The lifelong obsession of King Henry VIII (Richard Burton) is to have a son and heir, but his wife, the pious Catherine of Aragon (Irene Papas), has failed to produce a son in their 23 years of marriage.
Henry visits Hever Castle, the Boleyn family home, where Mary Boleyn (Valerie Gearon), one of his mistresses, is expecting the king’s illegitimate child.
Her father, Thomas Boleyn (Michael Hordern) – a compulsive social climber – tells her, “You made the mistake of giving everything and asking for nothing.”
Her beautiful younger sister Anne (Geneviève Bujold) is determined not to make the same mistake.
She rebuffs Henry in public and the enraged king orders her to Court – as a lady-in-waiting to the Queen.
The power and glamour of the Royal Court changes Anne but behind her expression of vulnerable innocence she conceals a fiery temperament and a steely determination to be more just than another of Henry’s mistresses which drives the king to rage and despair.
Henry is so enamoured of the young and beautiful Anne that he defies the Pope, appoints himself the head of “the Church in England”, seizes the wealth of the monasteries, upsets the Emperor of Spain, and divorces Catherine to get Anne into the royal bed chamber.
The bliss of Henry and Anne is shattered when Anne gives birth to a daughter, Elizabeth (Amanda Jane Smythe). It’s a bitter disappointment to Henry, who desperately wants an heir.
Anne promises Henry a son “next time” but Henry feels the marriage is blighted.
The King becomes infatuated with one of Anne’s ladies-in-waiting, Jane Seymour (Lesley Paterson), who Anne promptly banishes.
She agrees to allow her to return if the king signs the Act of Succession, ensuring that Elizabeth will become Queen of England in the event of Henry’s death.
Anne subsequently gives birth to a son – but it is stillborn
Henry looks for a legal way of divorcing Anne and the resourceful Cromwell rigs accusations of treason, adultery, and incest against her. At her trial the case is not completely proved, but Henry’s suspicions are not at rest.
Anne’s one-thousand-day reign as Queen of England ends with her losing her her head on the executioner’s block, leaving Henry free to marry Jane Seymour.
Richard Burton is superbly domineering as Henry, and Anthony Quayle and John Colicos are a pair of convincing rogues as Cardinal Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell.
Elizabeth Taylor makes a brief cameo appearance as a masked courtesan who enters a room, realises the Queen is in the room, and excuses herself to tiptoe out, closing the door behind her. She was paid £20 for her 25-second appearance.
Location shooting took place at Hever Castle and Penshurst Place in Kent.
Although the script draws heavily from ‘Tudors for Simpletons 101’, the film was nominated for ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It only won the Oscar for Best Costume Design, in recognition of the amazing work of costume designer Margaret Furse.
King Henry VIII
Richard Burton Anne Boleyn
Geneviève Bujold Queen Catherine (Catherine of Aragon)
Irene Papas Cardinal Wolsey
Anthony Quayle Thomas Cromwell
John Colicos Thomas Boleyn
Michael Hordern Elizabeth Boleyn
Katharine Blake Norfolk
Peter Jeffrey Fisher
Joseph O’Conor Thomas More
William Squire Mary Boleyn
Valerie Gearon Mendoza
Vernon Dobtcheff Smeaton
Gary Bond Lord Percy
Terence Wilton Weston
Denis Quilley Kingston
Esmond Knight Norris
T.P. McKenna George Boleyn
Michael Johnson Campeggio
Marne Maitland Lady Kingston
Nora Swinburne Bess
June Ellis Prior Houghton
Cyril Luckham Brereton
Brook Williams Jane Seymour
Lesley Paterson Baby Elizabeth
Amanda Jane Smythe Princess Mary
Nicola Pagett
Director
Charles Jarrott
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Henry visits Hever Castle, the Boleyn family home, where Mary Boleyn (Valerie Gearon), one of his mistresses, is expecting the king’s illegitimate child.
The bliss of Henry and Anne is shattered when Anne gives birth to a daughter, Elizabeth (Amanda Jane Smythe). It’s a bitter disappointment to Henry, who desperately wants an heir.
Anne’s one-thousand-day reign as Queen of England ends with her losing her her head on the executioner’s block, leaving Henry free to marry Jane Seymour.
