How in God's name are we supposed to banish idolatry...
...superstition and empty ritual from churches...
...when they are still practised here at court?
When shall l meet His Majesty, my lord?
Very soon.
His Majesty is most eager to talk to you.
In the meantime, he encourages you to write a lengthy declaration...
...of everything you did during the rebellion and the reasons for it.
Keep still.
Who are you? What are you doing here?
-You can't be here. -Oh, my God.
It's true.
-l didn't believe it. -Get out.
-No.
She is my fiancee.
-Ursula. -What?
You have no cause being here.
I warned you.
Is he alive?
Master Holbein.
-Master Holbein. -Your Majesty.
I must beg Your Majesty's pardon.
Pardon? What for?
I have committed an assault within the verge of your court.
An assault?
You?
But you're an artist.
I was painting the picture of Lady Misseldon...
...that Your Majesty commissioned...
...when a gentleman interrupted us.
What did you do?
I threw the gentleman into some shelves.
You did the right thing, Master Holbein...
...and l forgive you freely.
I probably would have done the same thing myself.
Just finish the portrait. l can't wait.
Thank you, Your Majesty.
Master Holbein.
Sir Robert Tavistock.
Sir Robert.
You look out of sorts.
Your Majesty, I have a great complaint to make against Master Holbein.
I am engaged to a young woman, but found him painting her.
Naked.
-Naked? -Yes, Majesty, on a bed.
Like some concubine.
I demand that Your Majesty punish Mr. Holbein severely...
...for his lewdness and his immorality and his violence against me.
You have not to do with Mr. Holbein, but with me.
I'll tell you frankly...
...if I had seven peasants, I could make seven lords...
...but if I had seven lords, I could not make one Holbein.
Now tell me truthfully...
...do you still wish me to punish Mr. Holbein?
No, Majesty.
I ask Your Majesty's pardon.
I am Your Majesty's humble and obedient servant...
...and make no complaint against Mr. Holbein.
Good lad.
Happy Christmas, Sir Robert.
Majesty?
Sweetheart.
-May I present someone to you? -Very well.
The countess of Salisbury was my old governess.
I know.
I know the lady very well.
Lady Margaret.
Your Majesty.
You are very welcome here at court.
I know how rarely you quit your fine house.
It is true.
I prefer to live a life based on piety and traditional ways, Your Majesty.
You are an example to everyone at court.
How is your son, Reginald Pole? Is he still studying in ltaly?
Yes, indeed, Your Majesty.
He is now at Padua University...
...and has more reason than most to be grateful to Your Majesty...
...since until very recently you continued to pay his fees.
I showed great interest in him.
He showed great promise as a scholar.
As well as being my cousin.
Still, when he refused my offer...
...to make him the youngest-ever Bishop of Winchester...
...l remember l had to thump him.
Your Majesty must believe it was not ingratitude on Reginald's part.
No, no.
Well, he was in tears after leaving Your Majesty's presence.
The truth is...
...my son is too much of a scholar and private person...
...ever to desire public office or notoriety.
Then after all, I forgive him.
Majesty.
Lady Salisbury.
Are you ladies conspiring something?
We would both like to present someone else this Christmastide.
Very well.
Your Majesty, this is--
My daughter Elizabeth.
You don't need to tell me.
Come here, child.
Your Majesty, Mr. Robert Aske.
Majesty.
Mr. Aske.
Come.
I am very glad to see you, Mr. Aske.
For a long time, I believe l was badly misinformed...
...about the causes of the disturbances in the northern part of our kingdom.
But having read your full and frank explanation...
...l am persuaded by the justice of your cause.
I esteem the commonwealth of the realm...
...and the love of my subjects, Mr. Aske, far more than any riches.
I am truly humbled by Your Majesty's words...
...and ask, in all humility...
...if Your Sacred Majesty intends to fulfil those pledges...
...made in Your Majesty's name by His Grace...
...the Duke of Suffolk at Pontefract?
In every part.
The general and liberal pardon shall be extended...
...to all our northern subjects.
There will be free election to a parliament to be held at York...
