Divorce, Tudor style. As the Catholic Church struggles in vain to control Henry VIII's demands for an annulment, the King appoints himself head of the Church of England. A cook is blackmailed into poisoning a high-ranking bishop; then boiled alive for his crime. When Anne Boleyn insists Henry break all contacts with Katherine, the noble Queen is banished from court. The Reformation has begun. More

Christmas at the Tudor court is a time for ringing in the new. Mistress Anne Boleyn has replaced the banished Queen Katherine. The King's chaplin, Thomas Cranmer, makes a fact-finding visit to Lutheran Germany while Henry withdraws both the authority and taxes of the Catholic Church at home. And a royal visit to France finally convinces Anne to consummate her relationship with Henry, even as his best friend Charles Brandon suggests that she is no virgin.More

Henry destroys all ties with authority and the past. After many failed attempts to have his marriage to Katherine annulled by the Catholic Church, Henry runs out of patience and marries Anne Boleyn in secret. He appoints the young Lutheran Thomas Cranmer to the head of the Church of England and strips Queen Katherine of her title and status.More

Questions of faith dominate the court. As the infant Princess Elizabeth is baptised, the 'Act of Succession' is unveiled declaring that only children of Henry and Anne are legitimate successors to the English throne. A law is passed where every Royal subject must take an oath, on pain of death, recognising the validity of the King's new marriage and the supremacy of Henry VIII in all matters.More

Attempts to legitimise the King's marriage and increase his power hit unmovable obstacles as Sir Thomas More and Bishop Fisher insist that only God can be head of the church. Imprisoned in the Tower of London they face likely execution unless they take the Oath of Allegiance. Meanwhile Henry's wandering eye continues to roam.More

As the Reformation gathers pace Sir Thomas Cromwell becomes ever more powerful as propagandist-in-chief of a new moral order. Royal confidence has given way to doubt. Henry is haunted by the memory of the executed Thomas More while Queen Anne Boleyn's insecurities border on paranoia. Her husband's affairs continue and an effort to have her daughter Elizabeth betrothed to a French royal is disappointed when the French King refuses to recognise that the infant Princess is of legitimate birth.More

As Thomas Cromwell's increasingly ruthless 'reforms' spread terror through an ever more vulnerable Catholic Church, Anne Boleyn has nightmares that her position at the King's side is under threat from the continued existence of former Queen Katherine and her daughter Mary. Meanwhile Henry is occupied by sad news and a happy encounter.More

At Henry's command Jane Seymour is made a lady-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn, to the discomfort and suspicion of the Queen. When Henry is seriously injured in a jousting match all thoughts turn to who might succeed him. There will be far-reaching consequences if Anne's pregnancy does not deliver a healthy son.More

Anne has lost a son and with it her last chance at a lasting marriage with Henry. The King's affections are shifting anyway: the Seymour family are awarded rooms at court and seem likely to replace the Boleyns as royal favourites. Several in the court begin to move against Anne who is accused of adultery. Arrests are made of suspected lovers and of Anne herself. All, including the Queen, are sentenced to death.More

Endings and beginnings. As Anne Boleyn awaits her death, painfully delayed by the executioner's late arrival, Henry visits Jane Seymour and asks for her hand in marriage. Declaring his marriage to Anne null and void means that their daughter Elizabeth becomes illegitimate and is no longer in line to the throne - clearing the way for a legitimate heir to come from his marriage with Jane. Henry begins this momentous event with a magnificent breakfast at which is served a dish reserved for the English King alone: an exquisite roasted swan.More

King Henry VIII, the young and ambitious monarch of England, prepares for war with France but is dissuaded by the diplomatic manipulation of his powerful Lord Chancellor, Cardinal Wolsey, who proposes that the King sponsor a "Treaty of Universal Peace." The harmony of the King's domestic affairs is threatened, however, when he discovers that Elizabeth Blount, the young and beautiful lady-in-waiting to his Queen, Katherine of Aragon, is pregnant with his child. More

