0:00:05 > 0:00:10Divorced, beheaded, died.
0:00:10 > 0:00:15Divorced, beheaded, survived.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18The story of Henry VIII and his six wives
0:00:18 > 0:00:21is one of the best known in history.
0:00:21 > 0:00:26There's Catherine of Aragon, the bitter, abandoned first wife.
0:00:26 > 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 we've got Anne of Cleves - she was the ugly one.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37Catherine Howard, the one who slept around.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41And Kathryn Parr, the saintly nurse.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44But I'm going to tell you a very different story.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51I'm going to take you back in time and into the private lives
0:00:51 > 0:00:53of Henry's six wives.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57I'm going to see the story from their point of view,
0:00:57 > 0:01:01and I'll watch as events unfold.
0:01:01 > 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 > 0:01:09These events all really happened,
0:01:09 > 0:01:11and were recorded in historical documents
0:01:11 > 0:01:14or reported by 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 struggled to survive being married to Henry VIII.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29I beg of you to tell the King that my heart is filled with sorrow,
0:01:29 > 0:01:32and assure him of my repentance.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35Six wives, whose names were tarnished
0:01:35 > 0:01:37by Henry's propaganda machine.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42Six queens whose stories I want to re-examine.
0:01:44 > 0:01:45Is she here?
0:01:46 > 0:01:48I'll observe their life at court.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53And I'll watch them romanced by a charismatic king.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56- Tell me you're the same?- Always.
0:01:58 > 0:02:04This is the ultimate true story of love, loss and betrayal.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08Remember what happened to my last wife and queen.
0:02:25 > 0:02:26Henry VIII's first wife,
0:02:26 > 0:02:31warrior queen Catherine of Aragon, gave the king a daughter, Mary,
0:02:31 > 0:02:33but she failed to give him a son and heir.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36She has suffered a loss of the child.
0:02:36 > 0:02:37Get out!
0:02:37 > 0:02:42After 24 years of marriage she was cast aside for the clever
0:02:42 > 0:02:44and sophisticated Anne Boleyn.
0:02:44 > 0:02:49And, to marry her, Henry turned his back on the Roman Catholic Church.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52You, sir, face eternal damnation.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55You cannot defy the church in this way.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59Anne disappointed Henry by giving him another daughter, Elizabeth.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03Surely I deserve your respect, my Lord?
0:03:03 > 0:03:07Worse still, she proved too challenging for the King,
0:03:07 > 0:03:10so he had his second wife executed.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12All this, for so little a neck.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14- Your Majesty.- Madam.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18His third Queen, Jane Seymour, always dutiful,
0:03:18 > 0:03:21succeeded where Catherine and Anne failed him -
0:03:21 > 0:03:24she delivered Henry a boy, Edward.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27- He is thriving?- Very much so.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30But within 12 days, she was dead.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33Lord God, why must you punish me this way?
0:03:52 > 0:03:55Henry VIII is now 48 years old.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59SHE SPEAKS GERMAN
0:03:59 > 0:04:02A visitor has arrived from Germany to see him.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05They've never met, so Henry's decided to play one of
0:04:05 > 0:04:10his favourite tricks, disguising himself as the rogue Robin Hood.
0:04:10 > 0:04:11Shh.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17BOISTEROUS YELLING
0:04:27 > 0:04:29My lady, welcome.
0:04:34 > 0:04:39I trust you find your new residence to be more than adequate?
0:04:48 > 0:04:51It's New Year's Day 1540,
0:04:51 > 0:04:55and Henry VIII has just introduced himself to his fourth wife,
0:04:55 > 0:04:57Anne of Cleves.
0:04:59 > 0:05:04So why was Henry getting married to somebody he'd never even met before?
0:05:04 > 0:05:07This time he was slightly pushed into it.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11After Jane Seymour's death, Henry's heart was broken.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14He also now had his son and heir, Edward.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17He could afford to relax and take his time.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20But Henry's advisers had other ideas -
0:05:20 > 0:05:23they thought it was time for a new queen.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31Politically, Henry was isolated.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34By breaking from Rome and making himself head of his own church,
0:05:34 > 0:05:36he'd made powerful enemies.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40But there were other leaders in Europe who also rejected
0:05:40 > 0:05:42the authority of the Pope.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46A strategic marriage could be just the thing to protect Henry
0:05:46 > 0:05:50and a like-minded ally against any possible retribution.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55The problem was that Henry didn't have that great a reputation
0:05:55 > 0:05:57as a potential husband.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59After all, he was now three wives down,
0:05:59 > 0:06:02and each time it had ended badly.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05In fact, one prospective bride said, yes,
0:06:05 > 0:06:09she would have married Henry VIII, if she had two heads!
0:06:11 > 0:06:14The once-handsome King was now obese,
0:06:14 > 0:06:17and looked older than his age.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21The legacy of his passion for jousting was an ulcerous wound
0:06:21 > 0:06:23on his leg that refused to heal.
0:06:27 > 0:06:32Henry's advisors scoured Europe searching for a noble family
0:06:32 > 0:06:34willing to provide a bride.
0:06:34 > 0:06:40The hunt took two whole years, but finally, in 1539, somebody said yes.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46Henry's fourth wife would be a German noblewoman called Anne.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51She lived in the town of Cleve in western Germany.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59This is the famous Anne of Cleves cake,
0:06:59 > 0:07:01still baked here in honour of Anne.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06Although she's still famous in Germany,
0:07:06 > 0:07:10English history has dismissed Anne as Henry's ugly wife.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13Famously, she's known as the Flanders Mare.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17But there was more to Anne than her looks.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21A gift for diplomacy and an instinct for survival probably make her
0:07:21 > 0:07:25the most successful of all Henry's wives.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29She was raised and educated here, at the Castle Schwanenburg.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37She was the daughter of the Duke of Cleves,
0:07:37 > 0:07:39a powerful, noble family.
