My own darling.
One day l shall lie with you again, I promise.
And we shall sleep together for eternity.
-Get out of the way, fellow. -Sorry, sir.
Was you trying to pass?
Of course I'm trying to pass. Quickly now.
If l knows anything, sir, you're Mr. Robert Packington, sir.
Member of Parliament and friend of the Lord Privy Seal.
Ain't that right, sir?
Yes, on all counts.
But l thank you again to step aside.
-Ain't you in a hurry, sir? -Yes, I am.
No need.
This will end the hurrying.
-Have we caught the villain? -No, my lord.
He ran off into Cheapside.
The sergeant at arms has his men all over the area.
Pray God they catch him.
For l'm sure Mr. Packington was in every way an innocent victim.
Then why was he killed?
I presume to send a message to me. I am not short of enemies, Mr. Risley.
There is nothing more difficult to carry out...
...than to initiate a new order of things.
Then you think Bishop Gardiner might be behind this?
Or my Lord Suffolk?
I don't speculate.
What l will say is that there are dark forces at work...
...both inside and outside the court. They must be defeated.
We must be careful not to act...
...until we are completely sure of who they are and what they want.
In the meantime, we must set to work to find a new bride for the king.
It's true he has an heir at last, but one is scarcely sufficient.
To be safe, he must produce another.
How is the king?
He shut himself away.
Some say for grief, that he's all broken.
He'll have none attend him...
...but only one.
Who's that?
Hey.
Majesty.
Well...
...what do you think?
I don't think. Are you mad? Thinking is dangerous.
But l'll wink.
Idiot.
What? What about you?
Think about it. You find the perfect wife...
...she's sweet, pliable...
...she even has good tits.
On top of that, she gives you the son you've always wanted.
And you let her die.
Jesus Christ have mercy, and you think l'm the idiot?
And she's not the only one.
Poor abandoned Catherine.
-Careful. -And that other one...
...whose name escapes me...
...as her head escaped her. All lost. All lost.
Go to hell.
What, go there?
I thought I'd already arrived.
For surely, gracious lord, this is hell.
Poor lamb, never to know his own mother.
No, he will know her. Through me.
Through others who knew her gentle kindness.
We shall all keep her memory so green that he will think it always spring...
...and she still so young and fair, when he first hears talk of her.
My lady's household is now to be dissolved.
The king himself seems very grieved by her death.
But he has commanded that no effort be spared...
...to protect this precious jewel, his only son.
A new household is to be established for him at Hampton Court...
...and l am to head it...
...responsible altogether for his nurture and education.
I can think of no one who could be trusted more, Lady Bryan.
Perhaps someday soon, God willing, Lady Mary...
...you yourself will have a child.
I hear some rumour of a Spanish prince.
Yes, but there is nothing definite.
And in the meantime I shall return to Hunsdon...
...and live quietly in the countryside like an English gentlewoman.
Except that I shall take the Lady Elizabeth with me.
And knowing that young lady, you shall have no quiet at all.
I don't mind.
She and my brother Edward are, excepting the king...
...my only family, and l shall love them all.
Oh, l had forgotten.
How is your son, Sir Francis?
Has he not gone away for the king?
He has, my lady. But alas, l have no news of him.
Sir Francis, l came especially to welcome you to Caserta.
Leave.
May I see your letters of passage?
These are letters of introduction to the prince of Naples.
You don't trust me?
I need to see those letters.
And l need to see Cardinal Pole.
Do you really suppose you can threaten me, Sir Francis?
You're sheltering a traitor.
I want to know where he is. You are going to tell me.
Or God help me, l'll kill you, and l have the immunity to do it.
So is he here?
Is he here?
Where is he?
It's called Nonsuch Palace.
Why?
Because it doesn't exist?
No.
Because there's no place like it.
-But it doesn't exist. -l'll build it.
Then you will have built an imaginary palace...
...and you will need imaginary people to fill it.
Are there not lots of those?
I think so. For you are one, and I another.
And the whole court is imaginary and all this is a dream.
It's all I have.
Then dream on.
-Good night, Cardinal Pole. -Wait.
Wait.
I've grown afraid of my own shadow.
The papal seal. The Holy Father blessed it himself.
I feel safe when l have it.
-Will you sleep outside the door? -Yes, Your Eminence.
-Good night, then. -Good night, Eminence.
Don't move.
Traitor!
He got away.
Sweetheart?
Is all well with you?
Yes.
No.
For sometimes I think I do not want this child in my belly.
Oh, my love, why do you say so?
For it will always be haunted by the ghosts of other children.
Murdered children.
Unwanted, unloved for the bloody memories it provokes.
Better it was gone before it was ever born.
I have other ideas for the palace.
I'll construct beautiful gardens full of groves, hidden delves, paths.
There will be a grove of Diana, showing the goddess in her bath.
