[Thunder rumbles]
'The day after Queen Anne Boleyn
was beheaded on Tower Green
'her lady-in-waiting
was rowed up the river Thames
'towards the royal palace.
'The lady-in-waiting
was Jane Seymour.
'She was to be King Henry's new wife.
'The dead queen's body
was scarcely cold
'but the next queen was
on her way to be betrothed to a man
'who had banished one wife
and beheaded another.'
There was a complete contrast
between Henry's
second and third wives.
They were night and day,
heaven and hell.
Anne Boleyn was a dramatic brunette
with smouldering black eyes
and a spirit and temper to match.
She was capable of arousing Henry
to heights of passion
and to fits of sputtering rage.
Jane Seymour, in contrast, was fair,
so fair that she was almost pallid.
She had pale blue eyes,
mousy blonde hair
and a little, receding chin.
And she was quiet,
demure, submissive -
the perfect little woman,
the model Tudor wife.
But can she really
have been such a doormat?
After all she had helped engineer
Anne Boleyn's downfall
and she'd stepped to her throne
pretty coolly through her blood.
'In order to marry Anne,
'Henry had made himself the
Supreme Head of the English Church
'in place of the Pope.
'Traditional Catholics were appalled
by Henry's religious revolution
'and Jane Seymour was among them.
'She had been lady-in-waiting
'to the deeply Catholic
Catherine of Aragon
'and she hoped that Henry too
would return to the true faith.
'So as Henry flirted with Jane,
'traditionalists
led by Sir Nicholas Carew,
'were delighted -
but they had a powerful enemy.
'Thomas Cromwell had his own agenda
for radical religious reform,
'so behind the scenes
'he would always fight
Jane's influence on his master.
'Henry wasn't taking Jane
particularly seriously.'
He was grooming her to be
a casual mistress, not a wedded wife.
So he used his usual,technique
of seduction
he sent her a letter
full of high-flown sentiments
and a purse with money
in payment for services
which, no doubt
he thought would be rendered.
'And Jane might have remained
just that,
'one of Henry's many mistresses,
'but her response to his gift
transformed her life
'and sealed the fate
of her mistress, Anne Boleyn.'
She rejected the money and
she handed the letter back unopened,
then flung herself on her knees
and addressed the King
through his messenger.
[Anne] 'l am a gentlewoman
'of good, honourable parents
without reproach
'and l have no greater riches
in the world than my honour,
'which l would not injure
for a thousand deaths
'and if the King wishes
to make me some present of money
'l beg it might be when God enables
me to make some honourable match.'
'It was a masterpiece of seduction
'presented as virtuous refusal.
'For Henry,
this was powerrfully attractive.
'Jane had been coached
by Nicholas Carew,
'who told her to play up
her natural demureness
'to lure the king away from
the stridently sexy Anne Boleyn.
'Manipulating Henry's affections
was a dangerous game
'but Carew had chosen the
right moment and the right woman.'
Henry had been bowled over
by Jane's performance.
She'd offered herself
to him as his wife
and he accepted her with enthusiasm.
His behaviour towards her
transformed accordingly.
From having been
the hardened seducer
he became the respectful suitor.
He would only see her
with a chaperone
so Jane, her brother
and her sister-in-law
were moved into a secret apartment
next to the King.
Meanwhile, as the King
and his new wife-to-be
were enacting this parade of virtue,
Henry's old wife, Anne Boleyn,
was being sent to her death
on trumped up charges
of multiple adultery,
incest and perversion.
'Ten days after her execution,
'Henry and Jane were secretly married
in the Queen's Closet.
'Jane took as her motto
"Bound to obey and serve"
'but she never surrendered
her distinctly Catholic faith.
'As soon as she became Queen
'Jane put her own stamp on the court.
'In particular, she expected
her ladies to be models of virtue.
'They were advised to be sober,
sad, wise, discreet and lowly
'and above all things,
obedient and willing to be governed.
'They were banned from dressing
in seductive French fashions
'and instead had to wear
traditional English dress.'
Jane's new style
came as a blessed relief
to the King and the court.
"We have come
from hell into heaven,"
remarked one of
Henry's oldest friends.
But the real question
was whether England would now
come to heaven in a new way.
Religion was one of the areas
where 16th-century women
had a certain freedom of action.
Anne Boleyn had pushed that
freedom to the limits and beyond
in favour of religious reform.