0:07:39 > 0:07:40And like Henry himself,
0:07:40 > 0:07:44the Duke of Cleves had rejected the authority of the Pope.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47Anne fitted the bill.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52With the bit of reluctance, Henry did agree to consider Anne of Cleves
0:07:52 > 0:07:58as a bride. But first of all he wanted to know what she looked like.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01Was she going to be attractive enough for him?
0:08:01 > 0:08:04So he sent his top painter, Hans Holbein,
0:08:04 > 0:08:07over to Cleves to do a portrait.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10And this picture, combined with favourable reports
0:08:10 > 0:08:13from Henry's advisers, made up his mind.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15Yes, he was going to marry her.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25And so, without even meeting the King, Anne set off for England
0:08:25 > 0:08:27to marry him.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30Anne was 24 years old.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33She'd never been outside Germany before,
0:08:33 > 0:08:35and she didn't speak any English.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38It must all have been pretty daunting.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40But she did have the good sense to learn what she could
0:08:40 > 0:08:45from her English escort about what her new life would be like.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47After all, she must have known what had happened
0:08:47 > 0:08:50to her three predecessors. She would have been anxious
0:08:50 > 0:08:52to avoid making the same mistakes.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57Anne made sure to have dinner with her travelling companions,
0:08:57 > 0:09:00because she needed to know what happened when Englishmen
0:09:00 > 0:09:02were sitting at their meat.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09She needed to get up to speed really quickly with the etiquette
0:09:09 > 0:09:11of being a Tudor Queen.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22It took over a month for Anne and her entourage to reach
0:09:22 > 0:09:26the shores of England. When they arrived in Rochester,
0:09:26 > 0:09:29they were instructed to rest up and wait.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32There was just one vital thing her German advisers
0:09:32 > 0:09:35had forgotten to brief Anne about.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39An Englishman's sense of humour.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44My lady, welcome.
0:09:46 > 0:09:47I...
0:09:58 > 0:10:00Something wrong, madam?
0:10:07 > 0:10:08The King?
0:10:25 > 0:10:28My Lord, what do you think of the Lady Anne?
0:10:28 > 0:10:29Do you really need to ask?
0:10:31 > 0:10:32I put it to you this way.
0:10:34 > 0:10:35She's not the lady I was expecting.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43Anne's advisers had let her down badly.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46They might have taught her about the finer points of dining,
0:10:46 > 0:10:51but they'd neglected the essentials of English courtly romance.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54They should have warned Anne that Henry loved to dress up,
0:10:54 > 0:10:58to disguise himself and then to surprise people.
0:10:58 > 0:11:03By failing to recognise him, Anne caused grave offence.
0:11:03 > 0:11:09And Henry now turned against her, claiming to find her unattractive.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13The conventional story is that Henry blamed Holbein
0:11:13 > 0:11:16for having painted an overly-flattering portrait of Anne.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21But there are first-hand accounts of Anne being very attractive,
0:11:21 > 0:11:23even beautiful.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27Whatever the rights and wrongs of the situation,
0:11:27 > 0:11:31this has to be history's most awkward blind date.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42Their next meeting took place a few days later at Blackheath,
0:11:42 > 0:11:45up on the hill behind Greenwich.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48This was a formal reception for Anne,
0:11:48 > 0:11:52then they rode down the hill to the Tudor palace of Greenwich,
0:11:52 > 0:11:54long since rebuilt.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57As they rode they wore golden robes.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59There was a great procession,
0:11:59 > 0:12:04crowds of spectators - they must have looked like a golden couple.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07But all was not as it seemed.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12Behind the scenes, Henry was desperately trying to wiggle out
0:12:12 > 0:12:16of the wedding. But he quickly discovered that
0:12:16 > 0:12:21the marriage contract had been a complex diplomatic negotiation.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24Anne's family back in Cleves weren't going to let him off the hook
0:12:24 > 0:12:26that easily.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29And, in any case, was it wise?
0:12:29 > 0:12:32He needed them as allies against his enemies.
0:12:34 > 0:12:35There was nothing for it -
0:12:35 > 0:12:38he was just going to have to marry Anne.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50Henry is on his way to Anne's bedchamber for the first time.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54The wedding night ritual is about to begin.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11Bless, oh Lord, this marriage bed, and those in it.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15Watch over your servants as they sleep,
0:13:15 > 0:13:18protecting them from all demonic dreams
0:13:18 > 0:13:21and grant that they live in your love
0:13:21 > 0:13:25and multiply and grow old together in length of days.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28Heavenly Father, hear this prayer.
0:13:43 > 0:13:44HENRY GRUNTS
0:14:25 > 0:14:26Poor Anne.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29And the really awful thing is that everybody knows
0:14:29 > 0:14:32that it's not working out in the bedchamber.
0:14:32 > 0:14:37Courtiers literally listen in to hear if the deed's being done.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40In the morning, they'll check the sheets for evidence.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46If the marriage isn't consummated, it's not legal.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52The very public nature of this ritual means that word
0:14:52 > 0:14:55starts flying around court immediately.
0:14:55 > 0:15:00Everybody wants to know, "Why hasn't the King sealed the deal
0:15:00 > 0:15:02"with his new Queen?"
0:15:05 > 0:15:10My theory is that Henry just couldn't manage it.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13After all, he was getting older, and fatter,
0:15:13 > 0:15:15and was quite possibly impotent.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17But Henry couldn't allow anybody to think this,
0:15:17 > 0:15:21it would undermine his masculine image.