Statues everywhere, fountains spouting water...
...whilst marble birds pour forth water from their bills.
What do you say, fool?
I like it all. l like everything about it.
Except the groves. I don't like the groves.
Or the fountains. Or the paths.
Or the marble birds.
Everything else l like.
You don't understand.
The French king has a palace at Chambord...
...which is the envy of all the world.
But Nonsuch will trump it a hundred-- A thousand times.
Then, in time...
...like everything else, it will dissolve away.
Like the ruins of ancient Rome, the Colossus of Rhodes...
...all things tend towards their ruin...
...even great houses and the fools who build them.
And so, in a little space, there will indeed be Nonsuch Palace...
...for it will all be gone.
A vacancy, a nullity...
...a green thought in a green shade.
And yet people will say:
"There once existed a great palace there.
A palace beyond beauty. A palace beyond compare.
And King Henry built it."
And so it will still exist.
True, true.
The only things which exist are in people's heads.
And you never found a head so fine but you could make it fly.
Your turn.
Don't play the fool.
Why not?
-You'll lose the game. -lndeed.
But, hey, l would much rather lose the game than lose my head.
Fool.
Feel the weight. Hold it, hold it.
Gawen, you're up late. Does your Master Seymour know?
What are you scared of?
Poor Gawen.
Who is he?
Sir Gawen Carew. One of Lord Seymour's retainers.
Why was he killed?
It may have been for a gambling debt, my lord.
-May have been? -We are investigating, my lord.
You have not found the killer?
No, my lord. Although it seems possible...
...it was one of my Lord Sussex's retainers.
It's illegal to carry arms in court while the king is in residence.
-The penalties are severe. -Yes, my lord.
What about my friend Mr. Packington? Have you not found his killer?
-No, my lord. -No.
It seems to me, that as the man appointed to keep order at court...
...you are singularly failing in your duties.
I trust you will apprehend the villain and prevent any further violence...
...otherwise you will pay the price for your failures.
It's in order. You may take Sir Francis through, Lady Bryan.
-Thank you. This way, Francis. -Mama.
What's this?
The king has given orders, personally, that all the rooms, chambers...
...and passages around the prince's apartments...
...are to be scrubbed with soap three times daily.
The prince also has his own kitchen where all his meals are prepared...
...now that he's weaned from Mother Jack.
Everything he might touch has to be washed...
...and everything he might eat, tasted for poison.
His personal chamberlain supervises his meals, his robes and daily bath.
He must be the cleanest baby in England.
He is the most precious baby in England.
-My lord. -Thank you, Lady Bryan.
Why have you come here?
Has the king banished you to the nursery...
...for letting Cardinal Pole slip through your fingers?
His Majesty is anxious to assure himself of his son's well-being.
He has no need to be concerned.
The protection of the prince is also my first priority...
...since he is also of my blood.
I thank you, Sir Francis, in future, to leave my nephew alone.
And my wife too.
Do I make myself clear?
-The Lord Chancellor. -Richie.
Please take a seat.
There's something new I would like to discuss with you.
You know that the king has seen fit to start remodelling his palaces.
Including the enlargement at Hampton Court.
My lord, I have already released funds for the project.
And also for the construction of St. James's Palace.
Here's a new one.
But this is a fantasy work.
It will cost a fortune.
As a result of the dissolution of the monasteries...
...His Majesty has gained a large fortune.
Yes, but did you ever suppose it would be squandered on fantasies?
Can you not...
-...talk to him? -Richie.
What the king wills, the king must have.
He's not to be argued with or crossed.
He's still mourning the death of his beloved wife.
And he will talk to no one but Will Somers.
Will Somers?
His fool?
-He will talk to no one but his fool? -lt's not the first time.
In extremis, always.
-For how long? -l don't know.
But l wish he would come out, for without him...
...we're all gone to hell.
Now, fool, fool. There's something else we have to decide.
We have to decide which articles of faith...
...and which commandments are best for our new Church, our people.
So they can walk in good ways.
-Thou shalt not, what? -Play the fool?
-Covet thy neighbour's wife. -Unless she's very pretty.
Or his manservant, maidservant, ox, ass.
Or your neighbour's wife's ass.
Don't be facetious, fool.
Did you know--? Did you know...
...that in Exodus there are 61 3 commandments?
Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
Thou shall have three feast days unto me a year.
Thou shalt never vex a stranger.
Whosoever lies with a beast shall be surely put to death.
Sheep shaggers. Pigeon fanciers.
Thou shall not venerate the vicar of Rome.
Or lick his arse.
-For thine is the kingdom-- -The power and the glory.
-Amen. -That's the doxology.
Doxology?
It's the dog's bloody bollocks.
I miss her, Will.
I miss her so much.
I know.
But this too shall pass.
Why go on dwelling in darkness?
You know that the land of the wounded king...
