Elizabeth!
- Lady Mary. - Elizabeth!
Are you dressed? - Not quite. I was reading.
Come and sit. I have some news.
- Mary, what is it? - I just heard!
By Act of Parliament you and I are
both restored to the succession.
After Edward and his heirs, of course.
The King himself must have commanded this.
Are you not pleased, Elizabeth? Think what this means.
Yes, Mary. If you are pleased then so am I.
It means that the King loves both of us.
And that you may be Queen some day.
And you. Queen Elizabeth.
Elizabeth?
What's wrong?
Because of what happened-
to Queen Katherine, I have made my mind up.
In what?
As God is my witness,
I shall never marry!
Never!
Your Majesty, His Excellency the Imperial Ambassador.
- Excellency. - Your Majesty.
Your Majesty is most gracious.
I am sure Your Majesty is aware
my master, the Emperor, is once more
at war with King Francis.
The French King's despicable alliance with the Turk
threatens not only the borders of the Emperor's domains,
but also the security of the whole of Europe.
For that reason alone,
his Imperial Majesty has asked me
to offer the hand of friendship to Your Majesty once more,
in joint alliance
against the perfidious French.
What would I gain?
All your lost territories.
The whole of Aquitaine.
Excellency.
Risley!
Excellency.
His Excellency the French Ambassador.
- Monsieur Marillac. - Your Majesty.
I hear your country is at war-with the Emperor.
Indeed.
The Emperor has broken all his promises
and treaty obligations,
both to my master King Francis and to you.
Monsieur Marillac,
when you signed a treaty, your master agreed to pay
an annual pension to this country,
which he has defaulted on for the past two years.
As a consequence, he now owes arrears of a million crowns.
Majesty, if that is true--
You doubt my word, Monsieur Marillac?
Then-
His Majesty will be informed.
And redress will surely follow.
The alliance between our countries has kept
the balance of power in Europe for over ten years.
Surely Your Majesty would not care
to compromise that arrangement now,
in the face of Imperial aggression?
Monsieur Marillac.
I want you to write a letter to the King of the Scots. Tell him that we invite him
to sign a treaty acknowledging our suzerainty
over his country. Also to tell him to stop
his French and Papal alliances, or suffer the consequences.
- Majesty. - My Lord, I want you to prepare to go to Scotland
in case my cousin refuses to concede to our demands.
- Majesty. - And take Surrey with you.
You play very well, Mr. Leigh.
Always the sign of a wasted life.
You know, you and I have
more in common
than you might imagine, my Lord.
- What? - Our families
both come from St. Mary's parish in Stockwell
and our chapels were founded in the same year.
That hardly makes us equal, Mr. Leigh.
There is another thing.
Like you,
my family was related to the late Queen.
Do not you think it unseemly to raise her ghost at court?
I think it unseemly
that you Howards turned a blind eye
to her despicable wantonness,
which tarnished the reputations of all of us associated
- with her! - "You Howards!"
Is that what you just said?
"You Howards"?!
Guards! GUARDS!
I'll cut your tongue out, so help me God!
I'll cut your fucking tongue out!
Get off me!
Lord Latimer,
Sir Thomas Seymour.
Oh. Sir Thomas,
how good of you to come.
Please... Please forgive my infirmities.
As you can see, I am not a well man.
I trust your Lordship will soon recover.
I am afraid my health is too far broken to be mended.
Ah! Allow me to present my wife,
Catherine Parr. Catherine, Sir Thomas Seymour.
Lady Latimer.
Sir Thomas.
Please. Sit down, Sir Thomas.
Sir Thomas, I do not know
if you are aware of my personal history?
The Latimers are an old northern family
and, unfortunately, we were caught up in the late Rebellion against His Majesty.
I myself was taken hostage by Robert Aske
and sore constrained by him.
His Majesty demanded that I reject Aske which I did,
and came to London to submit to him.
Still I think the shadow of treason hangs over me and my family.
I know you have the ear of the King.
I would like you to make submission
on my behalf to His Majesty,
of my utter loyalty and... and...
There, my darling.
Oh. Oh.
