0:00:05 > 0:00:09Divorced, beheaded, died.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13Divorced, beheaded, survived.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17The story of Henry VIII and his six wives
0:00:17 > 0:00:20is one of the best-known in history.
0:00:20 > 0:00:25There's Katherine of Aragon, the bitter, abandoned first wife.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28Anne Boleyn, the original other woman.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31Jane Seymour, bit of a doormat.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35Then you've got Anne of Cleves, she was the ugly one.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37Katherine Howard, the one who slept around.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41And Katherine Parr, the saintly nurse.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44But I'm going to tell you a very different story.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49I'm going to take you back in time
0:00:49 > 0:00:53and into the private lives of Henry's six wives.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57I'm going to see the story from their point of view.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00And I'll watch as events unfold.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03The fate of my soul is no longer your concern.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06It will always be my concern.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08These events all really happened
0:01:08 > 0:01:12and were recorded in historical documents, or reported
0:01:12 > 0:01:14by eyewitnesses.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16I asked for his head.
0:01:16 > 0:01:17Not his coat.
0:01:17 > 0:01:22They reveal six complex women who lived in a dangerous age,
0:01:22 > 0:01:26as they struggle to survive being married to Henry VIII.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28You are still prepared to question me?
0:01:30 > 0:01:36Six wives whose names were tarnished by Henry's propaganda machine.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40Six Queens whose stories I want to re-examine.
0:01:42 > 0:01:43Is she here?
0:01:44 > 0:01:47I'll observe their life at court.
0:01:47 > 0:01:52I'll watch them romanced by a charismatic king...
0:01:52 > 0:01:55- Tell me you want the same. - Always.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57..who craves the company of women.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00The King is a very sociable man.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03I have here a warrant for the arrest of Queen Katherine.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06I'll see how their reputations are destroyed.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09I beg of you to tell the king that my heart is filled with sorrow
0:02:09 > 0:02:11and assure him of my repentance.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15And lives cut short at the hands of a ruthless, brutal man.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18Six children born.
0:02:18 > 0:02:19Five of them dead!
0:02:21 > 0:02:27This is the ultimate true story of love, lust, and betrayal.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30Remember what happened to my last wife and queen.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48Henry VIII's loyal first wife Katherine of Aragon
0:02:48 > 0:02:51tried desperately to give the king a male heir.
0:02:51 > 0:02:56I am afraid she has suffered a loss of the child.
0:02:56 > 0:02:57Get out!
0:02:58 > 0:03:00- Mary?- Mother?
0:03:00 > 0:03:05After losing five children, she had a daughter, Mary.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09But her failure to give him a son angered her husband.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12He began to look elsewhere.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15Sent from Anne Boleyn with her kindest regards, your Majesty.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18Henry became infatuated with Anne Boleyn.
0:03:18 > 0:03:23And he made her a promise that one day she would be his queen.
0:03:23 > 0:03:24The storm shall pass.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27If she has patience enough.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29Or the will to see it through.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32But he already had a queen.
0:03:32 > 0:03:38I have been a true, humble and obedient wife.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40Henry was determined to marry Anne.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43But two people stood in his way.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46The Pope, and Katherine herself...
0:03:46 > 0:03:48who had no intention of giving up her crown.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57The King has been trying to end his marriage
0:03:57 > 0:03:58for more than two years.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02Increasingly impatient,
0:04:02 > 0:04:06he's now moved Anne Boleyn into the royal palace at Greenwich,
0:04:06 > 0:04:11forcing Katherine of Aragon to live side-by-side with his mistress.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18You are my one true husband.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20You brought me here under false pretences.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24I assumed it was to discuss a specific legal matter.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27Not to be caught up in this futile, repetitious debate.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29You, sir, face eternal damnation.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32Not only of your own soul, but all of your subjects.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35You cannot defy the Church in this way.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37The fate of my soul is no longer your concern.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40It will always be my concern.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42You are no longer Queen. Accept this.
0:04:47 > 0:04:48SHOUT OF ANGER AND FRUSTRATION
0:04:55 > 0:04:58- Your Majesty.- My Lord.
0:05:00 > 0:05:01How was your meeting?
0:05:01 > 0:05:03Brief.
0:05:03 > 0:05:04And the last of its kind.
0:05:09 > 0:05:10It's 1530.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13One of the stranger moments in English history,
0:05:13 > 0:05:16because the country's got two queens.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20One of them, Katherine of Aragon, is the crowned Queen of England,
0:05:20 > 0:05:22and lawful wife of Henry VIII.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24The other, Anne Boleyn.
0:05:31 > 0:05:36No Tudor woman has been mythologised as much as Anne Boleyn.
0:05:36 > 0:05:41She's been accused of being a seductress, an adulteress -
0:05:41 > 0:05:43even a witch.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47And because she was the other woman in a previously happy marriage,
0:05:47 > 0:05:51she's had a pretty harsh press from historians.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53It's the oldest cliche in the world.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57A sexy young thing worming her way into a man's heart,
0:05:57 > 0:06:01and pushing out his loyal first wife.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08True, Anne was clever, and she was ambitious,
0:06:08 > 0:06:10but she also had little choice,
0:06:10 > 0:06:12because as soon as Henry set eyes on her,
0:06:12 > 0:06:15he had to have her.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17Where Anne was different from earlier mistresses
0:06:17 > 0:06:21is that she set the terms, by refusing to sleep with him.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25This only made Henry even keener.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29He thought that Anne could give him everything that he wanted,
0:06:29 > 0:06:32including a son and heir,
0:06:32 > 0:06:36which poor old Katherine could no longer do.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40To Henry's mind she was now old, and past her best.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43She may once have been his warrior queen,
0:06:43 > 0:06:45but now she was a bitter queen,
0:06:45 > 0:06:48standing between him and happiness.
0:06:52 > 0:06:57Henry decided to send Katherine away from court.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00He moved her and their 12-year-old daughter, Princess Mary,
0:07:00 > 0:07:02to Windsor Castle.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05So where was Henry?
