorted,
0:44:36 > 0:44:39"Maybe Your Grace would like to mount them one after the other,
0:44:39 > 0:44:43"and keep the one you find to be best broken in."
0:44:45 > 0:44:48So what was Henry's reaction to that? He blushed a little
0:44:48 > 0:44:53and laughed, he liked Castillon's bonhomie, but beyond the laddish jokes
0:44:53 > 0:44:57there had to be a solution. If Henry couldn't see the girls for himself,
0:44:57 > 0:45:02someone had to show him what they looked like and there was one man he could trust - Holbein.
0:45:07 > 0:45:12From 1538 to '39, Holbein spent months travelling across Europe,
0:45:12 > 0:45:16painting the women who had been identified as potential queens.
0:45:16 > 0:45:22Their pictures were brought back to Henry just so he could pick his favourite.
0:45:23 > 0:45:28Holbein would get a few hours to make preliminary sketches,
0:45:28 > 0:45:33then he had to do the actual painting from notes and memory.
0:45:36 > 0:45:40One of the paintings from Henry's virtual beauty parade
0:45:40 > 0:45:43hangs in the National Gallery in London.
0:45:48 > 0:45:52Here she is - Christina of Denmark.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58This portrait shows one of Holbein's special talents -
0:45:58 > 0:46:01creating dazzling effects with black paint.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04It was one of his trademark techniques.
0:46:04 > 0:46:09The strength of this composition is based on the different textures of Christina's clothing,
0:46:09 > 0:46:12convincing black velvet and satin,
0:46:12 > 0:46:15and just the tiniest amount of bare pale flesh.
0:46:21 > 0:46:23At 16, Christina was already a widow,
0:46:23 > 0:46:29but it's no normal mourning dress that she wears for her dead husband, the Duke of Milan.
0:46:29 > 0:46:32Look at the silky sheen on the furs. She is a woman of wealth.
0:46:32 > 0:46:37Other than that, the painting doesn't tell you what kind of room she is in or even what country.
0:46:37 > 0:46:40What matters is that plain background projects her youthful clear skin.
0:46:40 > 0:46:43She is a good-looking girl who brings with her wealth.
0:46:43 > 0:46:45That's all Henry VIII needs to know.
0:46:49 > 0:46:53So what could Christina have made of Henry VIII's advances?
0:46:53 > 0:46:57Well, beyond the initial flattery, the facts were that Henry was 30 years her senior,
0:46:57 > 0:47:02pretty portly and had been responsible for tossing aside her great aunt, Catherine of Aragon
0:47:02 > 0:47:06before executing a second wife and recently losing a third.
0:47:06 > 0:47:12For anyone with more than a passing interest in self-preservation, the prospects didn't look good.
0:47:13 > 0:47:16In the end, Henry didn't marry Christina,
0:47:16 > 0:47:18but he did keep the painting.
0:47:22 > 0:47:25The woman who Henry went on to marry was Anne of Cleves.
0:47:26 > 0:47:29Persuaded by this portrait by Holbein,
0:47:29 > 0:47:32as well as pressure and encouragement from his adviser Cromwell
0:47:32 > 0:47:35who liked Anne's German/Lutheran connections.
0:47:35 > 0:47:37Her expression is demure,
0:47:37 > 0:47:40but there's more than a hint of beauty.
0:47:46 > 0:47:50In fact, Holbein made two very similar paintings of Anne,
0:47:50 > 0:47:54one full-sized and one miniature, which was executed with exceptional care
0:47:54 > 0:47:59using precious pigments to paint details like the tassel of jewels
0:47:59 > 0:48:01in Anne's headdress.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04In its tiny ivory case,
0:48:04 > 0:48:06it was small enough that the King could have it with him
0:48:06 > 0:48:09until Anne arrived to be by his side.
0:48:17 > 0:48:20Holbein's portrait of Anne of Cleves may have been too flattering
0:48:20 > 0:48:24or possibly it was accurate, but didn't give Henry the whole picture
0:48:24 > 0:48:30because there was something about her, maybe her looks, her personality, or even bodily hygiene
0:48:30 > 0:48:33that meant he couldn't consummate the marriage and it was annulled.
0:48:38 > 0:48:41Cromwell, the main champion of the marriage,
0:48:41 > 0:48:45lost his head over the affair and was executed in 1540.