0:15:21 > 0:15:22So he took action.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26He got his physician, Dr William Butts,
0:15:26 > 0:15:30to spread it around the court that the problem must be with Anne.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33"The King," Dr Butts said, "was absolutely fine.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37"He was well able to do the deed with other women,
0:15:37 > 0:15:42"and he was still experiencing nocturnal pollutions."
0:15:42 > 0:15:44They are what we would call wet dreams.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49Henry kept up the pretence of visiting Anne's bedchamber,
0:15:49 > 0:15:52but nothing was happening there apart from sleeping.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58By now malicious rumours were being deliberately spread around the court
0:15:58 > 0:16:00about what had gone wrong.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03Some people said that Anne hadn't been a virgin.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07Others that, on the contrary, she didn't know what sex was.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11Then again, maybe her body had disgusted the King.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14No-one dared suggest it might have been Henry's fault.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19Because Anne's English isn't great, she's in a poor position
0:16:19 > 0:16:22to defend herself against this gossip.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25But Anne is nobody's fool.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27She might not understand everything that's going on,
0:16:27 > 0:16:32but she can clearly see that her husband's eye is wandering.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35She's in a dangerous position,
0:16:35 > 0:16:36and she knows it.
0:16:48 > 0:16:52Henry and Anne have been married for just a few months,
0:16:52 > 0:16:56and already the King is infatuated with someone else.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00- If I may...- A teenager, recently arrived at court.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02Her name is Catherine Howard.
0:17:10 > 0:17:11Madam, this is an outrage.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14Ambassador Harst, this is King Henry.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17You suspect he is...
0:17:17 > 0:17:19involved with this woman?
0:17:19 > 0:17:20A tight grip on the shaft...
0:17:20 > 0:17:24The King is a very sociable man.
0:17:24 > 0:17:25Is he not?
0:17:27 > 0:17:28And it does not grieve you?
0:17:32 > 0:17:34Pull back, pull back.
0:17:35 > 0:17:36Very good.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03Bit more, bit more.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22Pull back, pull back.
0:18:24 > 0:18:26Yes! Oh, yes!
0:18:37 > 0:18:42For Anne of Cleves, the arrival of Catherine Howard was very bad news.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44Her fears were well-founded.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46In June 1540,
0:18:46 > 0:18:49just six months after she'd arrived in England, Anne of Cleves
0:18:49 > 0:18:51was sent away from court.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54She was told to go and live at the Palace of Richmond,
0:18:54 > 0:18:58under the not very convincing excuse that the weather was better there.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03Henry wanted her out of the way
0:19:03 > 0:19:05so that he could marry Catherine Howard.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13Given Henry's past record, I think Anne must have been quite worried
0:19:13 > 0:19:15about what might happen to her next.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19But she knew that if he treated her too harshly there might be
0:19:19 > 0:19:22an international incident involving Cleves.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25She also knew that Henry couldn't really afford that,
0:19:25 > 0:19:27so she held out for a settlement.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30In the end, Henry offered her a deal -
0:19:30 > 0:19:34in return for going away quietly Anne would get a special title -
0:19:34 > 0:19:37she'd become known as the King's Sister.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41But here's the good bit - she'd also get two palaces to live in,
0:19:41 > 0:19:45a huge entourage of servants, and loads of money.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48Anne thought about it, and she said yes.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51She sent back her wedding ring with a request
0:19:51 > 0:19:53that it be broken into pieces.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05The King paid Anne off handsomely.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08Her entourage and her wardrobe continued to grow,
0:20:08 > 0:20:11and so did her property portfolio.
0:20:11 > 0:20:16Henry even gave her Hever Castle, a family home of Anne Boleyn.
0:20:16 > 0:20:17She never remarried,
0:20:17 > 0:20:21but Anne did become one of the richest women in England.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28Anne outlived all the rest of Henry's wives,
0:20:28 > 0:20:30and Henry himself.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34When she finally died in 1557, at the age of 41,
0:20:34 > 0:20:38she was given a rather grand final resting place.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41It's here, in Westminster Abbey in London,
0:20:41 > 0:20:44and she's buried right by the High Altar.
0:20:49 > 0:20:54I think it's a fitting tribute to a brave and canny Queen,
0:20:54 > 0:20:56who at the age of 24 took on
0:20:56 > 0:20:59the powerful forces of the Tudor court...
0:21:01 > 0:21:02..and won.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27Since he'd made himself head of his own church, there'd been no-one
0:21:27 > 0:21:31to stop Henry ending his marriage to Anne of Cleves...
0:21:33 > 0:21:38..leaving him free to marry teenage lady-in-waiting Catherine Howard.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40She would be the King's fifth Queen.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47Henry married Catherine just two weeks after the ending
0:21:47 > 0:21:49of his marriage with Anne of Cleves.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53Marriage to Catherine seemed to take ten years off his age.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56Under her influence he even lost weight.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59He was visibly infatuated with her.
0:21:59 > 0:22:04One eyewitness said that, "He's so amorous of her that he caresses her
0:22:04 > 0:22:06"more than he did the others."
0:22:06 > 0:22:10Now, if we saw a middle-aged man acting up like that with a teenager
0:22:10 > 0:22:13we'd think, "Wow, that's really inappropriate."
0:22:13 > 0:22:17But in the 16th century it was perfectly acceptable,
0:22:17 > 0:22:19especially if you were King Henry VIII.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27So why did Henry get married for the fifth time?
0:22:27 > 0:22:30After all, he now had his son and heir, Edward -
0:22:30 > 0:22:33he could have just kept Catherine for his mistress.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36But don't forget, he only had the crown himself
0:22:36 > 0:22:40because of the death of his older brother.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43He knew better than anybody that you need two boys,
0:22:43 > 0:22:45the heir and the spare.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50So I think he probably looked at Catherine and thought,
0:22:50 > 0:22:53"Hmm, she looks nice and young and fertile.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56"Perhaps she's the mother of another boy."