0:07:05 > 0:07:07Well, he was off with Anne Boleyn.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11They were travelling about, staying in people's houses, going hunting,
0:07:11 > 0:07:14having dinner, acting just like a married couple.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17Except for the fact they weren't having sex.
0:07:17 > 0:07:22Now, Henry was in love with Anne, but his subjects weren't.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25To them, Anne was "the other woman".
0:07:25 > 0:07:28When she appeared in public, there was hooting and hissing,
0:07:28 > 0:07:32and some people called her "the King's goggle-eyed whore".
0:07:39 > 0:07:42There's a story from round about this time which shows just how much
0:07:42 > 0:07:44Anne was vilified.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47She was having dinner down by the River Thames
0:07:47 > 0:07:52when she was set upon by a mob of angry women.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55We're told that there were between 7,000 and 8,000 of them.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59So many that Anne had to escape by boat.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02Now I don't think it's particularly plausible
0:08:02 > 0:08:05that THAT many women all went after Anne at the same time.
0:08:05 > 0:08:10But the story does show how much the people of England hated her.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16Katherine, though, remained hugely popular.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19Henry would need to get rid of her for good.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25He sent word that he and Anne were coming to Windsor to hunt,
0:08:25 > 0:08:28and that Katherine would have to move again.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31And painfully for Katherine,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34he decided to split up mother and daughter.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43Katherine will never be allowed to return.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47And what's worse, she's not allowed to take the Princess Mary with her.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52She will never see her daughter again.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03The final humiliation will come
0:09:03 > 0:09:06when Katherine is ordered to give back the Queen's crown jewels,
0:09:06 > 0:09:10so that Henry can give them to Anne.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27The Queen was unceremoniously removed from Windsor
0:09:27 > 0:09:30and sent to the abbey at St Albans.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33Mary was sent to Richmond Palace.
0:09:33 > 0:09:38After 22 years of marriage, the King didn't even say goodbye.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43All this was calculated to cause her maximum hurt
0:09:43 > 0:09:46and deliberately to insult her.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50This is something Henry did a lot.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52He dodged problems.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55With him, it was out of sight, out of mind.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57He sent Katherine into exile
0:09:57 > 0:09:59so that he wouldn't have to deal with her any more.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03After all, when they had arguments face to face, she always won.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06She was much cleverer than he was.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09But nevertheless, she remained his legal wife.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16With Katherine out of the way,
0:10:16 > 0:10:20Anne agreed to consummate their relationship.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24Henry had been waiting for seven long years for this moment.
0:10:24 > 0:10:29And they both knew that if Anne got pregnant, he would have to marry her
0:10:29 > 0:10:33and make her Queen of England so that any heir that she might produce
0:10:33 > 0:10:34would be born legitimate.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42However, there was still one man standing in their way -
0:10:42 > 0:10:44the head of the Catholic Church.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48After more than five years, the Pope was still refusing
0:10:48 > 0:10:50to grant an annulment.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54Fortunately for Henry, though, times were changing.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59A religious revolution was unfolding in Europe.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03A rift was opening up between the old traditional form
0:11:03 > 0:11:07of Christianity, Catholicism, with the Pope at its head,
0:11:07 > 0:11:11and a new stripped-back form of Christianity called Protestantism.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15The clue to Protestantism lies in its name.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17It was originally a protest movement
0:11:17 > 0:11:21against the excesses of the Catholic Church.
0:11:22 > 0:11:27Religious reformers wanted to change the way that people worshipped God,
0:11:27 > 0:11:30with services held in their own native languages, not in Latin,
0:11:30 > 0:11:34and churches led by themselves, not by Rome.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40Anne was a strong supporter of this movement for reform,
0:11:42 > 0:11:46and Henry too began to see how this might work in his favour.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49He could be the head of his own church.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54The new religion had many practical advantages to offer him.
0:11:54 > 0:11:59So he joined this wider movement to cut out the Pope,
0:11:59 > 0:12:02a movement that would allow people to decide for themselves
0:12:02 > 0:12:05what God wanted them to do.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09And Henry decided that God wanted him to leave his wife.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14So he chose to ignore the Pope and to marry Anne.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24It's January the 25th, 1533.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26And a wedding has been hastily arranged.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35You look breathtaking, my lady.
0:12:36 > 0:12:37Thank you.
0:12:38 > 0:12:39We should make our way.
0:12:42 > 0:12:43I can't seem to stop.
0:12:45 > 0:12:46It's to be expected.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51Particularly if the entire kingdom harbours hatred towards me.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54No. No, my lady.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05The King is waiting.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08We must go.
0:13:08 > 0:13:09We must.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37So why is Henry getting married so secretively?
0:13:37 > 0:13:42I'd call it furtive to do it at dawn in such a small ceremony.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46The answer is that if his subjects knew what Henry was up to,
0:13:46 > 0:13:49getting married like this without the Pope's approval,
0:13:49 > 0:13:54many of them would still think that he's committing the sin of bigamy.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58With the danger of excommunication from the Church,
0:13:58 > 0:14:00and the damnation of his soul.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04But I believe Henry HAS TO marry Anne,
0:14:04 > 0:14:07because she suspects that she's pregnant.
0:14:10 > 0:14:11I will.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16Henry must be hoping that, after all this time,
0:14:16 > 0:14:19Anne will now give him the son he craves.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27With Henry and Anne at last married,
0:14:27 > 0:14:30and with his bride carrying his heir -
0:14:30 > 0:14:32he was convinced it would be a boy -
0:14:32 > 0:14:35the King was in a celebratory mood.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38Anne's coronation four months later
0:14:38 > 0:14:42was as public as her wedding had been private.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44There was a grand procession
0:14:44 > 0:14:47along from the Tower of London towards Westminster.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51Anne had her long dark hair down,
0:14:51 > 0:14:53and just a golden coronet on her head,
0:14:53 > 0:14:58no veil - Henry wanted people to be able to see her face.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00This was him saying, "This is my wife.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02"She is your Queen.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04"And there's nothing that the Pope
0:15:04 > 0:15:06"or the people of England can do about that."