Allegiances shift at home and abroad. Despite extravagant claims of loyalty to France during the "Field of Cloth of Gold" ceremonies, Henry contemplates an alliance with Charles V, King of Spain, who was recently named Holy Roman Emperor. Because he is dependent on the support of the French cardinals, Wolsey's chance to become Pope is threatened. A gift of Machiavelli's The Prince makes Henry wonder if it is better for a king to be loved or feared. For now, he sets about achieving both. He executes the scheming Duke of Buckingham for treason and celebrates the birth — by Lady Elizabeth Blount — of a first healthy baby son, whom he names Henry Fitzroy. More

A new and important ally sweeps into Henry's court in the form of Charles V, the most powerful man in Europe and nephew to Henry's wife, Katherine of Aragon. To protect the very significant alliance he hopes will aid in his bid for an English role in European affairs, the King is careful not to reveal to Charles the growing distance between himself and the Queen. However, affairs of the heart are more likely to unsettle Henry's resolve as he comes face-to-face for the first time with the beautiful Anne Boleyn. Unbeknownst to the King, he is being seduced by forces more calculating than any young woman. More

While Henry is named "Defender of the Faith" by a Pope grateful for his spiritual and political loyalty, fidelity is scarce in Henry's court. His sister, Princess Margaret, marries the decrepit King of Portugal, only to murder him soon after and returns to the lustful arms of Charles Brandon. The Duke of Norfolk and Sir Thomas Boleyn continue to conspire against Cardinal Wolsey. And the King grows ever more enamored of Anne Boleyn. His increasing disinterest in his Queen, and the realization that he still hasn't produced a legitimate heir to the Tudor dynasty, conjure an urgent desire for radical action. More

Henry is a king of passion and perseverance. Efforts at alliances — both personal and political — face setbacks, but the King remains undeterred. When his ally, Emperor Charles V, releases Francis I, their mutual enemy, from prison, he is stunned — but resolves to redirect his European ambitions. And when Anne Boleyn is insulted by his offer to make her his sole and unique mistress, it merely redoubles his passion and resolve to one day marry her. However, his separation from the most powerful political figure in Europe may prove easier to affect than an annulment from his wife. More

Personal and political allegiances continue to change in Henry's court. The King grows ever more confident in his role as monarch and more enamored of the young Anne Boleyn. Despite Cardinal Wolsey's influence and efforts — and much to the frustration of the King — the Catholic Church seems unable to make progress in Henry's petition for a divorce. This adds to the growing discomfort of the increasingly vulnerable Wolsey. More

Dark days for Tudor England. The mysterious sweating sickness, almost always fatal to those who catch it, runs rampant. A food shortage adds to the suffering. Henry's natural optimism and energy take a beating as the King's confidence gives way to doubt and delusions. But after darkness comes light. The plague begins to disappear and the King receives news that his mistress, Anne Boleyn, has miraculously survived. Even better, an envoy of Pope Clement is on his way to England to finally convene a court which will decide on Henry's request for a divorce. More

Pope Clement's special envoy arrives in London to oversee the court deciding upon the legitimacy of Henry's marriage to Katherine of Aragon. The findings of this trial will have far-reaching consequences: the future of the King's amorous relationship with Anne Boleyn, Cardinal Wolsey's career and influence, and England's relationship with Rome all hang in the balance. More

Cardinal Wolsey's fall is quick and pitiless. Stripped of office and authority, he is banished from the court and sent far from his much-beloved King. His unlikely successor is Sir Thomas More, a man unlike the overbearing Wolsey in every way but one — his loyalty to Henry. More

Cardinal Wolsey is down but not yet out. Although exiled, he tries to gather last-minute support from his old enemy, Queen Katherine. She hesitantly agrees to his plan, as she finds herself in a situation similar to that of the fallen Cardinal. But their plot is intercepted by the King's new advisors and Wolsey must pay the ultimate price. More