Henry VIII (TV serial)
Encyclopedia
Henry VIII is a two-part British television serial produced principally by Granada Television
for ITV
. It chronicles the life of Henry VIII of England
from the disintegration of his first marriage to an aging Spanish princess
until his death following a stroke in 1547, by which time he had married for the sixth time. Additional production funding was provided by WGBH Boston, Powercorp and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
.
It stars Ray Winstone
in his first role in a costume drama. His co-star is Helena Bonham Carter
who played Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn
; her character dominates the first episode and her dramatic death brings the first part of the story to its conclusion. David Suchet
also makes an appearance as Henry's first chief minister, Cardinal Wolsey. The second episode, which follows the last eleven years of Henry's life, sees Winstone act opposite Emilia Fox
, as his docile third wife Jane Seymour
, Sean Bean
as Robert Aske, leader of the Pilgrimage of Grace
and Emily Blunt
(in her first major appearance) as Catherine Howard
, the promiscuous teenager who was coerced into becoming Henry's fifth queen.
mistaking his heir Henry VIII for his late son Arthur Tudor. Concerned for the fragile chances of his family’s dynasty
, the dying king implores his son to marry his brother's widow Katherine of Aragon and have a son to secure the family line. Fifteen years later Henry VIII is the most popular King to ever sit on the throne, but he still does not have a son by his Queen, only a daughter Mary
. Elsewhere at Hever Castle
in Kent the Boleyn Family celebrate the engagement of their daughter Anne
to Henry Percy
the future Earl of Northumberland
. The head of the family the Duke of Norfolk assures her father, Thomas Boleyn, that he has the king's ear on the match and that he will give them permission to marry. But once the roving eye of the king falls upon Anne, he quickly finds a reason for the marriage to be cancelled and wastes no time in persuading her for himself, even riding from his secluded coastal castle to Kent during an outbreak of illness. Resolved that Anne will not become his mistress, but his wife, the King instructs his chancellor Cardinal Wolsey to find a way for his marriage to his devoted wife to be annulled, prompting two opportunistic Protestants reformers, Thomas Cromwell and Thomas Cranmer
, to provide a way for the king to marry Anne Boleyn and bring untold wealth to his pocket but only if he breaks with the Catholic Church. Finally, his wife Anne is soon pregnant, only for Henry's hopes to be dashed. Instead of the longed for son and heir, Anne delivers a daughter, Elizabeth
, and Henry's ardor cools towards her, even more so when he meets the sister of two of his courtiers, Jane Seymour
. Despite the growing tensions between the King and Queen, Anne becomes pregnant once more but goes into premature labor and delivers a stillborn son. The first episode ends with an angry King Henry demanding Cromwell get rid of Anne which results in her subsequent trial and execution.
which have angered the English Catholics and united them into a huge army to march on London in protest calling it, the Pilgrimage of Grace
, headed by the King's former comrade Robert Aske
whom the King tricks into incriminating himself into treason and is sentenced to a gruesome traitor's death. Meanwhile the country is on edge as the heavily pregnant Queen goes into labour and finally gives birth to a son
much to Henry's joy although it is cut short when the Queen dies. Two years after the Queen's death, Cromwell, whose power has steadily risen through the days of Anne Boleyn encourages the King to consider marrying the Protestant Anne of Cleves
but once he sets sights on her, the King is repulsed and immediately seeks a way out of the marriage. Sensing the decline of Protestant influence the Duke of Norfolk devises a way to snatch the reign to power and arranges for his teenage niece Catherine Howard
to enchant the increasingly obese and terrifying King and to eventually marry him. It soon transpires that the young Queen has a promiscuous history and is carrying it on with a man in the king's service which the Protestant reformers seize as their opportunity to rid themselves of the Catholic faction. The Queen and her family are arrested and the young Queen dies at the hands of the executioner, like her cousin Anne Boleyn. With the demise of Catholic peers the reformers take the opportunity to consolidate their powers, enhanced by the wedding of the king to Catherine Parr
who attempts to unite the royal family. The film closes as the King reflects on his past loves. His obsession with Anne Boleyn, his quiet but steady affection for Jane Seymour, and his lust for the young Catherine Howard. Finally the king's over indulgent lifestyle catches up with him and he suffers a seizure and later dies in a scene reminiscent of the films opening, imploring his son to be successful as a man before he can be successful as a king. He dies with his son and last wife beside him.