0:15:16 > 0:15:18And when she arrived at Westminster Abbey,
0:15:18 > 0:15:20Anne was crowned Queen.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31Huge crowds had turned out to watch the ceremony,
0:15:31 > 0:15:33but the mood was grim.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38One eyewitness claims that they showed themselves
0:15:38 > 0:15:40as sorry as if it had been a funeral.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44The rightful Queen had been banished.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46Anne was a pretender.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48It was a public scandal.
0:15:48 > 0:15:53But most important of all, Henry had defied the Pope to marry her.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56And devout Catholics up and down the country,
0:15:56 > 0:16:00but particularly those at court, were all blaming Anne Boleyn.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09Yet Anne had achieved her goal.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11She was now Queen of England,
0:16:11 > 0:16:16but she'd also managed to make some dangerous enemies at court.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19What's worse, now that she was married to Henry,
0:16:19 > 0:16:23the power that she'd held over him was beginning to slip away.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28Anne's about to enter confinement for the last month of her pregnancy,
0:16:28 > 0:16:32and she expects Henry to stay faithful to her
0:16:32 > 0:16:33while she's locked away.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41This should be the honeymoon period of Henry and Anne's marriage.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43But Anne's learning very quickly
0:16:43 > 0:16:46that it's not easy being married to King Henry VIII.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56I'm unclear, my lady, exactly what it is you are asking of me.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58And I am unclear, my lord,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01as to why it is so difficult for you to comprehend.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03I bestowed trust in my husband,
0:17:03 > 0:17:05and I expect that trust to be honoured.
0:17:05 > 0:17:06Surely, that is not unreasonable?
0:17:07 > 0:17:10You are dissatisfied already with me, madam?
0:17:10 > 0:17:12Of course not.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15I simply wish to protect our union,
0:17:15 > 0:17:17to enter confinement in the knowledge that you hold it
0:17:17 > 0:17:20in the same esteem as I do.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22For you, my dearest, so well versed
0:17:22 > 0:17:24in respecting the sanctity of marriage.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26HE CHUCKLES
0:17:31 > 0:17:33A king has his needs.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38But you are my queen.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41Mother of my heir.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43Your position is without question.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49Then surely I deserve your respect, my lord.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57You are still prepared to question me?
0:18:00 > 0:18:02If you wish to protect our union, my lady,
0:18:02 > 0:18:04then allow me to make a suggestion.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08Look away.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24Now, from Henry's point of view, this was quite straightforward.
0:18:24 > 0:18:26He was just acting as any king should.
0:18:26 > 0:18:28Obviously, when his wife was pregnant,
0:18:28 > 0:18:31he should get his needs met elsewhere.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34But Anne wasn't going to put up with this!
0:18:34 > 0:18:38Unlike Katherine, who'd overlooked her husband's many indiscretions.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41After this particular argument,
0:18:41 > 0:18:45Henry and Anne didn't speak to each other for several days.
0:18:50 > 0:18:55But Anne knew she had a trump card - that baby in her belly.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57The King's doctors and astrologers
0:18:57 > 0:19:00were all saying it was going to be a boy.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04This would set the seal on Henry's dynasty
0:19:04 > 0:19:05and upon Anne's destiny.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16It's September 1533, and Anne has given birth.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23The delivery was easy and the child is healthy.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27But it's another disappointment for Henry.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29The baby is another girl.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37This is the Princess Elizabeth.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41Her mother, Anne, is absolutely besotted with her.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43Little do any of them know it,
0:19:43 > 0:19:46but this "disappointment" will end up
0:19:46 > 0:19:48as one of the greatest monarchs in English history -
0:19:48 > 0:19:51Queen Elizabeth I.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01But Anne hadn't solved the King's problem.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08Henry needed a boy in addition to his two daughters -
0:20:08 > 0:20:12Mary, from his first marriage, and now Elizabeth.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16The girls wouldn't be able to continue the Tudor name,
0:20:16 > 0:20:20and who knew if the country would accept a female monarch?
0:20:20 > 0:20:21It hadn't been tried.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25So the pressure was now all on Anne.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31She only needed to look north to the bleak Fenland countryside
0:20:31 > 0:20:34to see just how dismal her fate might be
0:20:34 > 0:20:36if she failed to deliver a male heir.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41Now in exile, and out of public sight,
0:20:41 > 0:20:43Katherine was being made to suffer.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47It would suit Henry and Anne if something were to happen to her.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53Henry's advisers had been constantly moving her to more and more grim,
0:20:53 > 0:20:56and more and more isolated residences.
0:20:56 > 0:21:01One of them was described as "the most pestilential house in England".
0:21:01 > 0:21:03These places weren't healthy.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06They'd also been slowly getting rid of her servants.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09Katherine was now in poor health,
0:21:09 > 0:21:11and had been separated from Princess Mary
0:21:11 > 0:21:13for more than two years.
0:21:13 > 0:21:18She wrote heartfelt letters of love and advice to her daughter,
0:21:18 > 0:21:19who was now 17.
0:21:19 > 0:21:24Despite her pleading, though, Henry refused to let them see each other.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29But still, the people of England hadn't forgotten Katherine.
0:21:29 > 0:21:34During one of these moves, the road into Cambridgeshire, 24 miles of it,
0:21:34 > 0:21:38was lined with people who called out her name as she passed.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42The people of England still remembered their Queen.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53This is where Katherine finally ended up,
0:21:53 > 0:21:55Kimbolton in Cambridgeshire.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59It was rebuilt in the 18th century,
0:21:59 > 0:22:02but it was then a desolate medieval castle.
0:22:08 > 0:22:10Katherine's health was deteriorating
0:22:10 > 0:22:14in the cold and damp at the edge of the Fens.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16She felt besieged.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20She became paranoid that somebody was poisoning her food,
0:22:20 > 0:22:23and some of her faithful ladies-in-waiting
0:22:23 > 0:22:25were forbidden from seeing her.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28Among them was Katherine's oldest, closest friend,
0:22:28 > 0:22:31her fellow Spaniard Maria De Salinas.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38It's January 1536.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42Am I too late? Please tell me I am not too late.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45Maria has defied the King to visit Katherine on her deathbed.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52- My Lady De Salinas. - Mi senora.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54IN SPANISH:
0:23:44 > 0:23:45My Lord King...