...is only a parched wasteland...
...thirsting for rain and Your Majesty's grace.
Sir, there's a fight. You'd best come quick.
Whoever you are, hold!
Put up your swords, in the name of the king.
You are committing treason.
You, sir, give up your swords.
I say, on pain of death, give them up.
You heard the sergeant. Give me your sword.
Very well.
Go. Go now. Go.
Put up your swords!
Three days, three days.
While the king's indisposed...
...no one has the authority to make decisions on his behalf.
The prince, my nephew, is in my custody...
...and no one is or will be allowed to see him without my written approval.
He is the king's son and the property of the state.
-He is not your property, my lord. -Hear, hear.
Lord Privy Seal.
My lords.
Your Grace.
-A kingdom without a king. -Bite your tongue, sir.
I beg you all, can we not now come to order?
By what right and by whose command, Mr. Secretary...
...do you summon the king's council?
Hear, hear.
My Lord Hussey, as you well know, the king is incommunicado.
Then your only authority...
...to put yourself above others is a usurped one.
As Lord Privy Seal, I think I have the right...
...and the responsibility in loco parentis...
...of summoning your lordships to council.
Gentlemen.
Gentlemen, surely you can see there must be a meeting of council.
In absence of the king, there has been malevolence...
...and violence at court, including the death of the sergeant at arms.
I have heard that your own servants...
...are much involved in the violence, Mr. Secretary.
Some say that they may have even provoked it.
If that could be proved, l should rightly forfeit your lordships' trust.
But l can assure Your Grace it is not true...
...and others should look to their own conscience.
What do you mean by that?
There are some who desire disorder with all their hearts.
Thinking to use it to their advantage.
Mr. Cromwell, you presume too far above your very base and low degree.
Until the king is well, you will not summon me anymore to anything.
Hear, hear.
Not even to a dogfight.
I'm with you, my lord.
For God's sake, have you any news of the king?
Yes, he's rewriting the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments.
-What? -Exactly.
-How are the prawns? -Delicious.
I've warned Sir Francis Bryan to stay away from you.
Why?
He's dangerous.
Well, not to you, surely? Not with the boy.
The king listens to him.
That makes him dangerous to everyone.
I shall have to destroy him.
What a pity. He makes me laugh.
I'm sure he makes a lot of women laugh.
That's a very small thing to you, isn't it, Edward?
I think there are more important things, yes.
No doubt you're right.
But as long as you do, don't expect me to be faithful to you.
May I have some more prawns?
Wakey wakey.
His Majesty would like to see you.
At once.
-Master Cromwell. -Majesty.
How goes the world?
The king of France has written to Your Majesty...
...to congratulate you on the birth of your son.
Tell Francis...
...divine providence has mingled my joy...
...with the bitterness of death...
...of her who brought me such happiness.
Tell Bishop Gardiner I wish to see him. I wish to talk to him.
Of course, Your Majesty.
How's my son?
Everything's been done to protect the prince...
...in strict accordance with Your Majesty's instructions.
I love that boy.
If anything should ever happen to him....
-Majesty, l wonder-- -Wonder?
Tell me, what do you wonder, Mr. Cromwell?
I wonder if Your Majesty could frame your mind towards a new marriage.
After all, however much is done to protect the prince--
I may frame my mind. Why not?
What do you suggest?
I took the liberty of instructing our ambassadors...
...in France and in the Low Countries to begin making enquiries.
And?
The French have proposed two possible consorts for Your Majesty.
Margaret, the daughter of the king...
...and Marie, the daughter of the Duc de Guise.
Our ambassador in France sings the latter's praises...
...although it seems she is half promised to the king of Scotland.
Majesty?
How is the king?
He has just lately emerged from his seclusion.
It is said that, although he is little disposed to it...
...the council is urging him to take the extreme step of marrying again.
Marriage?
I don't suppose you've heard any more about Don Luis and my own marriage?
As to that, Lady Mary, I am afraid l have no news for you...
...whether good or bad.
It seems perhaps the issue is in abeyance...
...at least for the time being.
Perhaps it is my fate never to marry.
No, gentle lady.
No. I am sure the king will make up his mind...
...to arrange a most brilliant marriage for you.
If not to Don Luis, then to someone even more eligible.
I thought you said Don Luis was incomparable.
-Madam, l did not mean-- -No, you meant well.
You always mean well.
Jane's household is now all broken up.
-Where will you go, Lady Misseldon? -To live with my mother.
What about the young man you were engaged to?
Robert Tavistock?
I think he is not so interested in me.
Well, he's a fool, then.
You're kind to think so, Sir Francis.
Is he so foolish he'll turn down a peerage...
...and a gift of one of the dissolved abbeys...
...if he agrees to marry you?
Majesty, I would think less of him...
...if he needed to accept such gifts in order to love me.