The closing scene of the film provides a summary of the lives of the remaining characters, the summary is as follows.
The Duke of Norfolk escaped death. In time he was released from the Tower, given a full pardon and regained all his lands and power. Edward became King Edward VI, but his health was frail. He died of consumption aged fifteen. Edward Seymour, Lord Protector of England, ruled by proxy until 1551 when he was imprisoned in the Tower and beheaded. Thomas Seymour did finally marry Katherine Parr, but broke her heart when he attempted to seduce the fourteen year old Princesss Elizabeth. He was executed for treason in 1549. Bloody Mary came to the throne in 1553. She burned hundreds of Protestants as heretics and died embittered and unloved in 1558. Anne of Cleves outlived all the wives. Widely liked and respected, she was buried rich and popular with full honours. Thomas Cramner continued to lay the foundations for the Church of England, only to be arrested on the orders of Mary I and burnt as a heretic.
And what of Henry? After a lifelong struggle to give England an heir, his glorious successor was not a son, but a daughter. Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry and Anne Boleyn came to the throne in 1558 and ruled England for 45 years.
is pregnant by the King and Anne is engaged to be married (see below) when he first meets her.
Mary Boleyn is depicted as being pregnant but unmarried. In reality she had been married for over a year to William Carey before her affair with the king began and so would not have needed Wolsey to arrange a marriage to "render her respectable".
Anne's father Thomas Boleyn is portrayed as being given the title Earl of Essex. In reality, the Earldom he was given was Wiltshire
, not Essex
. (Wiltshire was ironically the home county of Anne's successor Jane Seymour.)
The relationship between Henry Percy
and Anne Boleyn was, in real life, a secret affair as Percy was already betrothed. He would not have appeared before the King to ask for his blessing to marry Anne as the series portrays.
The Duke of Norfolk
is portrayed as a young man when in fact he would have been middle aged by the times of the events in the show. As is the Duke of Buckingham
, who was not in fact in his late fifties at the time of his execution, he was in his late thirties to early forties.
Anne Boleyn is seen wearing a lace headdress in numerous shots. In reality she would have worn a hood like every other woman at court rather than expose her hair which would have been considered immodest. Likewise for Katherine of Aragon, who famously only ever wore English or Spanish-styled gable hood
s; her hair would never have been exposed as it is the show.
Mary Tudor was not present with her mother on her deathbed as the show implies. In truth Mary and Katherine were separated shortly before Henry and Anne were married and never saw each other again.
Ambassador Mendoza is shown urging Katherine of Aragon on her deathbed to encourage her nephew, the powerful Emperor Charles
of Spain, to lead an invasion against Henry, which she steadfastly refuses to do. In reality Ambassador Mendoza had returned to Spain long before and was replaced by the wily Eustace Chapuys
, who did in fact visit Katherine of Aragon just before she died.
Henry's son Edward was not present by his father side when he died, nor was his last wife Katherine Parr.
as the writer. Granada Television
's controller of drama Andy Harries
could secure only £750,000 for each hour of Henry VIII from ITV
, so had to attract co-production funding from other companies. He approached the American CBS
network for the money. CBS executives wanted to replace Helena Bonham Carter with Sarah Michelle Gellar
and dub all of the actors' voices with American accents. Harries declined CBS's funding and got the money from Powercorp, WGBH Boston and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
instead. The final budget was £5.2 million. Bleasdale had originally scripted an opening scene that featured Henry confronting the devil in hell. ITV's director of drama commissioning Nick Elliott told Harries, "I'm not having the devil on ITV. You'd better ring him and tell him I'm not paying £5 million to have the devil on ITV." Bleasdale then quit the project. He was replaced by Peter Morgan
, who had written the Granada drama The Jury
.