0:23:48 > 0:23:51..and dearest husband.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56As the hour of my death now approaches...
0:23:59 > 0:24:01..I wish for you to know...
0:24:04 > 0:24:06..that you have...
0:24:06 > 0:24:07my forgiveness.
0:24:12 > 0:24:13It is my final wish.
0:24:16 > 0:24:18I ask your grace...
0:24:19 > 0:24:24..to forgive me also, to understand...
0:24:25 > 0:24:28..that my behaviour is born...
0:24:30 > 0:24:33..only from the grief of our separation.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39A loss...
0:24:40 > 0:24:41..too great...
0:24:42 > 0:24:43..to endure.
0:24:52 > 0:24:53My eyes...
0:24:55 > 0:24:59..long for you above all else.
0:25:01 > 0:25:02Farewell.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13Katherine died six days later,
0:25:13 > 0:25:16without receiving a reply to her final letter.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21She was 50 years old.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25She's been betrothed to Henry since she was 17.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29She dedicated her whole life to being Queen.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33And right to the end, she remained immensely popular.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37People lined the streets to watch her coffin being carried here,
0:25:37 > 0:25:40to Peterborough Cathedral in Cambridgeshire.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48The King wasn't present at Katherine's funeral,
0:25:48 > 0:25:51and neither was their daughter, Mary.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54Henry refused to let her attend.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56But the service was packed with
0:25:56 > 0:25:58those who'd loved and respected Katherine,
0:25:58 > 0:26:02including the ever-faithful Maria De Salinas.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07Even today, people leave pomegranates on Katherine's grave,
0:26:07 > 0:26:10the fruit from her personal emblem
0:26:10 > 0:26:12and a reminder of her homeland in Spain.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16A lot of people think of Katherine of Aragon
0:26:16 > 0:26:21as a grim-faced, angry, rejected woman,
0:26:21 > 0:26:25but I don't think that we should remember he like that.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29I prefer to think of her as a fearless warrior queen.
0:26:30 > 0:26:31And don't forget -
0:26:31 > 0:26:36she was also Henry's first, and his longest-lasting love.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58It's just days after Katherine's death.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02Queen Anne is pregnant again.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04This should be a time for celebration,
0:27:04 > 0:27:07but tensions are increasing between the Royal couple.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13With his wife preoccupied by the early stages of pregnancy,
0:27:13 > 0:27:16Henry's eye is free to wander.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19- Your majesty.- Madam.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24The Queen is sleeping.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26- Should I wake her?- No.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30Then I shall come and find you, sire, as soon as she rises.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32There's no need.
0:27:32 > 0:27:33I shall wait here.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37That's if you don't object to keeping me company?
0:27:39 > 0:27:40It would be my pleasure.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45The Queen has been feeling unwell this morning.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47Hopefully, rest will be the cure.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49Perhaps.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54Although she's certainly no stranger to rest.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57THEY CHUCKLE
0:28:00 > 0:28:02I'd like to thank you again for my gift, your Grace.
0:28:04 > 0:28:06It was a most unexpected thing.
0:28:07 > 0:28:08Unexpected but...
0:28:10 > 0:28:11- ..welcome?- Of course.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14It is beautiful.
0:28:18 > 0:28:19As is the wearer.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26The woman sitting on the King's knee is called Jane Seymour.
0:28:26 > 0:28:27You might recognise her,
0:28:27 > 0:28:30because she's one of Anne Boleyn's ladies-in-waiting.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33And before that, she was one of Katherine of Aragon's.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40My lady. How are you feeling?
0:28:48 > 0:28:53It's almost like Henry's gone out of his way to humiliate his wife
0:28:53 > 0:28:57by having this brazen flirtation with one of her servants.
0:29:01 > 0:29:05A few days later, Anne miscarried her child.
0:29:05 > 0:29:09When Henry discovered, he was too angry to speak about it,
0:29:09 > 0:29:13and there was one report that he said scarcely anything to her,
0:29:13 > 0:29:17except that he clearly saw that God
0:29:17 > 0:29:20did not wish to give him male children.
0:29:20 > 0:29:24I believe that this is the point at which Henry began
0:29:24 > 0:29:26to turn against his wife.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31The spell was broken for Anne.
0:29:31 > 0:29:34Her power over Henry was ebbing away,
0:29:34 > 0:29:37and Anne sensed this.
0:29:37 > 0:29:40The reason she'd had the miscarriage, she told the King,
0:29:40 > 0:29:42is because she was upset.
0:29:42 > 0:29:48Her heart broke, she said, when she saw that he loved others.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52After just three years of marriage to Henry,
0:29:52 > 0:29:54Anne now had a rival.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57Jane Seymour was young and attractive,
0:29:57 > 0:30:01and unlike Anne, she seemed compliant and respectful.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05But the real reason why Jane was such a threat
0:30:05 > 0:30:09was because she'd been deliberately placed before the King
0:30:09 > 0:30:11by Anne Boleyn's enemies.
0:30:13 > 0:30:16The court was a hotbed of different factions,
0:30:16 > 0:30:20all of them competing for the attention of the King.
0:30:20 > 0:30:22One lot were the religious reformers -
0:30:22 > 0:30:25they were very keen on Henry's new church in England.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29But opposing them were the religious conservatives.
0:30:29 > 0:30:33This lot were still secretly loyal to the Pope,
0:30:33 > 0:30:37and they would've been very glad to see the back of Anne Boleyn.
0:30:37 > 0:30:41But they had their own secret weapon - Jane Seymour.
0:30:41 > 0:30:45They coached her in how to attract Henry's attention,
0:30:45 > 0:30:47and it worked.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50Henry seemed to be falling in love with Jane.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54It must be agonising for Anne.
0:30:55 > 0:30:58She's watching a love affair unfolding
0:30:58 > 0:31:03between Jane Seymour and her own husband before her very eyes.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06Ironically, she's in exactly the same position
0:31:06 > 0:31:09as Katherine of Aragon had been before her.
