He was also responsible for the destruction of many of England’s priceless religious treasures, changing the face of British culture for ever ... Was Henry more patron or plunderer? Dr Jonathan Foyle, Henry VIII: Patron or Plunderer? I BBC 2012
April 1509: Henry VII has died. His twenty-four-year reign has been marked by profound unpopularity. ibid.
Tapestries: for Wolsey and Henry these represented the principle form of Tudor visual culture in palaces. ibid.
Henry’s building [New Hall] reinforced the importance of family and of his regal dynasty; Wolsey’s building [Hampton Court] projected his personal magnificence and learning. The two men shared a love of art, display and opulence. ibid.
Rome had refused to sanction Henry’s divorce of Catherine. Henry now rejected Rome. Dr Jonathan Foyle, Henry VIII: Patron or Plunderer? II
Henry decided on doctrine; his was the Word of God. ibid.
Their power was about to come crashing down and with it the most wonderful architectural legacy. ibid.
It’s time for Your Grace to weigh his past life and to seek for God’s mercy through Christ. Henry VIII and His Six Wives 1973 starring Keith Michell & Donald Pleasence & Charlotte Rampling & Jane Asher & Frances Cuka & Lynne Frederick & Jenny Bos & Barbara Leigh-Hunt & Brian Blessed et al, director Waris Hussein, side-kick at deathbed
Whom should a man trust in this world when there is no thing real in it? ibid. Henry
18th May 1536 dawn the Tower of London ... After just three years of marriage he [Henry VIII] has sanctioned her death ... Anne Boleyn waits to go to the scaffold. Days that Shook the World: Affairs of the Crown, BBC 2004
Early in 1526 Henry VIII became fascinated with Anne. He began to write her a stream of love letters. Unfortunately, Henry is already married to Catherine of Aragon. ibid.
Anne Boleyn: Around a thousand people have gathered to watch her execution. ibid.
On 19th May 1536 one of the most infamous episodes in English history moved towards its gruesome conclusion: Anne Boleyn, Queen and second wife of King Henry VIII, was taken from her quarters in the Tower of London, and with the single blow of a sword became the first Queen in Britain's history to be executed. Anne Boleyn’s rise to power had been highly controversial. The Last Days of Anne Boleyn, BBC 2013
Adultery, incest and conspiring to cause the death of a king. ibid.
King Henry was infatuated; he bombarded Anne with love letters. ibid.
The full extent of Thomas Cromwell’s role in Anne's downfall is still hard to pin down. ibid.
Five men ... were tried and convicted of adultery and treason and sentenced to death. ibid.
Many believe she was the victim of a terrible injustice. ibid.
On 26th August 1537 the son of a Putney brewer came here to St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle to be initiated into England’s highest order of chivalry by Henry VIII. Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch, Henry VIII’s Enforcer: The Rise and Fall of Thomas Cromwell, BBC 2013
In many accounts Thomas Cromwell is one of the nastiest people ever to hold power in England. ibid.
He was a pioneering and principled statesman. ibid.
English kings and queens had to include parliament in all the great decisions of state. ibid.
Cromwell was responsible for dissolving up to eight hundred monasteries and religious houses across England and Wales. ibid.
Cromwell’s Act was the first step towards a comprehensive Poor Law plan which was finally passed in 1597 by an Elizabethan parliament. ibid.
Cromwell had cemented the great divide between the Church of England and the Church of Rome. ibid.
Cromwell fell from the king’s favour. ibid.
It’s 1529. Henry VIII is on the throne – married to Katherine of Aragon for 20 years without producing a male heir. He has been petitioning the Pope for an annulment for two years without success. Cardinal Wolsey – Lord Chancellor and Henry’s advocate in the petition to Rome – has failed his Sovereign in only this one matter. And Henry is not a forgiving man. Wolf Hall I ***** caption, BBC 2015
You’re dismissed as Lord Chancellor. By the King’s order. And you’re to return to us the Great Seal. ibid. aide
The gentlest, wisest prince in Christendom. I’ll not hear a word against Henry from any man. ibid.
Bloke in black: Wolsey burns Bibles.
Cromwell: More will burn men. ibid.
Wars are not affordable things. ibid. Cromwell to Henry
It’s December 1520: Cardinal Wolsey has taken refuge at Esher. Anne Boleyn and her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, want him gone – on the road north, away from the King. Thomas Cromwell, Wolsey’s staunch defender, remains in London, seeking the reinstatement of his master. Wolf Hall II caption
Don’t you understand? I can’t talk about him. ibid. Henry VIII
The King wants me gone. He wants to humiliate me. ibid. Wolsey
It’s 1531. Having failed with the Pope, Henry seeks the power to annul his own marriage to Katherine by asking Parliament to declare him Supreme Head of the Church of England. Those loyal to Rome battle against the advancing tide of heresy. Chief amongst them the Lord Chancellor, Sir Thomas More. Wolf Hall III: Anna Regina, caption
The Pope is the head of the church everywhere. ibid. Princess Mary
This prophetess you harbour in your diocese ... ibid. Cromwell
Tindale still refuses to support the King’s divorce. ibid.
I want a job. An official post. The jewel house perhaps. ibid.
I think your faith is for purchase. ibid. More to Cromwell
Are you threatening me? ibid. Cromwell to More
One word from me and all your debts will be called in. ibid. Cromwell
So that’s it? More is out? Shall we go down? ibid. Anne to Cromwell
Everything that you have will come from me. ibid. Henry to Cromwell
Your majesty. The heretics you have around you must be put into a great fire. If you don’t do it, you’ll burn yourself. Here’s one – if you marry this one you’ll reign seven months. ibid. prophetess
You made a mistake threatening me, sir. ibid. Cromwell
Anne Boleyn has promised Henry VIII a son. In return the King has cast off his first wife and, over the objections of the Pope and the rest of Christendom, crowned Anne Queen. September 1533, Anne returns to Whitehall with her newborn child. Wolf Hall IV: The Devil’s Spit, caption
Healthy? Call her Elizabeth. Cancel the jousts. ibid. Henry
Mary is a bastard ... Meanwhile I want you to go to France. ibid. Anne to Cromwell
I keep you because you are a serpent. ibid. King to Thomas
It’s 1535. The Act of Supremacy has declared Henry Supreme Head of the Church in England. But the Holy Roman Emperor, and his ambassador Eustache Chapuys, have refused to recognise either his new title or his marriage to Anne Boleyn. Recovering from illness, Cromwell plans the King’s Royal Progress to include a visit to Jane Seymour’s family home. Wolf Hall V: Crows, caption
It’s as if my daughter had never been born. As if Katherine was still Queen. As if I didn’t exist. ibid. Anne
Jane – she’s a distraction that's all. ibid. Thomas
We can’t help what we do really. ibid. Henry
The Vatican has given Henry three months to return to obedience. ibid. Thomas
It’s the King Henry – he’s dead. ibid. message
What not geld me why you’re at it? That would suit you, madam. ibid. Henry to Anne
I see that God will not give me male children. ibid.