0:48:45 > 0:48:47Holbein kept his head.
0:48:49 > 0:48:52Only these paintings of the match-making expedition survive -
0:48:52 > 0:48:54a fantastic artistic legacy,
0:48:54 > 0:48:58even if they were created for a highly practical purpose.
0:48:59 > 0:49:01Henry wasn't slow to move on.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04One of Anne of Cleves' maids of honour had caught the King's eye.
0:49:04 > 0:49:07The young, flighty Catherine Howard, Anne Boleyn's cousin,
0:49:07 > 0:49:12had had a colourful past involving her music teacher and a family friend.
0:49:12 > 0:49:16Such a history was unknown to the King who was besotted by her.
0:49:16 > 0:49:20After a brief courtship, they married at Oatlands Palace in Surrey
0:49:20 > 0:49:25on the day of Cromwell's execution, but it wasn't long before Catherine's past was made public.
0:49:25 > 0:49:29This alone would have been enough to condemn her,
0:49:29 > 0:49:32but she was also romantically linked to another man, Thomas Culpeper,
0:49:32 > 0:49:34during her marriage to Henry.
0:49:35 > 0:49:38Queen Catherine was doomed
0:49:38 > 0:49:41and beheaded in February 1542.
0:49:45 > 0:49:50At times like this, Henry could undermine his image as a magnificent, charismatic king.
0:49:50 > 0:49:54He publicly blubbered over Catherine Howard's infidelity for two weeks.
0:49:57 > 0:50:00Henry was devastated, a broken man.
0:50:00 > 0:50:04This engraving portrays Henry toward the end of his life.
0:50:04 > 0:50:08It was made by Cornelis Metsys, a Dutch engraver
0:50:08 > 0:50:10who chose to show Henry in the trappings of luxury,
0:50:10 > 0:50:14but mealy-mouthed, corpulent, beady-eyed.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18Each of his marriages had ended disastrously
0:50:18 > 0:50:21and still no second son was forthcoming.
0:50:21 > 0:50:25He'd never recovered from his jousting accident in 1536.
0:50:25 > 0:50:30He was overweight, suffering from gout with grotesque ulcerated legs.
0:50:31 > 0:50:33The Royal coffers which had funded
0:50:33 > 0:50:37so many lavish symbols of power and majesty were all but bare.
0:50:37 > 0:50:41The days of the heroic young knight were far behind him.
0:50:44 > 0:50:48Outwardly, Henry continued to project an image of strength and courage,
0:50:48 > 0:50:51but, in truth, the King was now so ill, he could barely walk.
0:50:51 > 0:50:54He suffered from continual headaches.
0:50:54 > 0:50:58His ulcers produced dangerous fevers and pain which turned his face black with agony.
0:51:00 > 0:51:04But through that pain Henry pressed on with building his most ambitious palace yet.
0:51:04 > 0:51:10A fantasy hunting lodge for the King who had never forgotten his passion for horses and sport.
0:51:10 > 0:51:15A private retreat, a place where the troubles of the world could be left behind.
0:51:15 > 0:51:19A palace to outshine all others.
0:51:21 > 0:51:22Nonsuch.
0:51:22 > 0:51:27A home of such boyish indulgence, it has always fascinated me.
0:51:32 > 0:51:37Amongst all of the arts, Henry probably invested in architecture more that any other.
0:51:37 > 0:51:40When he came to the throne, he had 13 properties,
0:51:40 > 0:51:42but by his death he had over 60!
0:51:42 > 0:51:45And it certainly cemented his reputation as a great builder.
0:51:49 > 0:51:52For several hundred years during the Middle Ages,
0:51:52 > 0:51:57the villagers of Cuddington had interred the remains of their relatives beneath the parish church
0:51:57 > 0:52:01which stood on that site until April 1538
0:52:01 > 0:52:05when Henry VIII's workmen turned up, levelled the church
0:52:05 > 0:52:09to make way for a pleasure pavilion on a massive scale.
0:52:12 > 0:52:15Henry wanted a palace of international renown
0:52:15 > 0:52:19perhaps responding to the reputation of the great country palace of Chambord,
0:52:19 > 0:52:24the jewel in the crown of his constant tormentor, Francis I of France.
0:52:24 > 0:52:27It would be his last great flourish.