0:31:09 > 0:31:13Anne is feeling vulnerable and nervous,
0:31:13 > 0:31:16and nervousness makes people do strange things.
0:31:18 > 0:31:20So, Sir Henry...
0:31:21 > 0:31:24..have you proposed marriage to my cousin yet?
0:31:24 > 0:31:25Not yet, your Grace.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27Poor Lady Margaret.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29I have no ill feeling towards her.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33I simply wish to... bide my time a little.
0:31:33 > 0:31:35Such a gentleman.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39Do you know what I think, Sir Henry?
0:31:39 > 0:31:42No, my lady. But I feel sure you're about to tell me.
0:31:43 > 0:31:47I think you look for dead men's shoes.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50A rich widow? You think me so shallow?
0:31:54 > 0:31:56Not just any rich widow.
0:31:58 > 0:31:59What I mean to say is this.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04That if something were to happen to the King, you'd look to marry me.
0:32:06 > 0:32:08Am I right?
0:32:08 > 0:32:11Madam, I'm sure that if ever I were to have even such a thought,
0:32:11 > 0:32:14that I would be in grave danger of losing my head.
0:32:14 > 0:32:17Well, remember, I could certainly make that happen if I so wished it.
0:32:19 > 0:32:20I'm teasing you, sir!
0:32:20 > 0:32:22Then perhaps we should concern ourselves
0:32:22 > 0:32:25with less gruesome thoughts and return to the celebrations.
0:32:25 > 0:32:27A very wise idea.
0:32:41 > 0:32:44Anne should know that, at the Tudor court,
0:32:44 > 0:32:47conversations like this don't stay private for very long.
0:32:51 > 0:32:55The man Anne was talking to was called Henry Norris,
0:32:55 > 0:33:00and he was one of the King's most trusted and intimate confidants.
0:33:00 > 0:33:04Now, to talk about the King's death was treason.
0:33:04 > 0:33:09For Anne to talk about the King's death to the King's closest friend
0:33:09 > 0:33:11and then to suggest that they might get married,
0:33:11 > 0:33:14well, that seems absolutely bonkers.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19So why did Anne do it?
0:33:19 > 0:33:22Was she arrogant enough to think that she could get away with it?
0:33:22 > 0:33:26Or was she really desperate to feel desired once again?
0:33:27 > 0:33:29I think the answer is neither.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31I think the really unfair thing is
0:33:31 > 0:33:34that Anne was only acting in accordance
0:33:34 > 0:33:37with the Code of Chivalry.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40This was a way of behaving with which Henry was obsessed,
0:33:40 > 0:33:44and according to chivalry a queen, or a noble lady,
0:33:44 > 0:33:48was supposed to behave kindly and graciously
0:33:48 > 0:33:51and flirtatiously to humble young knights.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53So by flirting with Henry Norris,
0:33:53 > 0:33:56Anne was only fulfilling her job description.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58The only thing I'll concede
0:33:58 > 0:34:01is that maybe fear made her go too far.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10Whatever her reasons, Anne's ill-judged remark
0:34:10 > 0:34:13would have enormous repercussions.
0:34:15 > 0:34:17By the next day, everybody at court had heard
0:34:17 > 0:34:19what Anne was supposed to have said -
0:34:19 > 0:34:21including the King.
0:34:22 > 0:34:24Rumours were flying about that Anne
0:34:24 > 0:34:27had been having this affair with Henry Norris,
0:34:27 > 0:34:30but also with other courtiers too.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34It was even said that she'd been sleeping with her own brother.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39No matter how preposterous the claims,
0:34:39 > 0:34:41Anne's enemies fuelled the rumours,
0:34:41 > 0:34:44and it suited Henry to believe them.
0:34:44 > 0:34:47He was now obsessed with Jane Seymour,
0:34:47 > 0:34:50and he wanted to get rid of his second wife.
0:34:52 > 0:34:54My lord, my lord.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56Pernicious gossip - can you not see that?
0:34:56 > 0:34:58I cannot see everything.
0:34:58 > 0:34:59And that is why I employ the greatest trust
0:34:59 > 0:35:01in those I keep close to me.
0:35:01 > 0:35:02And who closer than me?
0:35:02 > 0:35:05Those who have served me for nearly their entire lifetimes.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09I am your loyal wife, my lord.
0:35:09 > 0:35:10Does that count for nothing?
0:35:10 > 0:35:14I could not do anything to hurt or discredit you, I swear.
0:35:14 > 0:35:16My loyal wife...
0:35:16 > 0:35:17and trusted companion, Sir Henry...
0:35:19 > 0:35:20..in each other's arms.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23- Lies!- Witnessed by others.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25Good men who have neither reason nor inclination
0:35:25 > 0:35:26to fabricate nonsense.
0:35:26 > 0:35:29How could I jeopardise all that I have for so long desired?
0:35:29 > 0:35:31Only you hold the answer to that question.
0:35:33 > 0:35:34Just think of our child.
0:35:34 > 0:35:36My lord.
0:35:38 > 0:35:40How long we have waited to be together.
0:35:40 > 0:35:43You should heed your own advice, madam.
0:35:43 > 0:35:44I do, my lord.
0:35:44 > 0:35:47And I would no more slight you than I would harm a hair on the head
0:35:47 > 0:35:48of our sweet daughter, Elizabeth.
0:35:50 > 0:35:51Think of her, sire.
0:35:54 > 0:35:56Sire.
0:35:57 > 0:35:59I wish you to leave now.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03But if my lord could give me a few precious minutes more,
0:36:03 > 0:36:04then I could...
0:36:04 > 0:36:08Leave, or I shall have you dragged from here.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19Even after this really horrible confrontation,
0:36:19 > 0:36:23Anne must still have had hopes of salvaging her relationship.
0:36:23 > 0:36:28The very next day she attended the May Day tournament,
0:36:28 > 0:36:30just as if nothing was wrong.