...where members and churchmen, without our displeasure...
...shall and may speak and show their learning and their free minds.
Furthermore, after my Lord Suffolk has come down to you...
...with the Great Seal to proclaim all this...
...then to show the great love we bear our northern subjects...
...we ourselves shall come to York.
And it is there, Mr. Aske, where my queen shall be crowned.
Your Majesty is truly gracious.
I swear to you that you will find no more loving and loyal people...
...in the whole of your realm than those in Yorkshire.
One more thing.
You've written against some of my advisors...
...protesting at their lack of noble blood.
-Your Majesty, l-- -No, no, no.
I agree with you.
But don't say anything.
Now, l have a gift for you.
Majesty.
Happy Christmas, Mr. Aske.
That was quite entertaining.
But you don't even know who I am, do you?
Of course I do.
You're Edward Seymour's wife.
If he ever discovered us, he'd probably kill you.
Really?
He always seems so nice.
Cold, perhaps, but pleasant withal.
That's a mistake they all make.
Amen.
Mr. Aske.
Lady Mary.
I am sorry to disturb your prayers.
Not at all, since you are always a part of them.
I come only to wish you well, Mr. Aske...
...for l know you are here upon God's work.
I trust the King's Majesty will grant you and your people all their desires.
I have every hope now as l have every hope that one day...
...you will succeed as queen of England...
...for the better maintaining of our faith.
Lady, you must know how beloved you are to the people...
...as was your mother before you, God rest her soul.
Remember me by this.
May God bless and keep you, Master Aske.
God save the queen.
How is father? They told me he'd fallen ill.
Happy New Year.
I was going to tell you at a better time.
Father is dead.
God save the queen.
God save you, Your Majesty.
Dead?
-But when? -God save the Queen Jane.
-Why? -Keep smiling.
A week ago.
-A week? -Yes, a week.
I arranged the funeral. Everything was done to honour him.
But you should have told me.
I should have been there.
I wish it could be otherwise. But it can't now.
Your place is here. You have to understand that.
Later you can visit his mausoleum.
Sister.
My lady.
God save the queen.
I presume you told her about her father.
Is she all right?
Of course. She's the queen.
Gentlemen.
Noble and worshipful men of this country...
...l swear by the faith that I bear to God and St. George...
...that l have not only forgiven and pardoned the men of the north...
...by writing under seal, but also freely in my heart.
It is my order that those men now wear the cross of St. George...
...who thankfully accepted my free pardon...
...and mean to be as loyal subjects...
...as they were before their sorry insurrection.
And my queen and l wish you all...
...a very happy and prosperous New Year.
I tell you frankly, the king is a good and gracious lord...
...who has granted us, as far as he may...
...all our desires and petitions.
-Yes, yes, he has. -lt's true.
I heard it from his mouth...
...that he intends to hold a free and fair parliament at York...
...and crown the queen there.
Promises, Mr. Aske. Just more promises.
No, not just promises.
Lord Suffolk is sworn to come here to bring both great authority...
...the king's seal and, as he told me, many comfortable answers.
I have to tell you, Mr. Aske, though it grieves me to do so...
...that since you have been away there have been many rumours...
...and a widespread mistrust of the king and his council.
Aye, the northern lads are up and mustering again...
...and this time, we won't be betrayed.
Tell them to believe me, John.
Tell them to wait for the coming of Lord Suffolk.
For another rising now risks everything.
Robert, there was a time when nothing was more sure...
...than the promise of a prince.
But now...
...we think these promises nothing but a policy to blind the people.
And when we rise again, we will trust no promises.
I cannot believe this.
If you will not trust the king, then will you at least trust me?
-Have I not guided you well so far? -Yes.
Have l not secured a pardon for all?
But have you secured the king's absolute promise...
...to restore our monasteries?
His Grace promised me that all those matters would be discussed freely...
...and openly in Parliament.
I trust him.
He offered me as much as true and honest and good men...
...could desire of their sovereign.
But you have no proof.
-Where are you going? -Marching on Carlisle.
John, l plead with you, for the love of God...