0:52:27 > 0:52:29This was to be a private building.
0:52:29 > 0:52:34There was no great hall for receiving important guests,
0:52:34 > 0:52:37only Henry's closest friends and family would be invited here.
0:52:37 > 0:52:42And yet in this quiet parkland, Henry created a palace of such incomparable splendour
0:52:42 > 0:52:48it was called Nonsuch - because nobody had ever seen anything like it before.
0:52:48 > 0:52:52It was described as "the very pearl of the realm".
0:52:53 > 0:52:58All that remains today are the markers showing where the building started and finished,
0:52:58 > 0:53:02and some scraps of the stucco work are held in local museums.
0:53:02 > 0:53:06We have to imagine what this fantastical palace would have looked like,
0:53:06 > 0:53:09so I'm recreating it on paper.
0:53:11 > 0:53:15Any visitor to Nonsuch in Henry's day would have been startled by the use of materials.
0:53:15 > 0:53:19Never in England before do we know of gilded slate hanging.
0:53:19 > 0:53:23Nicholas Bellin of Modena, a northern Italian artist
0:53:23 > 0:53:26was entrusted with carving and finishing those.
0:53:26 > 0:53:32But the most astonishing thing was the white work or stucco which covered the outer courtyard.
0:53:32 > 0:53:37I would have been about 20 feet from it here, and it glittered as the sun followed its course.
0:53:37 > 0:53:42That stucco was in high relief, mouldings of classical emperors and gods
0:53:42 > 0:53:45and I am sure Henry would have liked to have joined their rank.
0:53:50 > 0:53:54There's something very poignant about the ambition of Nonsuch.
0:53:54 > 0:53:56It was begun at Edward's birth
0:53:56 > 0:54:00as a vision of optimism and exuberance unmatched in Henry's reign.
0:54:00 > 0:54:05But in the end, it was simply a glorious retreat,
0:54:05 > 0:54:07perhaps even a folly.
0:54:19 > 0:54:24In 1543, Henry married again. This time, it was not primarily for lust.
0:54:24 > 0:54:27He chose the placid and faithful Catherine Parr who nursed him
0:54:27 > 0:54:31and brought him comfort for the last four years of his life.
0:54:37 > 0:54:42Nonsuch was so ambitious it took nearly ten years to build.
0:54:42 > 0:54:47Its completion coincided with Henry's demise.
0:54:54 > 0:54:56Well, there you are, there's Nonsuch -
0:54:56 > 0:55:01one of the buildings in the world that I most wished I had seen.
0:55:07 > 0:55:11After a tumultuous and controversial reign of 38 years -
0:55:11 > 0:55:16a reign that changed the face of England and sent shockwaves across Europe -
0:55:16 > 0:55:19Henry died on 28th January 1547.
0:55:19 > 0:55:26He was buried here in the working chapel of St George at Windsor Castle.
0:55:26 > 0:55:32Next to him is the woman who bore him a son and heir - Jane Seymour.
0:55:52 > 0:55:57Henry is a much more complex figure than I suspected.
0:55:57 > 0:56:01He sometimes uses art or people use it for him, but that contradiction
0:56:01 > 0:56:06is part of the allure that makes him endlessly fascinating.
0:56:13 > 0:56:19It's clear that Henry's use of art wasn't art for art's sake.
0:56:19 > 0:56:25Henry used forms of art to show himself in the best light, to push his agenda at particular times!
0:56:34 > 0:56:38Perhaps the greatest irony is that Henry, who loved pomp and opulence,
0:56:38 > 0:56:41the art of magnificence, has, for his resting place,
0:56:41 > 0:56:46nothing more complex than this simple 19th century slab.
0:56:50 > 0:56:55Henry lay in an unmarked grave until this flagstone was laid in 1837.
0:56:55 > 0:56:59He'd commissioned a fine Italianate tomb but, when he died,
0:56:59 > 0:57:03there were neither the funds nor will to complete it.
0:57:08 > 0:57:12As he rests in peace here in Windsor, I wonder what he'd make of
0:57:12 > 0:57:16the fact that his image is one of the most famous faces in the world.
0:57:16 > 0:57:22Millions of people have emblazoned on their minds that corpulent, bearded, bejewelled monarch.
0:57:22 > 0:57:29Whether by accident or design, art ultimately worked for Henry VIII.
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