Jane Seymour's religious beliefs
were as sincere as Anne's
but they were the opposite.
She was a pious Catholic,
not a radical reformer.
But would Jane
be as persuasive for her beliefs
as Anne had been for hers?
Henry had begun
to reform the Church
for the love of his second wife.
Would he undo what he had done
go back to Catholicism,
perhaps even to Rome
for the love of his third?
'The first test of Jane's influence
was in defence of the Princess Mary,
'daughter of Catherine of Aragon.
'Mary had been brought up
a devout Catholic
'and under Anne Boleyn,
had been pronounced illegitimate.
'But Mary refused
to acknowledge her demotion
'and when the sympathetic Jane
replaced hostile Anne,
'Mary's supporters saw a chance
to get her rehabilitated.
'Their leader, Nicholas Carew
'urged Jane
to approach Henry directly.
'But Jane was no mere instrument,
'she had a deep
personal loyalty to Mary
'and she made her cause her own.
'But there were real dangers
in doing what Carew wanted.'
Even to name Mary
as heir was treason.
Henry's temper
was notoriously unreliable
and Jane's own position
was far from secure.
Neverrtheless, Jane was prepared
to risk everything
out of conscience and conviction.
'Jane begged her husband
to restore Mary to the succession.
'Henry told her she was a fool.
'Instead she should be
begging for their children
'to be made heirs to the throne.
'But Jane stuck to her g*ns -
'their children would only be safe
'if justice were done to Mary
'and Mary was made heiress once more.
'Jane spoke, she said...'
[Jane]
'l ask not for the good of others
'but for the tranquillity
of the King,
'of the children
we might have together
'and of the kingdom in general.'
[David] 'But Jane
was playing with fire.
'Henry was determined
'that Mary should surrender
absolutely to his will.'
Suddenly, Mary's friends
were summoned before the council
and interrogated about
their activities on her behalf.
If Mary did not surrender,
it was now clear all of them
perhaps even Jane herself,
faced charges of treason
on grounds of illegally
tying to change the succession.
Fortunately for Jane, Mary,
confronted with this choice
between the lives of her friends
and her conscience, surrendered
acknowledged that her
mother's marriage had been ill*gal
and that she was a b*stard.
Jane's first interrvention in politics
had backfired horribly.
She had hoped
that Mary's rehabilitation
would mark the beginning
of a Catholic restoration.
Instead Mary had acknowledged
the basic Reformation principles.
For the King's wife,
as well as the King's daughter,
absolute obedience, it seemed
was the only safe strategy.
'Jane had lost the first battle
to restore Mary
'and with her, the old religion.
'But she didn't give up.
'Whatever the risks
she would try again'.
'It was the autumn of 1536.
'Jane had been Queen
for almost six months
'but her Catholic followers
were in despair.
'Her influence over Henry
'had not been
as strong as Cromwell's.
'The dissolution
of the monasteries had begun -
'churches were being r,educed
to roofless ruins
'holy shrines and images
were being smashed
'and the relics of saints burned.'
Now only direct action
could halt the attack on the Church.
Catholic courtiers like Carew
had too much at stake
to dare to risk it
but in the countyside,
men were bolder.
In the autumn of 1536
a great revolt known
as the Pilgrimage of Grace broke out.
It started in Lincolnshire
and soon engulfed
the whole north of England.
Nobles and peasants joined together
and found a charismatic leader
in Robert Aske.
"Restore the monasteries
and burn the heretics!" they cried.
'It was the greatest crisis
of Henry's reign.
'The rebel forces were
very strong and even in the south,
'Henry couldn't trust
the loyalty of his nobles.
'Jane faced a tremendous dilemma.
'Her sympathies were
with the aims of the rebellion.
'Her duty was to her husband,
'the husband who, she believed
was sinning against God.
'Finally,
she dared to question directly
'the King's religious policies.
'She remarked that perhaps
God permitted the rebellion
'because the King
had ruined so many churches.
'Henry reminded her
that the last queen had died
'in consequence of meddling
too much in state affairs.'
"Don't meddle with my affairs
and remember Anne Boleyn."
Henry's words
were an awful warning
which Jane, unlike Anne,
had the good sense to accept.
Neverrtheless, her real opinions
were common knowledge,
so much so that
at the height of the revolt,
open negotiations took place
in the Queen's chamber
to get a nunnery
exempted from the dissolution.