...not to put this agreement in jeopardy by false actions and rash judgements.
Their minds were already made up, Mr. Aske...
...even before you returned.
There is no agreement.
Just base and empty promises.
The king will not be moved by words but by actions.
We shall do now what we should have done before.
Gather the men.
I wish the Lady Mary lived at court.
I miss her very much.
Yes.
And the Lady Elizabeth.
Is she not the sweetest, cleverest, brightest child?
It has not been easy for either of them.
And for all my troubles, I am glad l never had theirs.
Majesty.
Madame...
...l did not know whether to tell you...
...but the king has taken Lady Misseldon as a mistress.
He must do as he will.
It is we, Lady Rochford, who must always honour and obey.
Do not be troubled for me...
...for l have great reason to be happy.
The Duke of Suffolk and the Lord Privy Seal.
-You will go north at once. -Yes, Your Majesty.
In order to establish due obedience, you will administer an oath...
...to the leaders and gentlemen of Yorkshire and Lancashire.
They will acknowledge they made other oaths...
...contrary to their allegiance and to the great offence of God.
They must utterly renounce them...
...and swear to be our true and faithful subjects.
They must commit themselves to obey and even to spill their blood...
...to maintain all our laws and to assist our church commissioners...
...in their duties.
If they will not take the oath...
...then there will be no clemency.
You will apprehend such persons where it is no danger to yourself.
And they will, by law, be judged to suffer execution.
Your Majesty, what are your instructions regarding the setting up...
...of a parliament at York?
You may say there has been necessary delays.
Majesty, I--
I gave them my word, upon my honour.
Let me remind Your Grace that rebellion is a heinous sin...
...which cries out to God for punishment.
It is the sin of sin, for where there is no right order...
...there is only carnal liberty, sin and Babylonian disorder.
These wretched men have threatened my whole realm with uproar...
...as they have threatened me, Charles.
They have to and will be punished for it.
I agree with Your Majesty. If l might--
No, you may not.
Your low birth, Mr. Cromwell, deems you unfit...
...to meddle in the affairs of kings.
You're dismissed.
They shift this way.
-We've got it going around. -Aye.
-Good.
-Hey, Charlie. -Captain Constable.
So the men have started to gather. Are they in good spirits?
Aye. The lads are up for it.
Good.
The rest will be joining us tomorrow.
We'll walk into Carlisle.
We'll take the castle as soon as you can fart.
What we got here?
Rabbits.
Rabbits?
What are you going to do with that? Feed the 5000?
Jesus.
Charlie.
Stay low. Stay down, lads.
Out. Out.
Come on.
Come with us, lads.
-Come on. -All right.
You all right?
Get him some water.
Your Highness.
My God, man, what in God's name has happened?
We started to gather, Mr. Aske, near Carlisle...
...ready and eager to assault the castle.
But then Sir Christopher Dacre...
...and my Lord Suffolk came out of the castle with their men...
...and broke their spears on us...
...and afterwards made a bloody chase and captured scores.
I saw my two boys slain.
God have mercy on us.
Sirs, we are broken.
What of Mr. Constable?
Captured.
My lord.
We've got them.
They broke their pledges.
-l'm in to see the king. -Yes, my lord.
We shall impose martial law on the whole of the north.
Move it.
Get in.
Move.
Move in.
Yeah, you all get in.
Move it.
Get up.
Get in there.
Move it.
All right.
Get up.
-Get in, get in. -All right.
-John Constable? -Aye.
Do you deny you acted as a leader and captain of this rebellion?
No. And l'm proud of it.
You are to be taken to London and examined further...
...as to your actions and motives.
You mean tortured.
You promised us a parliament. But you lied.
You betrayed us.
You never meant to honour any of it, did you?
Did you, Your Grace?
Here are the names...
...of those who refuse to renounce their actions and sign the oath.
-How many? -Seventy-four.
All to be executed, Your Grace.
Please. I haven't done anything.
No, no.
I'm an innocent man.
I order you to get back.
Get back, in the name of the king.
Get over there.
Get back, woman.
Get her. Get back there.
