The Six Wives of Henry VIII is a series of six television plays produced by the BBC and first transmitted between 1 January and 5 February 1970. The series later aired in the United States on CBS from 1 August to 5 September 1971 (with narration added by Anthony Quayle).

Each of the six plays focuses on a single wife, often from their perspective, and was written by a different dramatist. The series was produced by Mark Shivas and Ronald Travers and directed by Naomi Capon and John Glenister.

Cast Keith Michell as Henry VIII Wolfe Morris as Thomas Cromwell Annette Crosbie as Catherine of Aragon Dorothy Tutin as Anne Boleyn Anne Stallybrass as Jane Seymour Elvi Hale as Anne of Cleves Angela Pleasence as Catherine Howard Rosalie Crutchley as Catherine Parr Patrick Troughton as the Duke of Norfolk Bernard Hepton as Archbishop Thomas Cranmer Sheila Burrell as Lady Rochford Basil Dignam as Bishop Gardiner John Woodnutt as Henry VII Valentine Palmer as Lord Willoughby Mollie Sugden as Lotte, handmaid to Anne of Cleves Robert James as Robert Barnes Catherine Lacey as Dowager Duchess of Norfolk Howard Goorney as Will Sommers, court fool to Henry VIII

Episodes

Reception Historian Eric Ives commended the interpretation of writers Rosemary Sisson and Nick McCarty as leading the modern audience to a better understanding of the actions and values of King Henry and Anne Boleyn.

Awards and honours Year Award Category Recipient(s) Result 1970 Prix Italia Original Dramatic Program Jane Seymour 1971 BAFTA Awards Best Actor Keith Michell Best Actress Annette Crosbie Best Production Design Peter Seddon Best Costume Design John Bloomfield Special Award Ronald TraversMark Shivas Best Drama Production Best Drama Production (Single Program) John Glenister(Catherine of Aragon) Best Actress Dorothy Tutin 1972 24th Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Keith Michell Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Series Outstanding Drama Series Ronald TraversMark Shivas Outstanding New Series Outstanding Single Program, Drama or Comedy

Legacy The series spawned a sequel, Elizabeth R (1971), starring Glenda Jackson, which included several performers reprising their roles in the first episode: Ronane, Hepton, Dignam and Crutchley. A prequel, The Shadow of the Tower (1972), starred James Maxwell and Norma West as Henry's parents, Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.

Jane Seymour writer Ian Thorne adapted the series into the film Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972). Michell reprises his role, with the wives being portrayed by Frances Cuka, Charlotte Rampling, Jane Asher, Jenny Bos, Lynne Frederick and Barbara Leigh-Hunt. Cromwell is played by Donald Pleasence, and the Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk by Michael Gough and Brian Blessed.

See also Wives of Henry VIII Cultural depictions of Henry VIII Cultural depictions of Anne Boleyn

References

External links