0:36:30 > 0:36:34And, in fact, this would be her last public appearance as Queen.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38As the King was riding away from the joust,
0:36:38 > 0:36:39he went with Henry Norris,
0:36:39 > 0:36:41and he questioned him closely
0:36:41 > 0:36:44about what he might have been up to with his wife.
0:36:44 > 0:36:48Henry Norris denied all wrongdoing, but nevertheless,
0:36:48 > 0:36:52he was arrested and sent to the Tower.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55And the King's men were coming for Anne too.
0:37:05 > 0:37:09The following day, after three tempestuous years of marriage,
0:37:09 > 0:37:11Anne was arrested.
0:37:11 > 0:37:13She was taken by boat from Greenwich,
0:37:13 > 0:37:16up the river to the Tower of London.
0:37:19 > 0:37:23Henry didn't see her again, either to confront her, or say goodbye.
0:37:25 > 0:37:27Just as he had with Katherine of Aragon,
0:37:27 > 0:37:30he let other people do his dirty work.
0:37:41 > 0:37:42Anne was accused of treason,
0:37:42 > 0:37:46and of committing adultery with five male courtiers,
0:37:46 > 0:37:49including her own brother, George.
0:37:50 > 0:37:54Anne was frightened about where exactly they were taking her.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57"Shall I go into a dungeon?" she asked.
0:37:57 > 0:37:59But the guard said no,
0:37:59 > 0:38:01they were taking her to the Royal apartments,
0:38:01 > 0:38:05where she'd stayed the night before her own coronation.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08When she heard this, Anne cried with relief.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11"It is too good for me," she said.
0:38:11 > 0:38:13"Jesus have mercy upon me."
0:38:13 > 0:38:17It's at this point that we begin to see Anne's terror.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25Anne's own servants were dismissed,
0:38:25 > 0:38:28and she was given five new ladies-in-waiting.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31But really, they were spies.
0:38:31 > 0:38:35Every single word that Anne said was fed back to the King.
0:38:35 > 0:38:39The ladies reported that Anne was growing hysterical,
0:38:39 > 0:38:42sometimes crying, sometimes laughing.
0:38:42 > 0:38:45She even made a joke that history would know her
0:38:45 > 0:38:47as Queen Anne the Headless.
0:38:50 > 0:38:51The five accused men,
0:38:51 > 0:38:54including her brother and Henry Norris,
0:38:54 > 0:38:57were quickly found guilty and executed.
0:39:00 > 0:39:02Anne has also been found guilty.
0:39:02 > 0:39:03Of treason.
0:39:04 > 0:39:06And the punishment is death.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11But, for me, there's a compelling piece of evidence
0:39:11 > 0:39:14that points to her innocence.
0:39:14 > 0:39:16Anne has asked to see a priest,
0:39:16 > 0:39:19Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
0:39:30 > 0:39:34You wish to take the holy sacrament of confession, my Lady?
0:39:52 > 0:39:53My Lord God.
0:39:55 > 0:39:57I am heartily sorry for having offended you.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01I detest all of my sins
0:40:01 > 0:40:03because I fear the loss of heaven, and the pains of hell.
0:40:04 > 0:40:06But most of all, because I offend you,
0:40:06 > 0:40:08my God,
0:40:08 > 0:40:11who is all good, and deserving of all my love.
0:40:15 > 0:40:17But I kneel before you now to protest my innocence
0:40:17 > 0:40:19of the crimes I am accused.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24I have ever been a faithful wife to the King.
0:40:25 > 0:40:28Though I do not say I have always shown him that humility
0:40:28 > 0:40:29that his goodness merited.
0:40:31 > 0:40:33I confess that I have had jealous fancies
0:40:33 > 0:40:37and suspicions of him that I had not discretion nor wisdom to conceal
0:40:37 > 0:40:38at all times.
0:40:42 > 0:40:45But as for my brother...
0:40:45 > 0:40:47and those others unjustly condemned...
0:40:49 > 0:40:53..I shall willingly accompany them into heaven with this assurance.
0:40:54 > 0:40:58That I shall lead an endless life with them in peace and joy,
0:40:58 > 0:41:00where I shall pray to God for the King.
0:41:03 > 0:41:05May the Lord have mercy on my soul.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12This is everything you wish to say?
0:41:14 > 0:41:15God knows, and is my witness
0:41:15 > 0:41:18that I have not sinned against him in any other way.
0:41:25 > 0:41:27Anne believes, all Tudor people believe,
0:41:27 > 0:41:30that if she tells a lie in confession,
0:41:30 > 0:41:33she damns her soul to eternal torment.
0:41:34 > 0:41:39So when she says she's innocent, in those extreme circumstances,
0:41:39 > 0:41:41I think we have to believe her.
0:41:46 > 0:41:49Anne's husband, Henry, had loved her so much
0:41:49 > 0:41:53that he changed a country's religion so that he could have her.
0:41:53 > 0:41:58But now he's tired, he's frustrated by her.
0:41:58 > 0:42:03Anne's real crime is to have failed to give the King a son,
0:42:03 > 0:42:06and to have become difficult to live with.
0:42:08 > 0:42:10That's why she has to die.
0:42:53 > 0:42:55All this for so little a neck.
0:43:30 > 0:43:34Anne Boleyn's beheading on the 19th of May 1536
0:43:34 > 0:43:38was the first execution of a queen in English history.
0:43:40 > 0:43:44The country shed few tears for Anne, and her enemies rejoiced.
0:43:46 > 0:43:48Her body was brought to the small chapel
0:43:48 > 0:43:51that lies within the Tower of London.
0:43:54 > 0:43:56This is where Anne is buried.
0:43:56 > 0:44:01She really has been one of history's most controversial figures.
0:44:01 > 0:44:05For much of the last 500 years, she has been vilified as a schemer,
0:44:05 > 0:44:08a predator, even as a witch.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11But from the vantage point of the 21st century,
0:44:11 > 0:44:13it looks very different.
0:44:13 > 0:44:16She seems like one of us.
0:44:16 > 0:44:19She used wit and willpower to get what she wanted.
0:44:19 > 0:44:23At first, this worked very well for Anne.