The incident was investigated
and could have led to
a charge of treason against Jane
for supporting the rebels' demands.
'But the charges never came.
'Henry wasn't strong enough
to defeat the rebels militarily,
'instead he had to negotiate.
'He told the rebel leaders
that Jane would accompany him
'on a tour of reconciliation
to the north.
'She would even be crowned
at York Minster
'as the north's own Catholic Queen.
'The rebels were jubilant.
'Their faith in Queen Jane
had been justified.
'That Christmas
there was peace and joy.
'The rebel leaders were invited
as guests to court.
'The King and Queen
were blessed by the clergy.
'All the old Christmas traditions
were kept.
'Jane was triumphant.
'She had helped to reconcile
Henry with his subjects
'and then she gave him something
that he wanted even more.'
[Bells ringing]
'She was pregnant.
'Henry was transported with joy.'
[Henry] 'Our dear and entirely
beloved wife, the Queen
'now quick with child,
'for the which we give
most humble thanks to Almighty God.'
[David] 'But even as he celebrated,
Henry betrayed Jane.
'He had never intended
to give in to the rebels,
'he'd simply used their love
of the Queen to help pacify them.
'Now he cancelled her tour
of the north and her coronation.
'He ordered the arrest
of the rebel leaders
'and as the Te Deum was sung
in celebration of Jane's pregnancy,
'their heads
were spiked on Tower Bridge.'
On the 9th of October
Jane's labour pains began.
They continued
for two agonising days.
By the 11th, there were real fears
for the life of both
the Queen and her child
and special prayers
were offered up for their safety.
Early the following morning,
the efforts of the nurses
and midwife were rewarded
and at two a.m., it was all over.
'The baby was a boy,
'a healthy baby boy.
'For the first time
'in almost 30 years of marriage
to three different wives
'Henry had an heir.
'Jane was now everything
he could wish for.'
There was an outpouring
of national rejoicing.
God had smiled on England.
The baby was
a new John the Baptist.
God Himself was English.
But most triumphant of all was Jane.
She had given Henry
his longed-for son and heir.
Whatever she said or did now
she was secure.
Whatever she asked for
Henry surely would grant.
[Jane] 'Right trusty and well
beloved we greet you well,
'by the inestimable goodness
and grace of the Almighty
'are we delivered and brought
in childbed of a prince,
'conceived in most lawful matrimony
'between my lord
the King's majesty and us.'
[Intoning in Latin]
'The christening
was a sumptuous affair.
'The Seymours and their allies,
'their position immeasurably
strengthened by the birth,
'took pride of place.
'That same day,
Jane suddenly became ill.
'She entered into
a protracted delirium.
'The King's ministers
blamed her attendants
'for allowing her to catch cold
and eat strange food.
'In reality it was puerperal fever.
'Her bruised and torn tissues
had become infected.
'Soon septicaemia set in.
'The court prayed
that she would be spared,
'processions were made in London...
in vain.
'On the 24th of October, 1537
the Queen died.'
Jane was the queen
who satisfied Henry best.
She gave him a son
and she displayed
a proper wifely submission.
But behind the submission
were serious convictions
and a real courage,
if one that sensibly
knew its limitations.
Yet Jane's story finally
is one of promise unfulfilled.
Eveybody had expected, and Jane
herself had passionately hoped,
that her marriage to Henry
would've lead to the restoration
of real Catholicism in England.
It hadn't happened.
Would things have been different
if Jane had lived?
l doubt it
because Henry, it turned out,
was even more wedded to
his supremacy over the English Church
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
than he was to Jane,
and not even for Jane,
his true and best beloved wife
and not even for Jane,
his true and best beloved wife
would he give it up.
Jane had fought a battle
for herself and English Catholicism
and she'd lost.
'Henry was stricken with grief
and withdrew from the court.
'Cromwell took affairs of state
into his own hands.
'Now, perhaps,
he could find Henry a wife,
'perhaps one more sympathetic
to his own religious ambitions.
'Perhaps he would find her abroad?
'He wrote to the English
ambassadors in France -
'the happy news
of the new prince...
'the tragic news
of the death of the Queen
'and the interesting news
'that the King
was in need of a new wife.
'The kingdom had a new heir
but no queen.
'For the first time, Henry was alone
'and he had no appetite
for a new wife.