Filming took place at Pinewood Studios
. Post-production took six months.
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
for ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
. It chronicles the life of Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
from the disintegration of his first marriage to an aging Spanish princess
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
until his death following a stroke in 1547, by which time he had married for the sixth time. Additional production funding was provided by WGBH Boston, Powercorp and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
.
It stars Ray Winstone
Ray Winstone
Raymond Andrew "Ray" Winstone is an English film and television actor. He is mostly known for his "tough guy" roles, beginning with that of Carlin in the 1979 film Scum and as Will Scarlet in the cult television adventure series Robin of Sherwood. He has also become well known as a voice over...
in his first role in a costume drama. His co-star is Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter is an English actress of film, stage, and television. She made her acting debut in a television adaptation of K. M. Peyton's A Pattern of Roses before winning her first film role as the titular character in Lady Jane...
who played Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
; her character dominates the first episode and her dramatic death brings the first part of the story to its conclusion. David Suchet
David Suchet
David Suchet, CBE, is an English actor, known for his work on British television. He is recognised for his RTS- and BPG award-winning performance as Augustus Melmotte in the 2001 British TV mini-drama The Way We Live Now, alongside Matthew Macfadyen and Paloma Baeza, and a 1991 British Academy...
also makes an appearance as Henry's first chief minister, Cardinal Wolsey. The second episode, which follows the last eleven years of Henry's life, sees Winstone act opposite Emilia Fox
Emilia Fox
Emilia Rose Elizabeth Fox is an award-winning English actress, known for her role as Dr. Nikki Alexander on BBC crime drama Silent Witness, having joined the cast in 2004 following the departure of Amanda Burton. She also appears as Morgause in the BBC's Merlin beginning in the programme's second...
, as his docile third wife Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII. She succeeded Anne Boleyn as queen consort following the latter's execution for trumped up charges of high treason, incest and adultery in May 1536. She died of postnatal complications less than two weeks after the birth of...
, Sean Bean
Sean Bean
Shaun Mark "Sean" Bean is an English film and stage actor. Bean is best known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, previously, British Colonel Richard Sharpe in the ITV television series Sharpe...
as Robert Aske, leader of the Pilgrimage of Grace
Pilgrimage of Grace
The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular rising in York, Yorkshire during 1536, in protest against Henry VIII's break with the Roman Catholic Church and the Dissolution of the Monasteries, as well as other specific political, social and economic grievances. It was done in action against Thomas Cromwell...
and Emily Blunt
Emily Blunt
Emily Olivia Leah Blunt is an English actress best known for her roles in The Devil Wears Prada , The Young Victoria , and The Adjustment Bureau . She has been nominated for two Golden Globe Awards, two London Film Critics' Circle Awards, and one BAFTA Award...
(in her first major appearance) as Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard , also spelled Katherine, Katheryn or Kathryn, was the fifth wife of Henry VIII of England, and sometimes known by his reference to her as his "rose without a thorn"....
, the promiscuous teenager who was coerced into becoming Henry's fifth queen.
Episode 1
The first episode opens to reveal a dying Henry VIIHenry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
mistaking his heir Henry VIII for his late son Arthur Tudor. Concerned for the fragile chances of his family’s dynasty
Tudor dynasty
The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor was a European royal house of Welsh origin that ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms, including the Lordship of Ireland, later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1485 until 1603. Its first monarch was Henry Tudor, a descendant through his mother of a legitimised...
, the dying king implores his son to marry his brother's widow Katherine of Aragon and have a son to secure the family line. Fifteen years later Henry VIII is the most popular King to ever sit on the throne, but he still does not have a son by his Queen, only a daughter Mary
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
. Elsewhere at Hever Castle
Hever Castle
Hever Castle is located in the village of Hever near Edenbridge, Kent, south-east of London, England. It began as a country house, built in the 13th century...
in Kent the Boleyn Family celebrate the engagement of their daughter Anne
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
to Henry Percy
Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland, KG was an English nobleman, active as a military officer in the north. He is now primarily remembered as the betrothed of Anne Boleyn, whom he was forced to give up before she became involved with King Henry VIII.-Early life:He was eldest son of Henry...
the future Earl of Northumberland
Earl of Northumberland
The title of Earl of Northumberland was created several times in the Peerages of England and Great Britain, succeeding the title Earl of Northumbria. Its most famous holders were the House of Percy , who were the most powerful noble family in Northern England for much of the Middle Ages...