Close your eyes and rest now.
Sir Thomas.
Do you think he suspects anything?
No. Nothing. I'm sure of it.
He cannot be long for this world, Catherine.
- Hush! Don't say such things. - I only meant
that I cannot wait until we can be together, and married.
As truly as God is God,
I desire to marry you above all others.
The Earl of Surrey has written a letter to Your Majesty's Council.
The Earl is presently detained at the Fleet Prison.
Prison? What for?
It seems he was in an affray
with one John Leigh within the verge of the court
and was arrested by the Sergeant-at-Arms.
What was the cause of the quarrel?
I believe it touched upon his Lordship's pride.
- What does he write? - He demands his immediate release.
- Have you replied? - We informed his Lordship
that his lack of humility
would only impair his prospects of liberty.
And why does he say he should be released?
He infers that the Earl of Surrey has
no business being so treated in the first place.
He also speaks
of his readiness to serve Your Majesty on active duty.
I think he is the most foolish proud man in all of England.
Set a high surety on his future behaviour, but release him.
I want him in Scotland.
Go on with your Scottish pride!
My Lord Surrey, here are three of their nobles
captured in battle: Lord Cassilis, Lord Glencairn,
- and Lord Maxwell. - My Lords,
you will be treated with the honor and respect
due to your rank and station.
In the name of His Majesty, King Henry VIII,
I invite you to return with us to London, where you will be
most comfortably housed. However, I must ask you
to surrender your swords.
Aye.
Come with those horses and bring the rope!
My Lords, a great victory was had by us at Solway Moss.
Thanks to my Lord Hertford and to my Lord Surrey,
several Scottish nobles were captured
and are held here at our pleasure.
But that, my lords, is not the end to our good news.
Distracted by his grievous defeat,
the King of the Scots took to his bed-
and died just two days ago.
And on that day, his wife gave birth to their only child.
And it was not the son and heir they had hoped for.
But a girl!
- Yes. - Excellent. - Your Majesty,
I think we should see it as an act of divine intervention,
this passing of the Scottish crown to a very young
female. Thanks be to God. Thanks be to God, indeed.
- Absolutely. - It shall be a very happy Christmas.
In the absence of a Queen I have asked the Lady Mary
to preside over the festivities.
Also, my son will be performing his first public duties.
My Lords.
- Your Majesty. - Sir.
- Majesty. - Your Majesty.
Sir Thomas. I was told you considered
my treatment of the Earl of Surrey far too lenient.
You said he deserved a greater punishment.
- Your Majesty, I thought... - What business do you have to think?
If I were you I would not think-
if thinking makes me come to the wrong conclusion.
- Get out, Tom. - Majesty.
- You look beautiful. - My Lord.
May I wish you a very happy Christmas.
- Lady Mary. - Catherine.
How is Lord Latimer?
No better. He did not feel strong enough to come to court.
I am so sad for him.
And for you. I pray for both of you.
I thank you for that.
I will give him your good wishes,
and Happy Christmas. Happy Christmas, Catherine.
His Excellency, the French Ambassador.
Excellence.
Lady Mary!
Enchanté!
Prince Edward and Lady Elizabeth.
Edward! Edward! Don't be so impatient.
The Earl and Lady Hertford.
Prince Edward.
My Lords, may I present His Grace,
- Prince Edward. - My Lords.
- Your Grace. - You are most welcome
to His Majesty's court at this Christmas time.
Your Grace is very kind to speak to us in person.
- I have been practicing. - Well done.
- Now come. - Lady Scofield. Lady Davit.
My Lords, the King has a proposal to put to you.
There should be a peace treaty between our countries-
and a formal betrothal between Prince Edward
and the newly born Princess Mary of Scots.
The Earl of Devon.
The King is not unaware of possible... difficulties.
Which is why, if you support the cause,
you will be rewarded with a handsome pension
and will be released at once to return to Scotland.
I am sure your families are missing you greatly at this time of year.
I know how I should feel,
if I were separated from my own dear wife.
Your Grace. Welcome back to court.
Is the Duchess not with you?
No, she's-
the Duchess does as she pleases.