'But one son wasn't enough.
'Henry's own elder brother had died.
'The Tudor dynasty
was not yet secure.
'Reluctantly,
Henry accepted Cromwell's pressure
'to find yet another new wife -
swiftly.
'The search for a new queen
extended across Europe
'but Henry had disposed of
three wives
'and at 46 he was no longer
the attractive young man he'd been.
'Princess after princess
turned him down.
'Christina of Milan
is supposed to have said
'that if she had two heads
she'd be delighted to marry him.
'Henry commented
that he needed a big wife
'and Mary de Guise was put forward.
'She replied
that she might be a big woman
'but she'd a very little neck.'
Early in the proceedings,
a young princess
of the west German duchy of Cleve
had been mentioned
as a possible bride.
She was a long shot
but as the other
more desirable candidates
either made their excuses
or got married,
she became the frontrunner.
Cromwell had his own motives
diplomatic and religious,
for pushing Henry
towards a German bride.
Henry was quite impressed
by her family connections
but he would commit himself
only if he could be persuaded
that he would find
her physically attractive.
'The court painter, Hans Holbein,
'was sent to make a portrait
of the new woman.
'Her name was Anne of Cleves
and Henry's ambassadors raved
'about the beauty
of her face and body.
'Cromwell worked hard on Henry
to choose Anne.
'The Cleves marriage
would protect England
'from the Catholic threat
of Spain and France
'and enable Cromwell to
attack his Catholic enemies at home.
'Anne was no Renaissance woman.
'She couldn't sing or dance
or speak foreign languages.
'But she was good with needlework.
'Then the portrait
arrived back in England.
'Holbein had concentrated on
Anne's magnificent dress,
'leaving her face as a passive,
almost dreamy, mask.
'Henry took Holbein's image
as a blank canvas
'onto which he projected
his fantasies of the ideal wife.
'Cromwell had won.'
The problem was
how to get Anne to England safely
because there was a real risk
that she might be captured
by Henry's two enemies -
France and the emperor Charles V.
There were two possible routes -
one by sea, the other by land.
Henry sent out two experienced
pilots to spy out the sea route
and he was so excited
by their reports
that he had
this special chart drawn up.
Here is England
with the cross of St George
and a marvellous
early view of London.
And across here there is Anne
embarking at the port of Cleves',
crossing the Zuiderzee
and out into the North Sea.
And here she is in Henry's flagship,
flying the Royal Standard
and the pennants of St George.
Unfortunately for Henry's
schoolboy derring-do,
the Cleves ambassadors objected
that such a long sea voyage
in the middle of winter
might damage
Anne's delicate complexion.
In any case, the international
situation calmed down
so it was decided
to bring Anne by land instead
and a new chart was drawn up.
'Anne's entourage set off
across Flanders towards Calais.
'Reports of the princess grew -
'she was tall, had excellent beauty
and notable virtues.
'She crossed to Dover
'and, as she travelled through
her strange new county,
'Anne endeavoured
to learn about Henry.
'She asked to be taught card games
that he liked
'and began to learn
English etiquette.
'Her new companions
found her most unusual.
'Her German clothes and manners
'were entirely different
from those at court.
'After weeks of travelling
and much delayed by bad weather,
'she arrived at Rochester.'
It's New Year's Day
and Anne is watching
the ceremonial bullfight
from the window of her chamber.
The door opens...
and some unknown
English gentlemen appear.
'Anne has no idea
who they are and nobody tells her.
'The unrecognised king
presents her with a gift,
'which Anne accepts politely
but without enthusiasm.'
The gentlemen then leave and
come back without their disguises.
This time their leader
is wearing the royal purple
and everybody else
bows to him deeply.
'It is Henry,
come to see whether Anne is indeed
'as pretty as her picture,
'the picture with which
he'd fallen so deeply in love.'
[Henry] 'Alas, whom should man trust?
'l see no such thing
in her as hath been showed me of her
'and am ashamed that men have
so praised her as they have done.
'l like her not.'
It was a comedy of errors
which had got the relationship
off to the worst possible start.
'He had been re-enacting a scene
'from one of the
chivalric romances of his boyhood.
'In theory, the loved one, Anne,
'should have picked out
her disguised lover, Henry,
'from amongst his companions
'and it would have been
love at first sight.'
Alas for theory.
