The
lowdown: 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII' is a BBC miniseries starring
Keith Michell as King Henry. First broadcast
in 1970, it comprises six
90-minute telemovies, each telling the story of one of Henry's wives -
Catherine of Aragon, Anne
Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne
of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr. The series begins with
Henry as a young
prince, who marries Catherine
of Aragon, the wife of his late brother, Prince Arthur. However, Catherine
is unable to give
Henry a male heir, and he
takes Anne Boleyn as his mistress and later his wife after having his first
marriage annuled
(which had major implications
for England's relations with the Vatican). While the focus of the series
is of course the King
and his wives, it also provides
a fascinating insight into the political intrigue of the Tudor period,
including the plot to bring
down Anne Boleyn by some
of Henry's advisers, and the religious upheaval in England that marked
Henry's reign.
Patrick Troughton plays Thomas
Howard, the third Duke of Norfolk, and one of the King's closest advisers.
Norfolk always
seems to be lurking behind
the scenes but has relatively little on-screen time in the first four episodes,
although Troughton
is superb in the scenes
in the second episode where Norfolk has to preside over the trial of his
niece, Anne Boleyn, who is
found guilty of adultery,
incest and treason, and sentenced to death by beheading. However, Norfolk
(and Troughton) come
to the fore in episode five,
in which Norfolk encourages the King to marry another of his nieces (Catherine
Howard), arguing
that the King needs another
woman in his life (although it was also part of Norfolk's devious plans
to strengthen the position
of himself and his family
at the court of King Henry). Norfolk also conspires to bring about the
downfall of another of the King's
advisers, Thomas Cromwell,
after the King's brief but unsuccessful marriage to Anne of Cleves, but
he falls out of favour with
the King after Catherine
Howard's treachery is revealed, and Norfolk is advised to retreat to his
estate in the North and never
return to the court of Henry.
The
verdict: 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII' is a superbly produced
BBC costume drama, that is both entertaining for the story
and also provides an interesting
history lesson for people who aren't very familiar with the past monarchs
of Great Britain. Keith
Michell is superb as Henry,
and plays the monarch from a young prince to an aged and grossly overweight
King at the end of
his life. The production
values are also very good, although some of the scenes that are supposedly
filmed outdoors are very
obviously in a television
studio. Some episodes would have benefited from being one hour long, but
overall this is a series
that is worth spending a
wet afternoon enjoying - two afternoons, really, as it goes for nine hours.
Quote:
Norfolk (sentencing Anne Boleyn)
'Your judgment is this, that you shall be
burned here within the tower on the green,
or that you will shall have your head smitten off, as the King's pleasure
shall be further known.
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