We live mostly separate lives.
I'm very sorry. I- I will pray for your reconciliation.
The Earl of Wexford.
How is the King?
He has been melancholy as you might have supposed.
I think he despairs of finding any happiness in this life.
But in the last few weeks his mood has altogether changed.
Why, I cannot explain. Triumph in Scotland, perhaps?
My Lady.
- Your Grace. - His Majesty the King!
- Your Majesty. - Your Majesty.
- Merry Christmas. - Merry Christmas Your Majesty!
Bravo!
Majesty.
- Your Majesty. - What is it?
The Lady Latimer is come to petition Your Majesty to lift
the suspicion of treason from her husband,
- Lord Latimer. - Where is she?
What does any of this have to do with you, Tom?
Nothing, Your Majesty.
Except that I'm a friend of the family.
I believe in Lord Latimer's complete loyalty to Your Majesty.
I think your mind works another way
and to another purpose... No, no. Don't deny it!
Nor can I blame you. She is still a very handsome woman,
and soon to be a very rich widow.
Bring her to me.
- Your Majesty. - Tom.
- Lady Mary. - My Lord.
My apologies, Your Excellency.
I have recently been away from court and I am not privy to the King.
Ambassador, excuse me.
You've been a long time absent from court, Your Grace!
Only to tend to my estates, Your Majesty.
I rather thought you'd been careful of me.
You imagine I'm still angry with you.
You can be too careful, Your Grace.
It is very remiss of you to neglect your sovereign for so long.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Anyway, I want you to do something for me.
Your Grace!
- I need to speak to your master. - Alas, Your Grace,
my master is in bed with gout and in the greatest agony.
No, no. Show His Grace in. By all means.
Your Grace must forgive me.
Of course.
I have brought something for you.
May I ask its import?
It contains the outlines for a secret treaty between our masters.
The recent seizures of English merchant ships
in the French ports
and the French King's new amity with the Turks
are the final straw.
King Henry promises to support the Emperor
whenever he is called upon to do so.
He also pledges to invade France
in conjunction with the Emperor's armies.
Your Grace could not have made me happier if you had brought me a cure for gout!
I will make sure
this is delivered to the Emperor immediately
and you can be sure that he will receive it
with the very greatest pleasure.
Your Majesty, Lady Latimer is here.
- Your Majesty. - Lady Latimer.
Lady Latimer, I wanted to assure you
there is no suspicion of treason against your husband,
still less against you and your family.
Thank you, Your Majesty.
I know very well the cause of the distress to Lord Latimer
during the late rebellion in the North.
I also know that you and your stepchildren were
very roughly handled by the traitor Robert Aske.
You must have been very frightened, my Lady.
Well, at the time, sir,
I was more frightened for my husband,
for his safety and his sanity.
I hear that Lord Latimer is unwell.
He is very ill indeed, Your Majesty
and not likely to live long.
- You have no children by him? - No, Your Majesty.
Nor by your first husband?
Ah. No.
I was married at seventeen to Edward Borough,
the son of Lord Borough.
But he died three years later.
I was told he was insane. Is it true?
It was not a happy marriage, Your Majesty.
Do you think such a thing exists?
Oh, yes!
I believe so with all my heart and soul.
Oh!
Ah... please forgive me.
No, no, no, no, no.
You are to be congratulated, Lady Latimer,
for your-eternal optimism.
Your Grace,
His Majesty has sent these papers for your attention.
Thank you, Mr. Risley.
Ah, Mr. Risley,
you know I'm sure
that the King has made a secret treaty with the Emperor,
the great champion of Catholicism!
Well, as a result, I see no reason why we should not start
hunting down all the Lutherans
and Evangelicals in His Majesty's Kingdom.
Do you think there are many such?
I know it!
They breed like rats.
They spread the vile disease of their heresy everywhere!
Some of them, even now,
are very close to the King.
And-we should flush them out?
Exactly.
And set them on the pyres at Smithfield.
Don't you agree, Mr. Risley?
Parcels, sweetheart?
- Who from? - From the King.
The King?
Parcels from the King?