Get away. By order of the king, get away.
It was all well done, Your Grace.
You know that His Majesty has ordered us to arrest Lord Darcy...
...Sir Ralph Ellerker and Robert Aske.
They are to be charged on suspicion of treason...
...but must not know it.
Your Grace must surely know that Mr. Aske, Sir Ralph and l...
...were firmly, emphatically and openly against this new rising.
We believed, and believe still, in the promises and sureties...
...and good graces of the King's Majesty.
It is also true that nothing can be done or imagined here...
...against His King's Majesty...
...that l cannot let the Council and you know of.
I am assured of your loyalty to His Majesty.
Nevertheless, the king requires that you travel south with me...
...to explain these recent events...
...which seemed so contrary to his expressed hopes.
Your Grace can see with your own eyes...
...that l am old and sick and unfit to travel.
Allow me to speak openly to Your Grace.
Although I love and trust the king absolutely...
...and know that he would always treat me justly and mercifully...
...l cannot say the same for some of his councillors.
I would rather fear to fall into their hands, my lord.
Allow me to reassure you.
I will write letters to both the king and Council...
...in all of your favours, which l will show you before we leave.
Then we must go?
Yes.
It is the king's command.
Then l say, God have mercy on us.
God bless you and keep you, my own dear husband.
And you too, my darlings.
But l shall be all right, for I trust in the honesty of His Grace.
He showed me a letter he has written to the Council on our behalf...
...and it was all good.
He said he stood surety for us.
And l doubt any harm will come to us.
After all, what could be gained by it...
...when the north must now be appeased and quietened?
There now, daughter. Don't weep.
You're a Yorkshire lass.
And Yorkshire lasses have iron in their souls...
...just like your good mother.
You will see me again soon.
I promise.
God bless you, Mr. Aske.
Godspeed, Mr. Aske.
God bless you, Mr. Aske.
I'm very sorry, Mr. Aske.
Men, march on.
God bless you, Mr. Aske.
I see you are eating quails' eggs again, sweetheart.
Did you not have those yesterday?
Yes, Your Majesty.
I seem to have developed a fondness for them.
A special fondness?
Well, indeed.
For some reason, l desire quails' eggs above everything else.
-Leave. -Your Majesty.
I think you're with child.
I am.
My love.
My queen.
John Constable, you are a principal and unredeemed traitor...
...and villain against the king's majesty.
Nothing can save you.
Oh, Lord, forgive them.
Forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do.
-Guards, hold him down on the table. -Oh, sweet Jesus, my redeemer.
Oh, sweet Jesus.
Oh, God.
Oh, Jesus.
Oh, God, oh, God, receive me into thy bosom. Oh, Lord.
Oh, God, save me.
Damn you to hell.
I am concerned for Lord Darcy, Your Grace.
I think the journey almost broke him.
His Lordship is taken care of.
This is Sir Francis Bryan.
Mr. Aske.
Sir Francis.
I have orders to commit you to the tower.
-But-- -lt's for your own safety.
You will be lodged comfortably enough.
Mr. Cromwell desires to ask you a few questions.
I trust Your Grace--
I swear l have done my best for you, Mr. Aske.
The Duke of Suffolk, my lord.
You asked to see me?
Yes, Your Grace.
Well, explain yourself. What do you want?
I have some reports.
You always have reports, Cromwell.
But these are very interesting.
They are reports from the assizes at Carlisle...
...where you sat in judgement against the rebels.
Everything was done legally and properly.
Seventy-four rebels were judged and hanged.
There's the problem.
At one point, all agree there were at least 40,000 rebels...
...armed and in the field.
And yet Your Grace found only 74 guilty.
I hanged those who were the leaders...
...and most guilty of inciting the rest to rebellion.
Had you actually been there to hear the evidence....
I must be honest with Your Grace.
You have been accused of too great a leniency towards the rebels.
Towards recalcitrant monks and other upholders of the old religion.
It....
It is disputed whether you are, in your heart and soul...
...fully engaged in this struggle against the treasonous rebels...
...or whether you are, in your heart, still a papist.
