Six Wives with Lucy Worsley

Divorced,

beheaded,

died.

Divorced,

beheaded,

survived.

The story of Henry VIII and his six wives

is one of the best-known in history.

There's Catherine of Aragon, the bitter, abandoned first wife.

Anne Boleyn, the original "other woman".

Jane Seymour... bit of a doormat.

Then we've got Anne of Cleves, she was the ugly one.

Catherine Howard, the one who slept around.

And Catherine Parr, the saintly nurse.

But I'm going to tell you a very different story.

I'm going to take you back in time,

and into the private lives of Henry's six wives.

I'm going to see the story

from THEIR point of view,

and I'll watch as events unfold.

'.. and not defy the Church in this way!'

The fate of my soul is no longer your concern!

It will ALWAYS be my concern.

These events all really happened,

and were recorded in historical documents,

or reported by eyewitnesses.

I asked for his head.

Not his coat.

They reveal six complex women who lived in a dangerous age

as they struggled to survive being married to Henry VIII.

You are still prepared to question me?

Six wives, whose names were tarnished

by Henry's propaganda machine.

Six queens, whose stories I want to re-examine.

Is she here?

I'll observe their life at court.

I'll watch them romanced

by a charismatic king...

- Tell me you're the same. - Always.

.. who craves the company of women.

The King is a very... sociable man.

I'll show you how they fall from favour.

I am your loyal wife, my lord!

Leave, or I shall have you dragged from here.

I have here a warrant for the arrest of Queen Catherine.

I'll see how their reputations are destroyed...

I beg of you to tell the King that my heart is filled with sorrow.

And assure him of my repentance.

.. and lives cut short at the hands of a ruthless, brutal man.

Six children born!

Five of them dead!

This is the ultimate true story

of love, loss and betrayal.

Remember what happened to my last wife and queen?

It's the 18th of January, 1510.

Catherine of Aragon has been married to Henry VIII for seven months.

Da-da!

Excellently played, Maria.

Luck, my lady, nothing more.

Maud.

Who is it?

Nobody.

My darling lady.

- We frightened you? - Half to death!

I'm sorry.

Mmm...

We thought you ladies far too clever to be fooled.

What does the King think of my new robe?

Beautiful. Every inch of you.

What does the Queen think of the King's costume? - Quite the rogue!

Friends,

such a pity you have to leave us.

Henry VIII is a loving husband

to his Spanish queen, Catherine of Aragon.

Those two truly believe that theirs is a match made in Heaven.

A few hours and I miss you with all my heart.

I feel delirious.

What's wrong with me?

Perhaps you're coming down with a fever.

- Tell me you're the same. - Always.

Henry has been King of England for nine months

and Catherine is already pregnant.

We don't think of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon

ever being in love.

Catherine was his first wife,

and as the rhyme tells us,

the one he divorced.

The bitter ending of her marriage

has come to define her as an angry woman, obsessed with religion,

but I'm going to show you a different Catherine.

In reality, she was a steadfast and popular queen.

And for most of the 24 years of her marriage,

she really was rather good at handling

an increasingly difficult man.

In an age of arranged marriages,

that between Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon was unusual

because it was a love match.

He could have had his pick of all the ladies of the Court,

and he later said, that of all the ladies in the world,

he would, again, have chosen her.

She was a bit older than him.

When they married she was 23,

and he was about to turn 18.

But they did have quite a lot in common.

They were both the children of dynasties

that had recently come to power through conflict,

and they were both ambitious.

They wanted to create a bigger role for themselves,

and for England on the European stage.

Ambition was something Catherine had had instilled in her

from a very early age.

This is the extraordinary Alhambra Palace in Grenada.

This is the closest thing that Catherine had to a home.

It was just one of many palaces of her parents,

Queen Isabel of Castile

and King Ferdinand of Aragon.

The Alhambra was Catherine's favourite,

and, by far, the grandest palace in the whole of Spain

with its beautiful gardens.

But it was also a fortress that witnessed battles,

sieges and slaughter.

Catherine's parents were fearsome rulers.

They'd forged alliances, and united kingdoms.

Her mother, Isabel, was known as the "Warrior Queen".

And Isabel had big ambitions for Catherine. At the age of three,

she was promised in marriage to the heir of the throne of England...

we're not talking about Henry here, but his older brother, Arthur.

To Catherine's parents, this was a great opportunity...

a new dynastic alliance.

But to Catherine herself,

it meant that she'd have to go and live in a very different country,

almost a different world.

And once she'd left Spain,

she'd never see her parents again.

Aged just 15, Catherine landed on the shores of England,

there to marry Prince Arthur.

He was the same age.

But their marriage would be tragically short-lived.

After just a few months, Arthur sickened and died.

It must have been devastating for Catherine,

who was now a teenage widow.

Her father then tried to marry her off

to the new heir to the English throne,

Arthur's younger brother, Henry.

The Spanish and English kings spent seven years

trying to agree on the marriage contract.

Eventually, Henry's father called the marriage off.

But behind the King's back,

the young prince had grown rather fond of his Spanish princess.

And when the old king died,

the first thing the new king, Henry VIII, did

was to marry Catherine of Aragon.

So, Catherine and Henry were the ultimate thrusting power couple.

But top of the agenda for their marriage

was the continuation of the dynasty.

It was now her job to have children

and she did manage to get pregnant pretty easily.

It was only a few months later that the problems began.

Catherine's nearly five months pregnant

but it looks like she's had a miscarriage.

Has the King been told?

Not yet, my lady.

Then he must know.

Somebody fetch him.

Wait!

What is it?

Please, speak.

I'm confident, Your Highness,

the situation is not as we had feared. - How so?

You are still with child.

- It's impossible. - I have taken the utmost care,

a thorough examination has been made, and the evidence is there.

My womb is empty.

I've seen the evidence myself.

- How do you dismiss that? - I do not, Your Highness.

My explanation is thus.

A twin pregnancy.

One child lost,

the other child continuing to grow.

Your belly is still full.

You're certain?

Quite.

Then I must take your word.

The Queen will require meticulous care during her confinement.

Of course.

Thank you.

This is a miracle from Christ, is it not?

The weight of expectation that Catherine is under

to produce an heir to the throne is absolutely crushing.

Oh, quickly.

Can you feel it?

I think so.

A miracle.

On the physician's word,

relief and excitement flood through the royal household...

.. and preparations for Catherine's confinement can proceed.

She will spend the last month before the birth locked away

with her personal servants, including her ladies-in-waiting.

The Tudors believe that disease travels through the air,

so the floors, doors and windows of her chambers are sealed