. The head of the family the Duke of Norfolk assures her father, Thomas Boleyn, that he has the king's ear on the match and that he will give them permission to marry. But once the roving eye of the king falls upon Anne, he quickly finds a reason for the marriage to be cancelled and wastes no time in persuading her for himself, even riding from his secluded coastal castle to Kent during an outbreak of illness. Resolved that Anne will not become his mistress, but his wife, the King instructs his chancellor Cardinal Wolsey to find a way for his marriage to his devoted wife to be annulled, prompting two opportunistic Protestants reformers, Thomas Cromwell and Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build a favourable case for Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon which resulted in the separation of the English Church from...
, to provide a way for the king to marry Anne Boleyn and bring untold wealth to his pocket but only if he breaks with the Catholic Church. Finally, his wife Anne is soon pregnant, only for Henry's hopes to be dashed. Instead of the longed for son and heir, Anne delivers a daughter, Elizabeth
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
, and Henry's ardor cools towards her, even more so when he meets the sister of two of his courtiers, Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII. She succeeded Anne Boleyn as queen consort following the latter's execution for trumped up charges of high treason, incest and adultery in May 1536. She died of postnatal complications less than two weeks after the birth of...
. Despite the growing tensions between the King and Queen, Anne becomes pregnant once more but goes into premature labor and delivers a stillborn son. The first episode ends with an angry King Henry demanding Cromwell get rid of Anne which results in her subsequent trial and execution.
Episode 2
The second episode begins with Jane Seymour being dressed for her wedding and her subsequent introduction to the people who take her to their hearts, whilst the King and Cromwell differ on the dissolution of the monasteriesDissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
which have angered the English Catholics and united them into a huge army to march on London in protest calling it, the Pilgrimage of Grace
Pilgrimage of Grace
The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular rising in York, Yorkshire during 1536, in protest against Henry VIII's break with the Roman Catholic Church and the Dissolution of the Monasteries, as well as other specific political, social and economic grievances. It was done in action against Thomas Cromwell...
, headed by the King's former comrade Robert Aske
Robert Aske (political leader)
Robert Aske was an English lawyer who became the leader of rebellion in York. He led the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536 and was executed by Henry VIII for treason in 1537.-Biography:...
whom the King tricks into incriminating himself into treason and is sentenced to a gruesome traitor's death. Meanwhile the country is on edge as the heavily pregnant Queen goes into labour and finally gives birth to a son
Edward Tudor
Edward Tudor was the supposed son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. It is most likely that he was born towards the beginning of the marriage or towards the end of it ....
much to Henry's joy although it is cut short when the Queen dies. Two years after the Queen's death, Cromwell, whose power has steadily risen through the days of Anne Boleyn encourages the King to consider marrying the Protestant Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves was a German noblewoman and the fourth wife of Henry VIII of England and as such she was Queen of England from 6 January 1540 to 9 July 1540. The marriage was never consummated, and she was not crowned queen consort...
but once he sets sights on her, the King is repulsed and immediately seeks a way out of the marriage. Sensing the decline of Protestant influence the Duke of Norfolk devises a way to snatch the reign to power and arranges for his teenage niece Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard , also spelled Katherine, Katheryn or Kathryn, was the fifth wife of Henry VIII of England, and sometimes known by his reference to her as his "rose without a thorn"....
to enchant the increasingly obese and terrifying King and to eventually marry him. It soon transpires that the young Queen has a promiscuous history and is carrying it on with a man in the king's service which the Protestant reformers seize as their opportunity to rid themselves of the Catholic faction. The Queen and her family are arrested and the young Queen dies at the hands of the executioner, like her cousin Anne Boleyn. With the demise of Catholic peers the reformers take the opportunity to consolidate their powers, enhanced by the wedding of the king to Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr ; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen consort of England and Ireland and the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII of England. She married Henry VIII on 12 July 1543. She was the fourth commoner Henry had taken as his consort, and outlived him...