Anne hadn't even noticed him.
As for Henry,
the violence of his initial reactions
took him and everybody eke
by surprise.
'Henry was furious.
'He felt that he'd been lied to
about her appearance
'and that Cromwell
had tricked him into the match
'for political reasons.
'Cromwell replied they couldn't
just return her to Germany.
'There seemed to be no way out.
'But while he raged
at Cromwell in private,
'Henry continued to behave
with impeccable politeness
'with Anne in public.
'She had no idea
what he thought about her.'
[Henry] 'l see nothing
in this woman as men report of her
'and I marvel that wise men
'would make such report
as they have done.'
'Anne's German dress
had got things off to a bad start.
'It seemed heavy and lumpen.
'Still worse
her complexion was dark,
'so unlike
Jane's fashionable pallor
'and her full figure
was very different
'from Anne Boleyn's
pretty little breasts.'
Cromwell was ordered to find Henry
a way out of the trap.
The first idea was to question
whether Anne was free to marry.
As a child she'd been contracted
to the Duke of Lorraine -
had the contract
been formally broken?
'The startled Cleves ambassadors
'duly swore that Anne's childhood
engagement to the Duke
'had indeed been broken, years ago.
'One means of escape
was now cut off.
'Henry tried another.
'Would Anne herself swear
that she was truly free to marry?'
She did swear.
The trap snapped shut,
there was no escape.
Henry submitted
with the worst possible grace.
"l must needs against my will
put my neck into the yoke."
'During all this,
'Anne was happily
preparing for her wedding,
'quite unaware of the
secret activity going on around her.
'She spoke only
a few words of English
'and the formality of the court
was so different
'from her provincial upbringing,
'so she had no way of telling
that anything was wrong.
'For her, this marriage
would be the cl*max of her life.
'She was marrying
one of the great kings of Europe.
'And her husband-to-be
'was treating her
with such kindness and generosity.
'The marriage finally took place
three days late.
'As Henry walked into
the ceremony he told Cromwell...'
[Henry] 'My lord, if it were not
to satisfy the world and my realm
'l would not do
what l have to do this day
'for none earthly thing!'
'But the wedding ceremony
was only the first hurdle.
'Now they had to go to bed together.
'The King and the Queen
were taken to the bedchamber
'by their attendants and undressed.
'The bed was blessed
and then the couple were left alone.
'But never had the two
been so far apart.
'Anne was completely unaware
of her new husband's thoughts.
'Henry was miserable
'but resolved to do his duty.'
The bedding of the couple
traditionally provided an excuse
for stag night-style ribaldry
but the older Henry
had become protective
of both his dignity and his privacy
and l doubt if anything
of the sort happened in 1540.
Neverrtheless, there was an echo
of the earlier, earthier tradition
for carved on the bedhead
that was almost certainly used
were two obscene images.
On one side there was a boy
sporting an enormous erection
and on the other
a heavily pregnant girl.
And whether Henry indeed performed
and Anne became pregnant
was on everybody's mind that night
and most heavily on Henry's.
The morning after, Cromwell asked
Henry how he'd liked the Queen.
"Even worse," came the grim reply,
"Even worse," came the grim reply,
because it had all been
a disastrous failure.
Henry liked his women
slim and virginal
so Anne's big breasts
and full belly had turned him off.
That night,
on the advice of his doctors
he didn't sleep with the Queen.
Then he tried again and again
and always with the same result.
But of course the blame
was thrown on Anne, not Henry.
The King told his doctors
he had had two wet dreams
he was capable of sex
with any other woman,
it was only Anne's loathsome body
that had rendered him impotent.
'But Henry told Anne
nothing of his feelings.
'Moreover, their public life
continued as normal.
'Anne was welcomed to London
with a water pageant.
'They celebrated Easter
together at Hampton Court.
'But it was all a pretence.
'After two months of failure
'Henry unburdened himself to
his principal gentleman-in-waiting.'
'Henry unburdened himself to
his principal gentleman-in-waiting.'
'Henry unburdened himself to
his principal gentleman-in-waiting.'
'Henry unburdened himself to
his principal gentleman-in-waiting.'
'Henry unburdened himself to
his principal gentleman-in-waiting.'
'Henry unburdened himself to
his principal gentleman-in-waiting.'
'Henry unburdened himself to
his principal gentleman-in-waiting.'