Your Majesty has been more than generous and gracious...
...but l am settled in my plan to go home...
...and see what shall become of me.
In my present state of mind...
...you could not have said a more admirable thing.
You may leave with our love and blessing.
One more night.
-The traitor Pole escaped you. -Yes.
We had other agents looking for him, but he was smuggled off to ltaly.
No doubt he's sitting on the pope's lap even now.
His betrayal hurts me.
Pity it is that the folly of one brain-sick Pole...
...or to say better, one witless fool, should be the ruin of so great a family.
Though l cannot touch him, I swear l will make him eat his heart.
The Holy Father mentioned you in his prayers today.
He thanked God for your safe deliverance.
I was sure I was going to die.
Death is not ready for you yet.
God has something else in mind.
How else to explain the miracle of your survival?
My brother, Lord Montague, has sent me a letter.
Show me.
"I send you God's blessing and mine.
Although my trust to have comfort in you has turned to sorrow.
It is incredible to me...
...that by reason of a brief sent to you by the bishop of Rome...
...you should be resident with him for this winter.
If you keep that way, then farewell all my hope...
...and God save your mother and all your family."
What should l do?
That letter was not written by your brother...
...but dictated to him by Cromwell, the messenger of Satan.
Never let the devil beguile you, either with his threats or his promises.
The price of your soul is eternal vigilance.
If you once let down your guard...
...the devil will slip like a serpent into your mouth...
...and forever afterwards he will speak for you.
Lord Bishop, you and your committee were asked...
...to examine and determine the doctrine of the Church of England.
But you seem unable to agree on anything.
Your Majesty...
...there continue to be some fundamental theological differences...
-...between members of the committee. -l'm aware of that.
But l've grown very impatient...
...and l will not tolerate any more divisions.
I have formulated six fundamental doctrinal questions.
The answers to these questions will form the basis of our faith.
Of course, as Your Majesty wishes.
I shall go at once to Canterbury and consult with the archbishop.
My lord...
...save yourself the journey.
I think we understand each other very well.
Let's leave Archbishop Cranmer to tend to his own garden.
There's really no need to bother him.
Don't you agree?
Your Majesty, here are the Six Articles of Faith...
...upon which Your Majesty's Church of England...
...is to be built and sustained.
Read them.
The first article concerns the truth of the transubstantiation of God.
By the consecration of the bread and the wine at holy Mass...
...there takes place a change in the whole substance of the bread...
...into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord...
...and a change in the substance of the wine...
...into the substance of his blood.
The penalty for denying this is death by burning...
...even after recantation.
The second article concerns...
...the withholding of the cup from the laity during Communion.
For if we offer them the blood of Christ...
...they will lose all their reverence for the holy sacraments...
...and the power of the blood will be washed away.
The third article prescribes the continued validity...
...of the vows of celibacy for all priests and nuns.
For does St. Paul not say:
"He that is without a wife is solicitous for the things of the Lord...
...how he may please God.
And he that is with a wife is solicitous for the things of the world."
All priests who are now married must forthwith desert their wives...
...or face the penalty of death.
The fourth article concerns the observation of the vows of chastity.
A priest makes a vow of chastity...
...and any violation of that vow must surely be a sin against religion.
To turn aside a vow to God and to writhe in the pit of fornication...
...is to follow the devil willingly into the mouth of hell.
The fifth article herein decided...
...is concerned with the continuation of private Masses...
...whereby good Christian people may receive both godly...
...and goodly consolation and blessings for their souls.
The siXth article confirms the importance of confession.
Confess your sins to one another.
Anyone who disputes against these articles...
...must now be considered a heretic...
...like those extreme Lutherans who now roam this land.
The punishment for transgression is to be death by hanging...
...drawing and quartering, as well as forfeiture of estates and property.
And any man who decides...
...to try to flee England in the face of these new articles...
...will be considered to have committed treason...
...and suffer accordingly the awful fate handed out to traitors.
Thank you, my Lord Bishop.
Your Eminences are to be congratulated...
...on your hard work and manifest wisdom.
Here we have six articles we may adhere to with a clear conscience.
There is one final amendment.
Henceforth, the Lord's Prayer will be altered to include the doxology:
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory.
Amen.
My lords, eminences, Your Grace.
Now that these matters have been determined...
...let us prosecute with absolute diligence...
...all those who stubbornly stand against us.
These aren't six articles, they are a whip with six strings.
Cranmer will have to send his wife and son back to Germany...
...or be burned.
Oh, it's not just that, Mr. Rich.
Private Masses, confession...
...the body and the blood of Christ, these are Catholic measures.
He's rolled back the reforms. It's the end of our Reformation.
-Why? -Because in his heart...
...he has always been a true Catholic.
Excepting this one thing, that he would have neither pope...
...nor Luther, nor any other man set above him.