0:22:59 > 0:23:02No-one knows exactly when Catherine was born -
0:23:02 > 0:23:06she could have been as young as 15 when she married Henry,
0:23:06 > 0:23:10and she is remembered as the Queen who slept around.
0:23:10 > 0:23:15But I think that hers is a much darker and more tragic story.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25Catherine has been married to the King for just a year.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28She's on her way to meet one of his advisers.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45I thought you were one of the King's men.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48I am. His Majesty's most loyal and faithful servant.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51We are in such danger.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53- This is madness.- Are you alone?
0:23:53 > 0:23:54Then we are safe.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58I am the King's wife, we are never safe.
0:23:58 > 0:23:59My lady, we have no time to lose.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05Every second with the King is spent thinking of our next meeting.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07Why, he cannot please you the way I do?
0:24:07 > 0:24:10If the rumours are true he cannot please you at all.
0:24:10 > 0:24:11Don't talk like that.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14My heart dies when we're apart.
0:24:14 > 0:24:15- Tell me you're the same.- Of course.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18- But if we're caught? - We will not be caught.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22Madam, if you wish to end this...
0:24:22 > 0:24:24- No!- Then place your trust in me.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33HENRY MUMBLES DRUNKENLY
0:24:40 > 0:24:41DRUNKEN SINGING
0:25:01 > 0:25:05Catherine's secret lover is courtier Thomas Culpeper,
0:25:05 > 0:25:07a notorious womaniser.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23One of Catherine and Thomas Culpeper's assignations
0:25:23 > 0:25:26took place here at Lincoln Castle.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30This is from a letter that Catherine wrote to Thomas Culpeper -
0:25:30 > 0:25:33it's quite steamy stuff.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36"When I think," she says,
0:25:36 > 0:25:42"that you shall depart from me again it makes my heart to die.
0:25:42 > 0:25:49"To think what fortune I have that I cannot be always in your company."
0:25:49 > 0:25:51And she signs it off,
0:25:51 > 0:25:54"Yours, as long as life endures."
0:26:01 > 0:26:05So why did Catherine risk an affair with Thomas Culpeper when she knew
0:26:05 > 0:26:08exactly how lethal Henry could be?
0:26:08 > 0:26:11After all, she was a cousin of Anne Boleyn,
0:26:11 > 0:26:17who'd been accused of adultery, and consequently lost her head.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19There are lots of different theories here.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23Some people think that Catherine was just a silly little slut,
0:26:23 > 0:26:26others that she really was in love with him.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28I don't believe either.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32I believe that Thomas Culpeper was a sexual predator,
0:26:32 > 0:26:34that he was pressurising,
0:26:34 > 0:26:37almost forcing a vulnerable young woman into having
0:26:37 > 0:26:39a sexual relationship with him.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44Thomas Culpeper had a terrible reputation.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48He'd been accused of raping a park-keeper's wife,
0:26:48 > 0:26:51and murdering a villager who tried to stop him.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53But he'd been pardoned by the King.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59It is true that the letter contains some pretty effusive phrases,
0:26:59 > 0:27:02when she talks about her heart dying for him,
0:27:02 > 0:27:06or how she will be his as long as life endures.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09But you can read it as placatory.
0:27:09 > 0:27:14Maybe she was telling him what he wanted to hear to keep him quiet.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17After all, Thomas Culpeper was a dangerous man.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23Catherine met him again three weeks later,
0:27:23 > 0:27:25but this time they were noticed.
0:27:25 > 0:27:29And gossip about the Queen began to swirl around the court.
0:27:40 > 0:27:45On the 2nd of November 1541, All Souls' Day,
0:27:45 > 0:27:49a letter was left for the King to find in the Chapel Royal
0:27:49 > 0:27:51at Hampton Court.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55It contained some quite extraordinary allegations.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58It said that when his wife Catherine had been growing up
0:27:58 > 0:28:02she'd had sex with a cousin of hers called Francis Dereham,
0:28:02 > 0:28:06and also with a man called Henry Manox,
0:28:06 > 0:28:08who was her music teacher.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13When Henry read the letter he was sceptical,
0:28:13 > 0:28:15but he ordered an investigation.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20And the investigation led back to Catherine's childhood.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25Her mother died when she was young.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29Aged ten, Catherine was sent to live with her step-grandmother,
0:28:29 > 0:28:31the dowager Duchess of Norfolk,
0:28:31 > 0:28:36who ran a sort of boarding school for young ladies destined for court
0:28:36 > 0:28:37here at Chesworth Manor.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41She wasn't given much of a formal education,
0:28:41 > 0:28:43though she did get music lessons.
0:28:43 > 0:28:47She was meant to pick up a bit of polish from being part
0:28:47 > 0:28:48of a large household.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54Catherine and the other girls slept in a dormitory called
0:28:54 > 0:28:55the Maidens' Chamber.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00It was supposed to be locked up at night to keep them safe,
0:29:00 > 0:29:04but the arrangements in this household were a bit lax.
0:29:04 > 0:29:08The Duchess can be said to have failed in her duty of care
0:29:08 > 0:29:12towards these girls, because certain men of the household
0:29:12 > 0:29:14knew how to get hold of the key.
0:29:18 > 0:29:21When Catherine's family connections took her to court,
0:29:21 > 0:29:22none of this was mentioned.
0:29:22 > 0:29:26And of course, it would have been dangerous to talk about it
0:29:26 > 0:29:27once she was the Queen.
0:29:37 > 0:29:42After just 15 months as Queen, Catherine is to be interrogated
0:29:42 > 0:29:46about her past by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer.
0:29:50 > 0:29:54You must speak nothing but the truth, my child.
0:29:56 > 0:29:58Be calm.
0:29:58 > 0:29:59Take your time.