[Henry]
'She hath her breasts so slack
[Henry]
'She hath her breasts so slack
'and other parts in such sort
'that l could never be provoked
to know her carnally.'
[David] 'Cromwell, the architect
of the Cleves marriage,
'now feared that his triumph
would turn against him.
'As far as Anne was concerned
'everything in the garden
was still lovely.'
She presided over
the May Day festivities
with their celebration
of springtime and young love.
She even talked eagerly
about her forthcoming coronation.
Unfortunately, she couldn't see
what was happening under her nose.
Londoners were sharper eyed
and quickly realised the truth.
They'd seen the King's boat
crossing the Thames at night,
some even knew that
the object of the King's visits
was Catherine Howard
one of Anne's own ladies-in-'waiting.
'Then suddenly,
Henry made his aims all too clear.
'On the 10th of June, Cromwell
was arrested and taken to the Tower
'Henry's revenge for his part
in forcing him to marry Anne.
'A few days later, Harst,
the Cleves ambassador
'was summoned urgently to Anne.
'She wept, telling him that she'd
been ordered to leave the palace.'
Unknown to Anne
events were now moving quickly.
Henry had indeed
decided to get rid of her
and to marry the enchanting
Catherine Howard instead.
On June 29th, preparations
for the trial of her marriage began.
There were two grounds on which
it could be declared invalid.
The first was the pre-contract
between Anne
and the Duke of Lorraine.
The second was non-consummation.
But non-consummation
was difficult to prove.
Would the sordid details
about Anne's body,
at present known only
to a handful of Henry's intimates,
have to become public knowledge?
'The task of gathering
the evidence now began.
'Anne's ladies-in-waiting,
'probably acting under orders,
questioned her.
'They reported the Queen did not
believe herself to be pregnant
'and suggested that the marriage
hadn't even been consummated.
'The Queen is said
to have replied...'
[Anne] 'When the King comes to bed,
'he kisses me
and taketh me by the hand
'and biddeth me
"Goodnight, sweetheart."
'In the morning he kisses me
and bids me, "Farewell, darling."'
ls that not enough?
According to the report
of Anne's ladies
she did think that being kissed
by a man could get you pregnant.
ls it really conceivable
that a 25-year-old married woman
could be so innocent?
Nowadays the idea would be absurd
but even then, Anne's English
ladies found it pretty rum.
But Anne had been brought up
differently, in Germany,
in a puritanical, provincial court
where her mother
had taught her nothing.
Henry had done nothing
to enlighten her, either,
which is why it is conceivable
that she was so naive
as to think Henry's goodnight kisses
were enough for her -
but still more naively, for him.
'On the morning
of the 6th of July,
'the King's men were sent to
Anne to get her formal consent
'for a trial of the validity
of her marriage.
'Anne broke down at the news.
'It was the first that
she had heard of a divorce.
'But through her tears,
her resolution strengthened.
'The daughter of Cleves
would not give way meekly
'to Henry's pressure.
'The ambassador Harst comforted her.
'What Henry proposed was an outrage.
'Anne now showed a sharp legal brain
'that might enable her to escape.
'She asked to see the documents
about the Lorraine marriage.
'And then
when her requests were ignored,
'she sent urgently to Henry
again for the evidence.
'Henry replied that she should cease
sending messages to him.
'Without the evidence
and with no legal representation,
'Anne was helpless.
'On the 7th, the formal trial
of the marriage began.
'It moved extraordinarily quickly.
'At midnight on the 8th,
'she summoned her only
true friend in England -
'the ambassador, Harst.'
He finds Anne sobbing so violently
that it almost breaks his heart.
Earlier she had been told
that the court was minded
to find her marriage invalid.
"Reject the verdict," Harst advises.
Anne sends a messenger to Henry
to say she still regards,herself
as his true wife
that he is her lord and husband
and only God can part them.
'Harst told her she
had nothing to fear from Henry.
'She was a foreign princess
'and Henry would do nothing
against her.
'Perhaps, but both Harst
and Anne were taking a gamble.
'The very next day,
on the 9th of July, the court decreed
'that since the marriage
had never been consummated
'it had never existed.
'Anne was not Queen.
'And along with
the news of the divorce
'Anne was told that from now on
'she would be known not as the wife
'but as the Sister of the King.'
The King's Sister.