Well. Are you not going to open them?
Yes...
Open them then.
What are they?
Pleats... and sleeves.
For dresses.
Let me look.
Are they fashionable? - Yes.
Why should the King send you presents?
I don't know. I think that I should return them.
You cannot return presents to the King.
You must acknowledge them.
I don't know why he has sent them.
Yes you do, my love.
Yes you do.
I feel as though I am dead already.
I call upon His Gracious Majesty,
King Henry VIII,
to pledge before God
and these witnesses to honor
this new Treaty between His Majesty
and King Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor.
This treaty of mutual assurance contains
within it an obligation
to undertake a war against France
within two years of this date,
to which His Majesty agrees to send 40,000 men-at-arms
for that purpose.
Your Majesty,
do you pledge to honor
all the terms of this new treaty?
I do, so help me God.
- Will you sign the Treaty? - I will.
Finally. Your men shall see France.
So Excellency,
is it true that a new treaty has been signed
between His Majesty and the Emperor!?
I don't understand.
What, but the design of subjugating Christendom,
could make a revengeful prince like the Emperor forget the insult
done to him by the King of England, in the person of his aunt?
Those insults are long forgotten, Monsieur Marillac.
You don't deny
then, that your master plan is
to subjugate the whole of Christendom?
I do deny it.
I believe those ambitions are held by the Turks,
with whom your own master is in alliance!
- Excellency! - Your Grace. - May I present you
with a formal intimation of war against your country.
Lady Latimer is here, Sir Thomas.
My God, look at you!
You look so very beautiful.
Catherine? What is it?
This dress was a gift.
A gift? From whom?
From the King.
When did the King start
sending you presents?
Recently. I-I gave him no cause!
No. Of course not. How could you?
Well, you do believe me, don't you?
Please say that you believe me.
Thomas, I love you.
I never sought these advances from the King,
do not welcome them.
You would not-
like to be Queen of England?
No! For heavens' sake!
You know what happens to his Queens!
Everyone knows what happens.
Thomas, I-I'm afraid.
Well, don't be.
He's just a lonely man that has set his cap at you.
I hope so.
Your Majesty should know that the Regent Queen of Scotland
has given permission for negotiations to begin
regarding a marriage contract
between her daughter Mary, soon to be Queen of Scots,
and your son, Prince Edward.
After the negotiations are complete a treaty
will be signed, uniting through marriage the English and Scottish thrones-
as Your Majesty so desires.
It seems our Noble Scottish lords did as we bid them.
Majesty, with an infant Queen, a quarrelsome nobility,
and a lack of French support, what choice do the Scots have?
I agree.
I only ask you to expedite negotiations
and not let this opportunity pass.
I don't always trust the Scots.
Your Grace-you tabled an item? Your Majesty,
I regret to have to inform you
that we have discovered a nest of heretics
at the very heart of Your Majesty's household.
Of whom do you speak?
The musicians of the Royal Chapel.
All of them?
The Master of Choristers, John Marbeck,
stands accused of being a secret Calvinist.
Also, the Organist,
Robert Testwood and Edmund Harman,
a singing man.
Do we have Your Majesty's permission
to arrest and examine these men?
Your Grace, I give you license.
I will have no Evangelicals or traitors in this household.
And for those who wish to alter or push my Reformation
to the extremes, I say this:
there will be no alteration to the Church of England
as long as I live!
John Marbeck. Robert Testwood!
Edmund Harman! You are all
under arrest.
Seize him!
You should not have come here, Mr. Testwood.
My Lord-where else could I go? Please help me.
I beg of you. There is nothing I can do,
without condemning myself, and that I will not do.
You are only to be examined by Gardiner.
If you answer him as he desires to be answered,
then what have you to fear? I fear, my Lady,
that His Grace will then resort
to other means of persuasion, since that is the way now.
Then you must be strong in your faith, Mr. Testwood.
We all know the day may come when we have to walk
in the path of Christ. But if we are afraid, if we turn away,
then we have no right to call ourselves true Christians.
If you so much as mention my husband's name,
I assure you that things will go very badly with your family.