0:30:01 > 0:30:03We are here in God's company.
0:30:04 > 0:30:05There is no rush.
0:30:09 > 0:30:11Francis Dereham.
0:30:15 > 0:30:16You know this man well?
0:30:18 > 0:30:20Knew him, sir.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24It was many years ago, and I've not seen nor...
0:30:24 > 0:30:29Please, just simply explain your involvement with him.
0:30:33 > 0:30:34Long ago...
0:30:35 > 0:30:37..before I met the King,
0:30:37 > 0:30:40there was the possibility that Francis Dereham and I would marry.
0:30:40 > 0:30:41Indeed.
0:30:42 > 0:30:47There is talk that you referred to one another as husband and wife.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49Not by law.
0:30:49 > 0:30:51Not in the eyes of God.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54The King has been my true and only husband.
0:30:55 > 0:30:58Did you lie with Dereham?
0:31:02 > 0:31:03Yes, my lord.
0:31:05 > 0:31:07I must be truthful.
0:31:07 > 0:31:08You must.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12Have there been others?
0:31:13 > 0:31:15Before the King, apart from Dereham?
0:31:17 > 0:31:19Henry Manox perhaps?
0:31:20 > 0:31:21Please.
0:31:23 > 0:31:24Sit back down.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33Have you anything to say about this man?
0:31:33 > 0:31:35The choice to lie with him was not mine.
0:31:37 > 0:31:38I was a child.
0:31:39 > 0:31:41Yet, still...
0:31:43 > 0:31:46..the accusations are not without weight?
0:31:51 > 0:31:52They are not.
0:31:55 > 0:31:56I see.
0:31:56 > 0:31:58Please, my lord,
0:31:58 > 0:32:01I beg of you to tell the King that my heart is filled with sorrow,
0:32:01 > 0:32:04and assure him of my repentance.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07The fear of death is not as bad as this, my lord.
0:32:20 > 0:32:24Henry Manox had been her music teacher.
0:32:24 > 0:32:25And her cousin, Francis Dereham,
0:32:25 > 0:32:29he'd been one of those men with access to the key
0:32:29 > 0:32:31to the Maidens' Chamber.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35These two men had taken advantage of Catherine,
0:32:35 > 0:32:38and that's why it's so unfair that historians have called her
0:32:38 > 0:32:43a goodtime girl. Today, we'd call her an abused child.
0:32:46 > 0:32:51Henry Manox and Francis Dereham were arrested and sent
0:32:51 > 0:32:52to the Tower of London.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57They were interrogated by the Archbishop's men.
0:32:59 > 0:33:04And quite possibly, under torture, Catherine's cousin Francis Dereham
0:33:04 > 0:33:07admitted that he had had sex with her,
0:33:07 > 0:33:11he'd lain with her several times.
0:33:11 > 0:33:14This was a detail that was corroborated by ladies
0:33:14 > 0:33:17from Catherine's grandmother's household.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20What Cranmer and the King's advisers wanted to know next was,
0:33:20 > 0:33:25had the affair continued, even after Catherine had become Queen?
0:33:25 > 0:33:29No, said Francis Dereham, absolutely not.
0:33:29 > 0:33:32But that was only because she'd dumped him.
0:33:32 > 0:33:36He'd been replaced in Catherine's affections by somebody else -
0:33:36 > 0:33:37Thomas Culpeper.
0:33:40 > 0:33:44Culpeper, the serial seducer, had pressurised this vulnerable
0:33:44 > 0:33:47and abused girl into committing adultery.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50He denied the affair, but he wasn't believed.
0:33:50 > 0:33:54Catherine's love letter to him was found.
0:33:54 > 0:33:56This sealed their fate.
0:34:10 > 0:34:12Henry was devastated.
0:34:12 > 0:34:16But, as always, he gave his orders, and then he slipped away.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19Kings don't have to have difficult conversations.
0:34:19 > 0:34:23He left Hampton Court, said he was going hunting,
0:34:23 > 0:34:25and Catherine never saw him again.
0:34:27 > 0:34:31For several days she was left alone at the Palace.
0:34:31 > 0:34:35The King's absence must have told her that something was wrong.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39So cheerful and sociable in normal times,
0:34:39 > 0:34:42Catherine wasn't in the mood for merry-making.
0:34:43 > 0:34:47When musicians came to the Palace to play for the Queen
0:34:47 > 0:34:50they were sent away again. The exact words of the order,
0:34:50 > 0:34:53and this is really poignant, were,
0:34:53 > 0:34:56"Now is not the time for dancing."
0:35:01 > 0:35:04Finally, Catherine was arrested.
0:35:13 > 0:35:17Meanwhile, Thomas Culpeper and Francis Dereham
0:35:17 > 0:35:20were tried for treason and found guilty.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23Somehow Catherine's music teacher Henry Manox managed
0:35:23 > 0:35:27to get away with it, but the other two were less lucky.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30Francis Dereham was hung, drawn and quartered,
0:35:30 > 0:35:33and Thomas Culpeper, as his social superior,
0:35:33 > 0:35:37was given the rather more elegant death of beheading.
0:35:39 > 0:35:43The heads of the men who'd abused Catherine ended up on spikes
0:35:43 > 0:35:46on London Bridge.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49When the teenage Queen was taken to the Tower of London,
0:35:49 > 0:35:52she would have seen their rotting heads.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02It's the 12th of February, 1542.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07Catherine has also been convicted of treason,
0:36:07 > 0:36:10and is sentenced to die by beheading.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41It is a much more ordinary thing than I had imagined.
0:36:53 > 0:36:54No, my lady.
0:36:54 > 0:36:56Please, move away from me.
0:37:26 > 0:37:28I shall surrender myself to God.
