Seasons & episodes
S1 · E1In Cold Blood 2007-04-01 · 56 min
Henry prepares for war with France but receives cautious counsel from the powerful Cardinal Wolsey, who urges a treaty; the king learns that his queen's lady-in-waiting Elizabeth Blount is pregnant with his child.
S1 · E2Simply Henry 2007-04-08 · 55 min
Henry contemplates an alliance with Holy Roman Emperor Charles V of Spain despite his "Field of Cloth of Gold" ceremony celebrating allegiance to France, and executes a rival; Elizabeth gives birth to the king's illegitimate son.
S1 · E3Wolsey, Wolsey, Wolsey! 2007-04-15 · 53 min
A visit from Charles V forces Henry to conceal his growing disaffection from Queen Katherine, who is the influential Spanish monarch's aunt - even as Henry comes face-to-face with the seductive Anne Boleyn for the first time.
S1 · E4His Majesty, The King 2007-04-22 · 57 min
As a reward for his denunciation of Martin Luther, the Pope christens Henry “Defender of the Faith,” but a brush with death causes the king to seek a solution to his lack of an heir. Princess Margaret marries the decrepit King of Portugal reluctantly, but the union is short-lived; Henry's desire for Anne Boleyn intensifies when Anne goes home to her family estate.
S1 · E5Arise, My Lord 2007-04-29 · 54 min
Henry is shocked when he learns that his ally, Emperor Charles V of Spain, has released France's King Francis I from prison. He's equally surprised when Anne Boleyn turns him down after offering to make her his sole mistress.
S1 · E6True Love 2007-05-06 · 56 min
As King Henry gains in confidence, his displeasure with the way the Catholic church handles his request for an annulment of his marriage to Katherine of Aragon grows. As a result, Cardinal Wolsey's position is weakening, leaving him vulnerable to his enemies.
S1 · E7Message to the Emperor 2007-05-13 · 55 min
England's population is suffering, both from a lack of food and from a lethal plague called 'The Sweats'. As a result, King Henry feels depressed and not his usual, confident self. He starts having doubts about the future and his ability to rule the country. Fortunately for him, a change is coming up.
S1 · E8Truth and Justice 2007-05-20 · 54 min
A papal envoy has come to discuss the annulment of the King's marriage to Katherine of Aragon, as requested by the King. The outcome of these discussions will determine Cardinal Wolsey's future career as well as the King's romance with Anne Boleyn. These discussions will also influence the nature of the relationship between England and Rome.
S1 · E9Look to God First 2007-05-27 · 49 min
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.
S1 · E10The Death of Wolsey 2007-06-03 · 53 min
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.
S2 · E1Everything is Beautiful 2008-03-30 · 54 min
The King makes himself head of the Church of England while the Catholic Church fights a losing battle to control Henry VIII's desire for an annulment. Anne Boleyn demands that Henry break off contact with Katherine, so the noble Queen is banished from court. On top of that The Reformation is underway.
S2 · E2Tears of Blood 2008-04-06 · 57 min
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 chaplain, 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.
S2 · E3Checkmate 2008-04-13 · 52 min
Henry's patience finally wears out and he marries Anne in secret, appoints his Lutheran chaplain Thomas Cranmer the head of the Church of England, and strips Queen Katherine of her title and status; the king and new queen have their first child, and are disappointed that it's a girl...whom they christen Elizabeth.
S2 · E4The Act of Succession 2008-04-20 · 54 min
Sir Thomas More refuses to accept Henry's command that his people swear an oath of "allegiance and recognition of the King's supremacy" to both church and state. Anne is made aware of the King's womanizing ways, and arranges then gives her blessing to his next mistress. Also, Anne has a confrontation with Lady Mary, Henry's daughter.
S2 · E5His Majesty's Pleasure 2008-04-27 · 54 min
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.
S2 · E6The Definition of Love 2008-05-04 · 51 min
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 fails when the French King refuses to recognise that the infant Princess is of legitimate birth.
S2 · E7Matters of State 2008-05-11 · 54 min
The English Reformation is in full swing. Queen Anne suffers from nightmares and feels threatened by Katherine and her daughter. Henry pays an unplanned visit to an old friend, Sir John Seymour, father of Jane Seymour.
S2 · E8Lady in Waiting 2008-05-18 · 52 min
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.
S2 · E9The Act of Treason 2008-05-25 · 52 min
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.
S2 · E10Destiny and Fortune 2008-06-01 · 49 min
Queen Anne is imprisoned in the Tower, awaiting her execution. The king granted her wish for a special executioner, but he is delayed and the execution has to be postponed. King Henry proposes to Jane Seymour now that his marriage to Anne has been declared null and void. He hopes she will gave him a legitimate, male heir.
S3 · E1Civil Unrest 2009-04-05 · 48 min
King Henry marries for the third time, taking as his queen the demure noblewoman Jane Seymour. A growing number of his subjects protest the king's decision to abandon the Catholic Church.
S3 · E2The Northern Uprising 2009-04-12 · 47 min
The uproar over the king's break with the Catholic Church turns into a full-blown rebellion that comes to be known as "The Pilgrimage of Grace." Immobilized by an old jousting injury, Henry sends Charles Brandon to deal with the uprising and focuses his attention on the Lady Ursula Misseldon.
S3 · E3Dissention and Punishment 2009-04-19 · 49 min
Henry reconciles with his estranged daughters Mary and Elizabeth in time for the Christmas holidays, but betrays and brutally suppresses the rebellion against him after making conciliatory promises to the uprising's leaders.
S3 · E4The Death of a Queen 2009-04-26 · 49 min
The leaders of the Pilgrimage of Grace uprising are put to death, but Brandon is disturbed by the cruelty and mercilessness of the suppression; Henry celebrates the birth of a son but his joy is short-lived as Queen Jane dies within days.