Your sweet wife
and those two lovely children.
People tell me that you have been unwell, Lady Mary.
I trust not too unwell.
I thank you.
The surgeons have bled me once or twice, and so I think to be better.
- God willing. - Yes, God willing.
My Lady.
Tell me what is happening in court.
Is the King thinking of marrying again?
There is a new law enacted.
It requires that any lady the King may marry must,
on pain of death, disclose any charge
of sexual misconduct that might be
brought against her. Frankly, my Lady,
this rather narrows the field.
The ladies at court are-how to say-
not exactly known for their virtue.
I still think the King will want to remarry.
It is true he has a son,
but he will need another son to feel secure,
in case the first should die. You are right.
And yet-what woman on earth would want to marry a King
who either puts his wives away-or kills them?
Master Testwood.
Enough heretical material was discovered
in your house to have you condemned
as a secret Calvinist.
However, I would fain save you,
but you must help me first.
Just think.
The pain you suffer now will be
as nothing compared to the pains of the fire.
And all because you falsely,
mistakenly, treacherously
shelter those above you. If you will just confess to me their names.
Move it on!
There is an Usher of the King's, Sir Philip Holby.
Is he one of your heretic circle?
- No. - Dr. Simon Heynes,
the Dean of Exeter? You sang for him once, I think?
Is he another of your secret heretics?
And what of the Earl of Hertford?
You give me the Earl of Hertford,
and I will give you back your life.
An excellent plan, Your Majesty.
- My Lord. - My lady. - Of all the hook stories,
- this is my favourite. Do you agree? - Indeed.
How is your husband, Lady Latimer?
I'm afraid he has taken to his bed, Your Majesty,
and lately made his will.
I am very sorry to hear that.
I must thank Your Majesty for this beautiful dress,
and your other generous gifts,
of which I have done nothing to deserve.
You looked very sad, my Lady.
I am sure your recent life has been very difficult for you.
I wanted to give you something to give you good cheer.
I wanted to see you smile.
There.
We will soon be at war with France.
How is it, my Lord Suffolk?
It cannot come soon enough for me, Your Majesty. - I agree.
When it comes, the war will be a chance for us to exceed
even the glories of Henry V
at Agincourt. And you, my Lord Surrey?
Majesty, my kind always
desires the honor of the field.
And what better field than France?
Aye.
Do you play cards, Lady Latimer?
Yes, Your Majesty. I do.
Good.
The King seems quite taken with Lady Latimer.
It's true.
And we know that when he takes a fancy to a person or a thing,
he usually goes the whole way.
Perhaps that is why he's so happy.
My Lord,
have you heard what happened to those musicians who were arrested?
Gardiner examined them.
He was not satisfied with their answers
and all three have been transferred to the Tower.
May I ask why Your Grace is curious?
Yes. You may ask.
- Oh! - Excuse me, brother.
Oh!
Your hand, my Lady.
Your prize.
No, Your Majesty.
- Please. - Your Majesty, I couldn't.
Look inside.
Your Majesty,
although I am so touched,
and flattered,
I cannot accept this ring.
Please, accept this for me.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Sir Thomas!
I have some very good news for you. - Majesty?
I'm sending you to Brussels,
on permanent embassy to the court of the Regent of the Netherlands.
Does it please you, Sir Thomas?
I'm...
I'm very grateful to Your Majesty.
Good.
Is Your Majesty considering
another marriage?
Perhaps.
- And a war in France? - For certain.
Do you really want to fight again?
Yes. Don't you?
I thought you did.
And... take another wife?
Yes.
Am I not still able?
To have a wife? To have more children?
To be myself?
Requiem aeternum dona es Domine,
et Lux perpetua Au luceat.
John.
John, I need to say something to you.
John.
Go to hell...
In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.
Catherine Parr, we are sent here
by the King's Majesty to offer you,
after your days of mourning
for your late husband are complete,
his Majesty's hand in marriage.
His Majesty esteems you above all other women
in his kingdom and hopes to find you well disposed
towards his offer, in which case
he will be the happiest man now alive in England,
and you the happiest woman.