0:37:54 > 0:37:58The next day, Catherine was brought to the scaffold
0:37:58 > 0:38:00erected on this spot.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03Her last words were extremely penitent.
0:38:03 > 0:38:07She spoke about her just and worthy punishment.
0:38:07 > 0:38:12She said that she'd offended God heinously ever since her youth,
0:38:12 > 0:38:16and she prayed for the preservation of her husband the King.
0:38:16 > 0:38:20Then she knelt down exactly as she'd practised,
0:38:20 > 0:38:24and her head was removed with a single blow of the axe.
0:38:51 > 0:38:55After the breakdown of his fifth marriage, it took Henry a whole year
0:38:55 > 0:38:59to recover. The Spanish ambassador reported that,
0:38:59 > 0:39:02"He certainly shows more sorrow at her loss
0:39:02 > 0:39:05"than at the loss of his previous wives."
0:39:05 > 0:39:10Henry was now old and ill and tired.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13Why not just remain a widower?
0:39:13 > 0:39:15But it simply didn't suit him.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18He craved female company.
0:39:18 > 0:39:20It was time for yet another new wife.
0:39:24 > 0:39:28Henry's sixth Queen would be Kathryn Parr.
0:39:28 > 0:39:33She may have a reputation for being the dullest of them all,
0:39:33 > 0:39:37but the real woman is altogether more intriguing.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41Kathryn had already got through two husbands.
0:39:41 > 0:39:46She was twice a widow, but she was a very merry one.
0:39:46 > 0:39:47She was witty, and pretty.
0:39:47 > 0:39:50She loved music and dancing.
0:39:50 > 0:39:54Although she came from a northern family, she'd grown up in London -
0:39:54 > 0:39:57her family's townhouse was here in Blackfriars.
0:39:58 > 0:40:00Kathryn was already involved
0:40:00 > 0:40:03with one of the court's most eligible bachelors,
0:40:03 > 0:40:05Jane Seymour's older brother, Thomas.
0:40:05 > 0:40:09But when Henry's eye fell on her, she couldn't say no.
0:40:12 > 0:40:17Henry was now 52, pretty old for Tudor times.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19He had his heir, Edward,
0:40:19 > 0:40:22and he may still have been holding out hope for a second son.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26But his health was deteriorating.
0:40:26 > 0:40:31He could no longer walk without help because of the ulcers on his legs.
0:40:31 > 0:40:35So the 30-year-old Kathryn would be more companion than lover,
0:40:35 > 0:40:37and a mother figure to his children.
0:40:39 > 0:40:43Henry must have been attracted to her warm personality,
0:40:43 > 0:40:46her sense of humour, maybe her intelligence.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49She was definitely the most intellectually curious
0:40:49 > 0:40:50of all of his wives.
0:40:50 > 0:40:55She was one of those people who just can't stop reading books.
0:40:55 > 0:40:59Their marriage was a small affair, there were only 20 people present,
0:40:59 > 0:41:02but they included Henry's daughters Mary and Elizabeth.
0:41:02 > 0:41:07It took place in July 1543, here at Hampton Court.
0:41:11 > 0:41:14What was Kathryn herself thinking?
0:41:15 > 0:41:19Well, we do know that she had hoped to marry somebody else.
0:41:19 > 0:41:23But also, she had a very highly developed sense of duty.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27And her duty was to God.
0:41:27 > 0:41:30She had her own reasons for marrying the King.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42It's wedding night number six for Henry,
0:41:42 > 0:41:46and he's waiting for his new Queen to arrive.
0:41:46 > 0:41:49- My Lord.- Oh, sweet lady.
0:41:49 > 0:41:51- There you are.- Always, my Lord.
0:42:06 > 0:42:07Gently, sister.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15Leave us.
0:42:20 > 0:42:21Thank you.
0:42:27 > 0:42:31It's just over a year after Catherine Howard's execution,
0:42:31 > 0:42:34and Henry is delighted with his new bride.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39Kathryn Parr was a model queen.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42Henry trusted her to rule in his absence,
0:42:42 > 0:42:45as he had done with his first Catherine, of Aragon.
0:42:45 > 0:42:49Today Kathryn Parr has rather a dowdy, nursey image.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52This isn't fair - she was actually rather glamorous.
0:42:52 > 0:42:57As soon as she got married she spent a lot of money on sumptuous clothes
0:42:57 > 0:42:58in bright colours.
0:42:58 > 0:43:01She bought satin for her nightgowns.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04Kathryn Parr's stepdaughter, the Princess Elizabeth,
0:43:04 > 0:43:08spent a lot of time watching and learning from her about
0:43:08 > 0:43:13how to be a queen. Yes, in matters of image, but also intellectually,
0:43:13 > 0:43:16Kathryn Parr was a real role model.
0:43:16 > 0:43:20There was only one problem with this picture of a happy family -
0:43:20 > 0:43:22Kathryn's religious views.
0:43:26 > 0:43:30England was still settling in to a new religious order as a result
0:43:30 > 0:43:32of Henry's split from Rome.
0:43:35 > 0:43:39He'd made himself head of his new church in England, but in his own
0:43:39 > 0:43:44personal religious beliefs, Henry was surprisingly old school.
0:43:44 > 0:43:45It's funny, isn't it?
0:43:45 > 0:43:49Because we think of him as having broken with Rome, but in his heart,
0:43:49 > 0:43:52Henry remained a Catholic.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55But there was a revolutionary new religion in England,
0:43:55 > 0:43:59it was growing in popularity, it would end up as Protestantism.
0:43:59 > 0:44:03And Henry's new wife Kathryn Parr was a believer.
0:44:03 > 0:44:07Now, Protestants thought that the Bible ought to be published
0:44:07 > 0:44:10in English, not Latin, that preaching ought to be
0:44:10 > 0:44:13done in English so that people could understand it.