The extraordinary idea
of making Anne the King's Sister
had first been floated as a bait
to get her written agreement
to the divorce.
Now it remained
to work out the detail.
On the 14th, Henry offered terms.
Anne would be formally entitled
the King's Sister,
she would be given precedence
above everybody
apart from the Queen
and the King's children.
She would be given palaces
at Richmond and Bletchingley,
an income of 2,600 a year
and a great household.
Anne came back
with a series of queries.
Where was Bletchingley?
How many male servants?
How many female?
The questions
were eminently sane and sensible.
Anne's moment of hysteria and shame,
if that's what it was
had been brief.
Now she showed
a level-headed determination
to make the best of a bad job.
'Anne could now see herself
'in line with Henry's previous wives.
'Catherine had resisted his will
and been discarded.
'Anne Boleyn had been beheaded.
'Only Jane's wise obedience
had been rewarded.
'Anne realised she could do
no more to fight Henry's will.
'She too chose obedience
at least in public.'
[Anne] 'It may please
Your Majesty to know
'that though this case must
needs be most sorrowful unto me
'yet l accept Your Highness' goodness
and pleasure,
'the matrimony between us
is void and of none effect.'
[David] 'She signed herself...'
[Anne] 'Your Majesty's
most humble Sister and servant.'
'Henry, for the moment,
was reassured.'
But would Anne keep
her side of the bargain
or would she, as Henry feared,
avail herself of a woman's
privilege,
change her mind
and make trouble for Henry abroad
by complaining of
her treatment to her brother
the Duke of Cleves?
Actually, Anne was
far too realistic to think
that her brother could be
of much help to her in England.
But Henry could take no risks.
Anne had to write to her brother
in English and in German,
endorsing the official,version
of her divorce
and she was told that all
future communications with her family
had to pass through Henry's hands.
Anne tried to evade
the restrictions but in vain.
She had become Henry's sister
with the palaces,
the possessions and the status.
But the price
was the loss of her own family.
'Anne was now entirely alone.
'She was exiled
from the court she'd once ruled
'and self-exiled from her own county
'because she would not suffer
the shame of a discarded wife.
'Her public face was,
as ever, calmly accepting
'but her private feelings,
according to Harst's letters,
'were more complex.
'She wrote to Henry,
'returning her wedding ring
and asking him to crush it
'because, she said, she knew it to be
"a thing of no value".
'Henry made no reply.
'A month later
there was a new queen.'
It was New Year, 1541.
Exactly a year ago, Henry had
seen Anne for the first time
at the ill-fated meeting
at Rochester.
Now Anne herself
for the first time too
was coming to court
as the King's Sister,
not as his wife.
Henry's new Queen, Catherine Howard,
Anne's former lady-in-waiting,
had to be instructed on
how to behave to her old mistress.
But Anne knew exactly what to do.
She made a deep curtsy
and insisted on
addressing the Queen kneeling.
Catherine was embarrassed
so too was Henry,
who greeted Anne warmly
and invited her to supper.
And so the three of them -
the King, the Queen and the ex-Queen
all ate together as one happy,
if extraordinary, family.
'The marriage of Anne of Cleves
to Henry VIII
'had lasted less than six months.
'Not only had she survived but,
by her admirable good sense,
'she'd got a good deal
from her ex-husband
'and lived well for
the seven years until Henry's death.
'But afterrwards
her life became harder.
'One of the few letters
remaining from Anne
'in this period of her life
'is to her brother, asking for money,
'because she could
no longer afford to keep
'so many household servants.
'She ends it as her story began -
'"England is England
and we are strangers."
Welcome to our World! Where we serve you cookies to ensure you get the best viewing experience on our site.
Did you know that you can remove censorship board-wide, use our advanced search functions, be notified when new content is posted, join our memberships, set episodes to show in any order you want & more if you are logged into your account?
Register or sign in here: ucp.php?mode=register
Did you know that you can remove censorship board-wide, use our advanced search functions, be notified when new content is posted, join our memberships, set episodes to show in any order you want & more if you are logged into your account?
Register or sign in here: ucp.php?mode=register
01x03 - Jane Seymour and Anne of Cleves
Watch/Buy Amazon
Television documentary series about the wives of King Henry VIII presented by historian David Starkey from historic locations with added re-enactments.
Television documentary series about the wives of King Henry VIII presented by historian David Starkey from historic locations with added re-enactments.