who attempts to unite the royal family. The film closes as the King reflects on his past loves. His obsession with Anne Boleyn, his quiet but steady affection for Jane Seymour, and his lust for the young Catherine Howard. Finally the king's over indulgent lifestyle catches up with him and he suffers a seizure and later dies in a scene reminiscent of the films opening, imploring his son to be successful as a man before he can be successful as a king. He dies with his son and last wife beside him.
The closing scene of the film provides a summary of the lives of the remaining characters, the summary is as follows.
The Duke of Norfolk escaped death. In time he was released from the Tower, given a full pardon and regained all his lands and power. Edward became King Edward VI, but his health was frail. He died of consumption aged fifteen. Edward Seymour, Lord Protector of England, ruled by proxy until 1551 when he was imprisoned in the Tower and beheaded. Thomas Seymour did finally marry Katherine Parr, but broke her heart when he attempted to seduce the fourteen year old Princesss Elizabeth. He was executed for treason in 1549. Bloody Mary came to the throne in 1553. She burned hundreds of Protestants as heretics and died embittered and unloved in 1558. Anne of Cleves outlived all the wives. Widely liked and respected, she was buried rich and popular with full honours. Thomas Cramner continued to lay the foundations for the Church of England, only to be arrested on the orders of Mary I and burnt as a heretic.
And what of Henry? After a lifelong struggle to give England an heir, his glorious successor was not a son, but a daughter. Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry and Anne Boleyn came to the throne in 1558 and ruled England for 45 years.
Historical inaccuracies
Anne Boleyn was not brought to court to wait on Queen Katherine on Henry's instructions. She had been in the service of his sister for several years before she transferred to his wife. He courted her sister for several years before he became fixated on her. In the film Mary BoleynMary Boleyn
Mary Boleyn , was the sister of English queen consort Anne Boleyn and a member of the Boleyn family, which enjoyed considerable influence during the reign of King Henry VIII of England...
is pregnant by the King and Anne is engaged to be married (see below) when he first meets her.
Mary Boleyn is depicted as being pregnant but unmarried. In reality she had been married for over a year to William Carey before her affair with the king began and so would not have needed Wolsey to arrange a marriage to "render her respectable".
Anne's father Thomas Boleyn is portrayed as being given the title Earl of Essex. In reality, the Earldom he was given was Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, not Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. (Wiltshire was ironically the home county of Anne's successor Jane Seymour.)
The relationship between Henry Percy
Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland, KG was an English nobleman, active as a military officer in the north. He is now primarily remembered as the betrothed of Anne Boleyn, whom he was forced to give up before she became involved with King Henry VIII.-Early life:He was eldest son of Henry...
and Anne Boleyn was, in real life, a secret affair as Percy was already betrothed. He would not have appeared before the King to ask for his blessing to marry Anne as the series portrays.
The Duke of Norfolk
Duke of Norfolk
The Duke of Norfolk is the premier duke in the peerage of England, and also, as Earl of Arundel, the premier earl. The Duke of Norfolk is, moreover, the Earl Marshal and hereditary Marshal of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the...
is portrayed as a young man when in fact he would have been middle aged by the times of the events in the show. As is the Duke of Buckingham
Duke of Buckingham
The titles Marquess and Duke of Buckingham, referring to Buckingham, have been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There have also been Earls of Buckingham.-1444 creation:...
, who was not in fact in his late fifties at the time of his execution, he was in his late thirties to early forties.
Anne Boleyn is seen wearing a lace headdress in numerous shots. In reality she would have worn a hood like every other woman at court rather than expose her hair which would have been considered immodest. Likewise for Katherine of Aragon, who famously only ever wore English or Spanish-styled gable hood
Gable hood
A gable hood, English hood or gable headdress is an English woman's headdress of c. 1500–1550, so-called because its pointed shape resembles the gable of a house...
s; her hair would never have been exposed as it is the show.