0:44:13 > 0:44:16Not surprisingly, this was proving pretty popular
0:44:16 > 0:44:18with Henry's subjects.
0:44:19 > 0:44:21But not with Henry.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24He was quite horrified by the thought of people having
0:44:24 > 0:44:29direct access to the Bible. He complained about this in Parliament.
0:44:29 > 0:44:33He said that this most precious jewel, the word of God,
0:44:33 > 0:44:39was now being disputed, rhymed, sung and jangled
0:44:39 > 0:44:41in taverns and alehouses.
0:44:41 > 0:44:45And one person who was doing more jangling than anyone else
0:44:45 > 0:44:47was Henry's own wife, Kathryn Parr.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55Kathryn was an out and out evangelist.
0:44:55 > 0:44:58She believed that God had chosen her to marry Henry,
0:44:58 > 0:45:02just so she could spread the good news about the new religion.
0:45:02 > 0:45:06She even published a book - it was called Prayers Or Meditations.
0:45:06 > 0:45:08This was unprecedented -
0:45:08 > 0:45:12it was the first book to be published in English by a woman,
0:45:12 > 0:45:15let alone queen, and it was a bestseller.
0:45:17 > 0:45:20Now, Henry wasn't particularly bothered that she'd done this.
0:45:20 > 0:45:23He thought that it was a nice little hobby for her to have,
0:45:23 > 0:45:24that it was woman's work.
0:45:25 > 0:45:29But it did raise eyebrows in conservative circles
0:45:29 > 0:45:30close to the King.
0:45:30 > 0:45:34What Kathryn had done was, technically, illegal -
0:45:34 > 0:45:37women weren't supposed to preach the Word of God.
0:45:37 > 0:45:41And it would turn out that Kathryn wasn't the only female in the family
0:45:41 > 0:45:44with these potentially subversive religious views.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52The 12-year-old Princess Elizabeth is intelligent,
0:45:52 > 0:45:56devout and fluent in five languages.
0:45:58 > 0:46:02To Elizabeth it seems perfectly natural that she should start
0:46:02 > 0:46:06translating religious works, just like her stepmother does.
0:46:06 > 0:46:09It's New Year's Day 1546,
0:46:09 > 0:46:12and Elizabeth has decided to give her father
0:46:12 > 0:46:13a home-made New Year's gift.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16It's a translation that she's done herself.
0:46:19 > 0:46:21A gift from Elizabeth,
0:46:21 > 0:46:24made by her own fair hand.
0:46:24 > 0:46:26Happy New Year, Your Majesty.
0:46:26 > 0:46:28And what a precious gift it is.
0:46:30 > 0:46:31Oh!
0:46:45 > 0:46:47Do you recognise it, my Lord?
0:46:47 > 0:46:48The Queen's book, sire.
0:46:48 > 0:46:50Prayers Or Meditations.
0:46:57 > 0:46:59You seem unhappy, sire.
0:46:59 > 0:47:02And you cannot possibly guess why that might be?
0:47:05 > 0:47:08This is heresy.
0:47:08 > 0:47:11The Word of God defiled.
0:47:11 > 0:47:14It is a gift, made with love by your daughter.
0:47:14 > 0:47:16MY daughter.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22Were you aware that Elizabeth had committed herself to this,
0:47:22 > 0:47:23in spite of my beliefs?
0:47:23 > 0:47:24Sire, if I may say so,
0:47:24 > 0:47:27I see no reason why a difference of opinion on this matter
0:47:27 > 0:47:29should cause such upset between us.
0:47:29 > 0:47:31You see no reason?
0:47:31 > 0:47:34To deliberately provoke and insult me,
0:47:34 > 0:47:37and impose your faith on my child?
0:47:40 > 0:47:41The fault is mine, Father.
0:47:42 > 0:47:44Forgive me if I have offended you.
0:47:45 > 0:47:49I am thankful for your efforts, child.
0:47:50 > 0:47:53Of course, YOU are forgiven.
0:48:05 > 0:48:08So Kathryn is spreading the new religion
0:48:08 > 0:48:10through her impressionable stepdaughter.
0:48:10 > 0:48:14But on top of that, her work is also being read
0:48:14 > 0:48:16throughout the royal household,
0:48:16 > 0:48:17by her friends...
0:48:18 > 0:48:20..and her enemies.
0:48:27 > 0:48:31There was a faction at court plotting against Kathryn.
0:48:31 > 0:48:35They were conservatives, supporters of the old religion.
0:48:35 > 0:48:38They were worried about her reforming tendencies,
0:48:38 > 0:48:41and her growing influence on the elderly King.
0:48:42 > 0:48:45They whispered in Henry's ear and exploited
0:48:45 > 0:48:48his impatience with his wife.
0:48:48 > 0:48:51The Queen was getting too powerful, they warned.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54She was a Protestant, a heretic.
0:48:54 > 0:48:55She must be burnt at the stake.
0:48:57 > 0:48:59But Kathryn was one step ahead of them.
0:49:08 > 0:49:10Take these and destroy them as soon as possible.
0:49:10 > 0:49:11My lady, that's sacrilege.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14Would you rather be destroyed yourself?
0:49:14 > 0:49:17Please, let us not suffer the pain of death for our convictions.
0:49:17 > 0:49:20As ever, place your trust in God.
0:49:20 > 0:49:21KNOCK AT DOOR
0:49:28 > 0:49:29Do not let fear consume you.
0:49:29 > 0:49:31Go about your business as usual,
0:49:31 > 0:49:34but speak not a single word of this to anybody.
0:49:35 > 0:49:38Take comfort in the Lord.
0:49:38 > 0:49:39It shall pass.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52Kathryn knows how much danger she's in,
0:49:52 > 0:49:54but she doesn't panic.