Who accuses me?
His Majesty.
Consequently, His Majesty now demands that you return north...
...and carry out proper and efficient reprisals...
...against these rebels and traitors.
You are to make a terrible example of them...
...and teach those parts the virtues of loyalty.
Seventy-four is an inadequate number.
Your Grace.
Since you ask me for the truth...
...l will answer that in all parts of the realm...
...men's hearts were most hurt by the destruction of the abbeys...
...because they thought, perhaps with reason...
...that this was the first fruit of the destruction...
...of their whole religion in England.
Here is a letter of yours.
On the 1 9th of January...
...you wrote to reassure the mayor and the commons of Pontefract:
"I shall keep a clean true heart to God and the king...
...and will evermore further be a true petitioner...
...for the commonwealth good."
You signed it: "T. Darcy."
I remember it.
But l am not sure what is wrong with it.
Can you not agree...
...that it was rather the spreading of false rumours--
For example, that the parish churches were gonna be pulled down.
--which actually caused the rebellion?
No.
It was the fact that the abbeys were being suppressed and burned.
You wrote on the 1 9th of January...
...after the king declared his pardon and the rebellion had ended.
I understood that the king had also agreed to a free parliament...
...where his subjects could still show their griefs and complaints.
-My letter was only meant to-- -l'll tell you what it meant.
It meant that even after the king's gracious pardon...
...you had not changed your traitor's heart and opinions.
You continued to seek the annulment of laws made for the commonwealth...
...and you still wished to depose the king.
Tell me...
...why they were so important to you.
Because the abbeys in the north gave alms to poor men...
...and laudably served God.
They were one of the beauties of this realm...
...to all men and strangers alike.
They took care of their servants, their tenants...
...and their local communities in every sort of way...
...from maintaining bridges and sea walls...
...to seeing that girls and boys were brought up in virtue.
And when they stood...
...people not only had worldly refreshment in their bodies...
...but they also had a spiritual refuge.
So you begrudged the suppression and the king's supremacy?
After such confessions, what forgiveness?
It is not, Mr. Aske, but you...
...who are the very original and chief cause...
...of all this rebellion and mischief.
And though you could probably find some way...
...of having all the noblemen's heads in the realm struck off if you wanted...
...yet l trust there might be one left...
...who could still strike off yours.
Well...
...it may surprise you to learn, Mr. Aske...
...that for some very good reasons...
...l am determined to save you.
You've been here for two days...
...but still you don't talk to me.
Even though you are unhappy.
How do you know?
You wake in the night.
-You say things. -What do I say?
Unburden your heart.
If l do, believe me...
...everything will change.
I'm commanded to return north to carry out retribution.
I must execute more rebels.
Only this time without trial or proper process.
-Many? -Yes, many.
Many. Hundreds.
Thousands.
I must kill hundreds of men, women and children...
...or lose the love of my king.
Women and children?
I have no choice.
Of course you have choice.
What if they were your own children?
I would still have to do it.
His Majesty the king.
Stand up, Mr. Aske.
Mr. Cromwell has reported your words to me.
I've come to talk to you...
...about the abbeys and religious houses you care so much about.
Please.
You have so much affection for these monks...
...yet l can prove to you how far they are from good religious men.
They claim to live in wilful poverty, chastity and obedience...
...yet they amass possessions and put themselves outside the law.
They are richer than princes, yet without our responsibilities.
And what is wilful poverty anyway?
And as for obedience, God help us.
How can they be obedient when they disoblige their sovereign lord...
...whom by God's commandments, they ought to obey in all things?
We should not think of these men as good religious men...
...who forsake all earthly possessions as they claim...
...but rather as idle and sturdy vagabonds.
I like you, Mr. Aske.
You may be misguided in certain matters, yes.
But your mistakes are honest.
I know that in your heart...
...you are the most loyal of all men.
I love and respect Your Majesty above all things...
...and would never seek to offend you.
Majesty, the boatman from Calais is here.
Let me see.
Majesty?
Quails' eggs, Sir Francis.
Quails' eggs.
To feed a queen.