0:44:23 > 0:44:25But ultimately, the Tudor court
0:44:25 > 0:44:29was a dangerous place to be for an ambitious woman.
0:44:30 > 0:44:34In the end, she was the victim of her own strength,
0:44:34 > 0:44:38as well as the victim of the pitiless King.
0:45:13 > 0:45:16As soon as he received the news of Anne's execution,
0:45:16 > 0:45:19Henry went off to see Jane.
0:45:19 > 0:45:22And 11 days later, he married her,
0:45:22 > 0:45:25his third Queen, at Whitehall Palace.
0:45:25 > 0:45:28He didn't waste any time, did he?
0:45:28 > 0:45:33Preparations for the wedding had begun even before Anne was dead.
0:45:37 > 0:45:41Jane was 27 and a devout Catholic.
0:45:43 > 0:45:45Her family and her Catholic supporters
0:45:45 > 0:45:49hoped she might steer Henry back to the old religion,
0:45:49 > 0:45:52but I think Jane decided to take a different approach
0:45:52 > 0:45:53now she was Queen.
0:45:53 > 0:45:55And here's the clue.
0:45:55 > 0:45:59The motto she chose was "bound to obey and serve".
0:46:02 > 0:46:05Jane Seymour was your typical English rose.
0:46:05 > 0:46:09Just look at her pale skin, the strawberry-blonde hair,
0:46:09 > 0:46:11her lovely rosy cheeks.
0:46:11 > 0:46:14But English roses aren't very exciting, are they?
0:46:16 > 0:46:21And Jane's pale appearance does seem matched by her pale character.
0:46:21 > 0:46:24She's curiously passive,
0:46:24 > 0:46:26and I think that this was a clever choice -
0:46:26 > 0:46:30to be the absolute polar opposite of Anne Boleyn,
0:46:30 > 0:46:32who was a bit too exciting for her own good.
0:46:32 > 0:46:35I think I might do exactly the same thing
0:46:35 > 0:46:37if I were married to Henry VIII -
0:46:37 > 0:46:40to pretend to be meek and mild, even if I wasn't,
0:46:40 > 0:46:43so as not to annoy him, and to stay alive.
0:46:45 > 0:46:47After so much upheaval,
0:46:47 > 0:46:51a period of calm descended upon the Royal household.
0:46:52 > 0:46:55Importantly, Jane was a peacemaker.
0:46:55 > 0:46:59She improved Henry's relationship with his children.
0:46:59 > 0:47:04For a long time, he'd been estranged from his daughter, Mary.
0:47:04 > 0:47:06Mary was now 20,
0:47:06 > 0:47:08and Henry had even made her sign a piece of paper
0:47:08 > 0:47:11saying that her own mother's marriage
0:47:11 > 0:47:14had been incestuous and unlawful.
0:47:14 > 0:47:21But now, in 1536, Jane persuaded Henry to meet Mary once again.
0:47:21 > 0:47:26So Henry's family life, for once, was going smoothly.
0:47:26 > 0:47:28But meanwhile, out in the country,
0:47:28 > 0:47:34a great big wave of political and religious change was about to break.
0:47:34 > 0:47:36And this was the moment
0:47:36 > 0:47:39when Jane's obedience to the King would be tested.
0:47:42 > 0:47:44England was a country divided,
0:47:44 > 0:47:48split between the new reformers and the Catholics.
0:47:48 > 0:47:51Hundreds of monasteries, all around the country,
0:47:51 > 0:47:53kept the old faith alive.
0:47:54 > 0:47:56To Henry and his advisers,
0:47:56 > 0:48:00these monasteries represented a challenge to his authority.
0:48:00 > 0:48:03They were still answerable to the Pope.
0:48:04 > 0:48:06Also, they were fantastically wealthy.
0:48:06 > 0:48:09Henry had fought a lot of wars, he'd built a lot of palaces,
0:48:09 > 0:48:12he was short of cash.
0:48:12 > 0:48:13Hmmm...
0:48:14 > 0:48:19In 1536, the King ordered that they be pulled down,
0:48:19 > 0:48:21and their assets seized.
0:48:21 > 0:48:26For many people, this destruction felt like a sort of apocalypse.
0:48:26 > 0:48:29It destroyed the fabric of their world.
0:48:29 > 0:48:33And the dissolution of the monasteries led to rebellion.
0:48:33 > 0:48:37One particular rebellion, called the Pilgrimage of Grace,
0:48:37 > 0:48:39started in the East Midlands.
0:48:39 > 0:48:41It spread to the north
0:48:41 > 0:48:44and it culminated with a bloody uprising in York.
0:48:48 > 0:48:51Jane's stepdaughters, Mary and Elizabeth,
0:48:51 > 0:48:54were brought back to the court in London
0:48:54 > 0:48:56to avoid them getting caught up in the uprising.
0:48:56 > 0:48:59Mary, in particular, was in danger,
0:48:59 > 0:49:00because, as the daughter of
0:49:00 > 0:49:03the staunchly Catholic Katherine of Aragon,
0:49:03 > 0:49:06the rebels would have loved to use her as a figurehead.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09Henry was determined to prevent this.
0:49:15 > 0:49:19The religious tension playing out across the country
0:49:19 > 0:49:22is also being felt within the palace walls.
0:49:24 > 0:49:27Princess Mary has just returned to court
0:49:27 > 0:49:30under the protective wing of her stepmother.
0:49:30 > 0:49:33She has to tread carefully around her father,
0:49:33 > 0:49:34who she barely knows.
0:49:39 > 0:49:41What have you been doing today?
0:49:41 > 0:49:43- Tell me.- Riding, sir.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47Some needlework. A little music.
0:49:47 > 0:49:48- Pardon?- Music, sir.
0:49:49 > 0:49:51The lute.
0:49:51 > 0:49:54- Very good. - Mary is extremely gifted, my lord.
0:49:55 > 0:49:56Almost a match for her father.
0:49:56 > 0:50:01Is she now? You must play for me again.
0:50:01 > 0:50:02It's been a long time.
0:50:02 > 0:50:03Of course.