0:49:54 > 0:49:57She and her ladies have acted quickly and decisively -
0:49:57 > 0:50:00they've destroyed their heretical books.
0:50:00 > 0:50:03But now Kathryn needs to save herself.
0:50:03 > 0:50:05She needs to confront the King.
0:50:05 > 0:50:09She's heard that the King's been persuaded to sign a warrant
0:50:09 > 0:50:10for her arrest.
0:50:13 > 0:50:16It seems such a time since we sat together like this.
0:50:18 > 0:50:20I have missed your company.
0:50:20 > 0:50:23There has been much to cloud the mood of late.
0:50:24 > 0:50:28Please speak freely, sire, I have nothing to hide from you.
0:50:29 > 0:50:32You're fully aware of my concerns.
0:50:32 > 0:50:34I feel no need to go over them again.
0:50:34 > 0:50:39Indeed, perhaps it is the fact that you possess no inclination
0:50:39 > 0:50:43to hide your opinions from me that has become the problem.
0:50:43 > 0:50:47You wish for a queen who will remain impassive and obedient
0:50:47 > 0:50:50at all times? I shall forever be obedient, my Lord,
0:50:50 > 0:50:53but I cannot be impassive.
0:50:53 > 0:50:57It is this which allows me to serve you to the best of my capabilities.
0:50:57 > 0:51:01To vigorously defend and protect our marriage
0:51:01 > 0:51:03by attending to your every need...
0:51:04 > 0:51:06..is my greatest joy.
0:51:08 > 0:51:09That is not in question.
0:51:11 > 0:51:12The problem...
0:51:13 > 0:51:17..is the articulation of your new-found belief,
0:51:17 > 0:51:19and its contradiction with mine.
0:51:22 > 0:51:24Do not forget your place, madam.
0:51:25 > 0:51:30If I engage in debate,
0:51:30 > 0:51:35it is only so that I may benefit from your clear instruction,
0:51:35 > 0:51:38not because I look to defy or contradict you.
0:51:41 > 0:51:45Forgive me, my lord, your happiness is above everything else.
0:51:47 > 0:51:48Please.
0:51:50 > 0:51:51Keep your faith with me.
0:52:04 > 0:52:06What is it?
0:52:06 > 0:52:10Your Majesty, I have here a warrant for the arrest of Queen Kathryn.
0:52:12 > 0:52:14On what charge?
0:52:14 > 0:52:15Heresy, my lord.
0:52:31 > 0:52:33You may leave now.
0:52:34 > 0:52:37Your Majesty, my instructions are...
0:52:37 > 0:52:42Your instructions come from your King, and I instruct you to leave.
0:52:42 > 0:52:43Now.
0:52:46 > 0:52:47Get away from here!
0:53:06 > 0:53:12So Kathryn has succeeded where all Henry's previous wives have failed.
0:53:12 > 0:53:16She's been to the brink of disaster, but somehow,
0:53:16 > 0:53:19she's managed to soothe his suspicions.
0:53:19 > 0:53:23This is partly Kathryn's own cleverness and good sense,
0:53:23 > 0:53:27but it's also because Henry's old now, and frail.
0:53:27 > 0:53:30Kathryn suits him pretty well.
0:53:30 > 0:53:33And in his own funny way, he loves her.
0:53:33 > 0:53:38He doesn't have the energy now to go hunting for yet another wife.
0:53:51 > 0:53:54Harmony is restored to the royal household,
0:53:54 > 0:53:57and Kathryn wisely keeps her faith to herself.
0:54:00 > 0:54:02But Henry's health is rapidly declining.
0:54:04 > 0:54:07He's spending more and more time apart from Kathryn
0:54:07 > 0:54:11and his children, closeted away with only his most trusted advisers.
0:54:13 > 0:54:17It's almost as if he's ashamed of his impending mortality.
0:54:21 > 0:54:28Henry VIII died in the small hours of the 28th of January, 1547,
0:54:28 > 0:54:31and his nine-year-old son, Edward, was crowned king.
0:54:33 > 0:54:37Kathryn was charged with bringing up the young Princess Elizabeth,
0:54:37 > 0:54:40and four months later Kathryn married Thomas Seymour,
0:54:40 > 0:54:44the man she'd been in love with before she became Queen.
0:54:46 > 0:54:48Finally, at the age of 36,
0:54:48 > 0:54:51everything came together for Kathryn Parr.
0:54:51 > 0:54:53She got pregnant.
0:54:53 > 0:54:56She had the life she wanted, she had the man she wanted.
0:54:56 > 0:55:00But then, like so many Tudor women,
0:55:00 > 0:55:03it was childbirth that got her in the end.
0:55:03 > 0:55:07Her daughter was born, and a week later Kathryn died.
0:55:24 > 0:55:28But that's not the end of the story.
0:55:28 > 0:55:32After all the efforts that Henry's six wives made to give him a son,
0:55:32 > 0:55:35young King Edward would only rule for six years,
0:55:35 > 0:55:37and he too died.
0:55:37 > 0:55:40And so Henry's daughters became Queen -
0:55:40 > 0:55:45Mary, born to Catherine of Aragon, and Elizabeth, born to Anne Boleyn.
0:55:45 > 0:55:50Queen Elizabeth I would rule England for 44 years,
0:55:50 > 0:55:53and you've got to agree that she was our greatest monarch ever.
0:55:56 > 0:56:00Isn't it ironic that despite the infidelities,
0:56:00 > 0:56:05and despite the miscarriages, and the divorces, and the beheadings,
0:56:05 > 0:56:09despite all that drama that the six queens endured
0:56:09 > 0:56:11to try to give Henry a male heir,
0:56:11 > 0:56:15that, in the end, the Tudor dynasty was secured by a woman?