Mary Tudor was not present with her mother on her deathbed as the show implies. In truth Mary and Katherine were separated shortly before Henry and Anne were married and never saw each other again.
Ambassador Mendoza is shown urging Katherine of Aragon on her deathbed to encourage her nephew, the powerful Emperor Charles
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
of Spain, to lead an invasion against Henry, which she steadfastly refuses to do. In reality Ambassador Mendoza had returned to Spain long before and was replaced by the wily Eustace Chapuys
Eustace Chapuys
Eustace Chapuys was a Savoyard diplomat who served as the Imperial ambassador to England from 1529 until 1545 and is best known for his extensive and detailed correspondence.-Life:...
, who did in fact visit Katherine of Aragon just before she died.
Henry's son Edward was not present by his father side when he died, nor was his last wife Katherine Parr.
Production
The serial was announced in 2001, with Alan BleasdaleAlan Bleasdale
Alan Bleasdale is an English television dramatist, best known for writing several social realist drama serials based on the lives of ordinary people.The Bleasdales live in prescot,liverpool,wales and london.-Early life:Bleasdale is an only child; his father worked in a food factory and his mother...
as the writer. Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
's controller of drama Andy Harries
Andy Harries
Andrew D. M. Harries is a British television and film producer. After graduating from Hull University in the 1970s, Harries began his television career on the Granada Television current affairs series World in Action, before moving on to freelance work...
could secure only £750,000 for each hour of Henry VIII from ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
, so had to attract co-production funding from other companies. He approached the American CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
network for the money. CBS executives wanted to replace Helena Bonham Carter with Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Prinze , known professionally by her birth name of Sarah Michelle Gellar , is an American actress, singer and executive producer...
and dub all of the actors' voices with American accents. Harries declined CBS's funding and got the money from Powercorp, WGBH Boston and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
instead. The final budget was £5.2 million. Bleasdale had originally scripted an opening scene that featured Henry confronting the devil in hell. ITV's director of drama commissioning Nick Elliott told Harries, "I'm not having the devil on ITV. You'd better ring him and tell him I'm not paying £5 million to have the devil on ITV." Bleasdale then quit the project. He was replaced by Peter Morgan
Peter Morgan
Peter Morgan may refer to:* Peter Morgan , British sports car manufacturer* Peter Morgan , 1978 British Formula Ford champion* Peter Morgan , Wales and British lions international...
, who had written the Granada drama The Jury
The Jury (TV serial)
The Jury is a British television serial broadcast in 2002 . The series was the first ever to be allowed to film inside the historic Old Bailey courthouse.-Series One:...
.
Filming took place at Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
. Post-production took six months.
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Fantasporto Fantasporto Fantasporto, also known as Fantas, is an international film festival, annually organized since 1981 in Porto, Portugal. Giving screen space to commercial feature films, auteur films and experimental projects from all over the world, Fantasporto has created enthusiastic audiences, ranging from... |
Best Actress | Helena Bonham Carter Helena Bonham Carter Helena Bonham Carter is an English actress of film, stage, and television. She made her acting debut in a television adaptation of K. M. Peyton's A Pattern of Roses before winning her first film role as the titular character in Lady Jane... |
|
| Zee Cine Awards Zee Cine Awards The Zee Cine Awards or "ZCA" for short is an awards ceremony for the Hindi film industry. It was first held in 1998 in Mumbai. Since then, it has gained substantial popularity as a notable awards ceremony to the Indian population as well as to the viewers of Zee Network.In 2004, the ZCA went... |
||||
| Royal Television Craft & Design Award Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world... |
Visual Effects—Special Effects | Lee Sheward | ||
| Television and Radio Industries Club Award Television and Radio Industries Club The Television and Radio Industries Club is a British institution chartered in 1931 to "promote goodwill in the television and radio industries"... |
TV Drama Programme | Henry VIII | ||
| International Emmy Award International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is an organization of global broadcasters, with members from nearly 70 countries and over 400 companies... |
Best TV Movie/Mini-series | Henry VIII |