0:50:03 > 0:50:06It would be a pleasant distraction from the foolishness in York.
0:50:09 > 0:50:11I've heard talk at court.
0:50:11 > 0:50:14These men wish to see us slaughtered.
0:50:14 > 0:50:16They are churchmen, not murderers.
0:50:18 > 0:50:19They are simply protesting.
0:50:21 > 0:50:22You sympathise with them?
0:50:24 > 0:50:26I can understand their allegiance to their faith.
0:50:27 > 0:50:29They are much attached to their monasteries in the north.
0:50:31 > 0:50:32You do sympathise, then?
0:50:33 > 0:50:35My concerns are for you alone, my lord.
0:50:36 > 0:50:38For your soul.
0:50:44 > 0:50:46If I upset you, sire, then I beg your pardon.
0:50:47 > 0:50:51I only wish to offer my counsel as your devoted wife and queen.
0:50:51 > 0:50:53And so I would urge you to tread carefully.
0:50:56 > 0:50:58Remember what happened to my last wife and queen.
0:51:06 > 0:51:08What Jane was doing was fulfilling
0:51:08 > 0:51:12another of these recognisable roles of a Tudor Queen.
0:51:12 > 0:51:17In this case, asking for mercy on behalf of the powerless.
0:51:17 > 0:51:20Jane also thought it was here duty as a devout Catholic
0:51:20 > 0:51:24to petition the King for a cause she believed in.
0:51:24 > 0:51:26Although this was a brave thing to do,
0:51:26 > 0:51:29Jane was wise to back off when she saw
0:51:29 > 0:51:32that she'd pushed the King too far.
0:51:32 > 0:51:36But she did do absolutely everything else that Henry asked of her,
0:51:36 > 0:51:40including the most important thing of all.
0:51:45 > 0:51:50On the 12th of October 1537, after a long labour
0:51:50 > 0:51:53lasting two days and three nights,
0:51:53 > 0:51:54Jane gave birth.
0:51:56 > 0:51:58It was a boy.
0:51:58 > 0:52:01Henry had a healthy, legitimate son at last.
0:52:01 > 0:52:05It had taken him three wives to get to this point.
0:52:05 > 0:52:07Three days later, baby Prince Edward,
0:52:07 > 0:52:10this new hope of the Tudor dynasty,
0:52:10 > 0:52:14was christened here in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court.
0:52:20 > 0:52:23It's 12 days since the birth of Prince Edward,
0:52:23 > 0:52:26and the nation is still celebrating.
0:52:32 > 0:52:35But Jane is taking longer than expected to recover.
0:52:40 > 0:52:42Somebody fetch more cold water.
0:52:52 > 0:52:54Can you hear me?
0:52:58 > 0:53:00You are still here.
0:53:02 > 0:53:04My sweet lady, where else would I be?
0:53:05 > 0:53:07Where is our son?
0:53:34 > 0:53:35He is thriving?
0:53:37 > 0:53:38Very much so.
0:53:39 > 0:53:41A more contented child I've yet to meet.
0:53:44 > 0:53:46He must know how much his mother loved him.
0:53:49 > 0:53:51You will tell him, my lord.
0:53:55 > 0:53:59I do not give up hope that you may tell him yourself.
0:53:59 > 0:54:00Many times.
0:54:15 > 0:54:17Lord God, why must you punish me this way?
0:54:27 > 0:54:31Jane Seymour never recovered from the infection she contracted
0:54:31 > 0:54:35after the long and difficult birth of Prince Edward.
0:54:36 > 0:54:40She died on the 24th of October 1537.
0:54:43 > 0:54:46Henry genuinely grieved for Jane.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49He wrote about his bitterness,
0:54:49 > 0:54:53and it was said that he retired to a solitary place
0:54:53 > 0:54:55to see to his sorrows.
0:54:55 > 0:54:58Jane had been the perfect wife for him.
0:54:58 > 0:54:59She hadn't bothered him.
0:54:59 > 0:55:02She'd given him what he wanted, a son.
0:55:02 > 0:55:04Who knows what would have happened next,
0:55:04 > 0:55:07because they had only been married for 16 months.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10There's a sense that he hadn't had time to get bored of her.
0:55:11 > 0:55:16To me, Jane Seymour was a queen who played a canny hand.
0:55:16 > 0:55:19By acting exactly like the wife that Henry wanted,
0:55:19 > 0:55:22she became his most-loved queen.
0:55:31 > 0:55:35When Henry died, he chose to be buried alongside her,
0:55:35 > 0:55:38here in St George's Chapel, Windsor.
0:55:40 > 0:55:43But that wouldn't be for some time yet.
0:55:43 > 0:55:46Henry still had three wives to go.
0:55:50 > 0:55:53The ageing and increasingly overweight King
0:55:53 > 0:55:56will struggle to find a fourth wife.
0:55:59 > 0:56:02And a blind date will prove a disaster.
0:56:02 > 0:56:03IN GERMAN:
0:56:08 > 0:56:11History will forever judge this Queen on her looks,
0:56:11 > 0:56:13ignoring her gift for diplomacy
0:56:13 > 0:56:16that will make her one of England's richest women.
0:56:16 > 0:56:18A nice tight grip on the shaft.
0:56:19 > 0:56:21Madam, this is an outrage.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24Ambassador Haas, this is King Henry.
0:56:25 > 0:56:27Oh, very good.
0:56:27 > 0:56:29And the 50-year-old King's relationship
0:56:29 > 0:56:32with a teenage lady-in-waiting
0:56:32 > 0:56:35will lead to lurid tales of adultery and treachery.
0:56:37 > 0:56:39I thought you were one of the King's men.
0:56:39 > 0:56:43I am. His Majesty's most loyal and faithful servant.
0:56:43 > 0:56:45And I'll reveal that this will be
0:56:45 > 0:56:48the most disturbing story of them all.
0:56:48 > 0:56:51Did you lie with Dereham?
0:56:51 > 0:56:53- Yes, my lord.- I see.
0:56:54 > 0:56:56The choice to lie with him was not mine.
0:56:57 > 0:56:58I was a child.