kiaora-1 I highly enjoyed this series. I watched it when it first aired in 1971. I later bought it on VHS. I'd now like to get it on DVD. I have watched this series countless times and never grow tired of it. Keith Michel is excellent as Henry VIII and having read the book by Allison Weir, Keith seems to portray Henry fairly accurately. I thought all of the actors/actresses did quite well. The woman who played Catherine Howard seemed to overact just a bit, but she still did a fine job. The series makes you feel as though you're right there in that time period. It almost makes me wish I could have been there, except for the fact that life for the royals wasn't as glamorous or even safe. You could feel the tension and fear in all of Henry's wives as they risked their very lives to be the wife of a tyrannical king. Henry didn't start out that way, but soon after his father had died, Henry had great aspirations about being the new king. He wanted to make England powerful and prosperous again. That meant fighting wars and slaughtering enemies. It was only a while later, after Catherine had failed to produce a living son, that Henry realized how important a legitimate living male heir would be to him and he was willing to risk others to get what he wanted.

vikicska-1 (To avoid to be on your Black list, I marked this message, with a warning "Contains spoiler" but please decide yourselves! Thank you very much!) Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to, kindly, advise you, that my Dear Ancestry Grandmother the German Princess and English Queen Anne of Cleves, with my Ancestry Grandfather the English Monarch King Henry VIII have had together two Royal Children. Their first-born Royal Child was their little Princess, born, in Sept/October 1540, which, then, became, my next Ancestry Grandmother, and their second Royal Child was the "Faire Boye", born, in January 1542, when this Truth, about these their concealed Royal Children, have been exposed, by the servants, which loved their English Queen Anne of Cleves, very much, and wanted her, to live, also, officially, with her Royal Husband, and not just secretly. But however, in this moment, when this have been revealed, our Dear Ancestry Grandmother the English Queen Ann of Cleves, according which, all things and all beings, in this world, which were and which are CLEVER, have been named, have immediately lost both of her Royal Children, at ones, as they had to be, immediately, sent, secretly, to exile, on to the Slovak Territory, of the Holly Roman Empire, where they, then had to live, without Mother and Father, in poverty and need and discriminations, and where all their Royal Descendants lives, this way, even, until today! Dear Friends, I would like to ask you, very much, please, be so kind, and do not talk, anymore, about our Dear Ancestry Grandmother the German Princess and English Queen Anne of Cleves, such disgracing her, and also us, all her English Royal Descendants, totally untrue things. She is my maternal strait line Ancestry Grandmother, through her first-born Royal Daughter, fathered by my Ancestry Grandfather the English Monarch King Henry VIII, and born in Sept/Oct 1542, and she was the most beautiful and the most decent, merciful, kind, and the most humble Queen, this entire World ever had! And this, I know absolutely exactly! Because exactly the same human character and beautiful look, have and had, also, all her Royal Descendants, - also my dear Mom, my dear Grandmother, and all the Ladies and Girls, in our Family, which are the Royal Descendants from this English Royal Family Tudor-Cleves. Please, be so kind, and just, read very carefully, and cautiously, everything about her, and do not believe any illogical statements, about her. Please, just, Open your Eyes and see, that she was a very beautiful Lady. Holbein did not lie, he was a GENUINE ARTIST! And nothing was "flattered", nothing was "old fashion", she just did something, what no one, in this world, ever, did, and this has caused, then, just, quite logically, this "strange/loving" behavior of my Ancestry Grandfather the King Henry VIII, towards her. But all this illogical, disgracing her, slanderous words, against her, dishonoring her and putting her down, were just made up, by her enemies, wanting to get, instead of her, and instead of her Royal Children, fathered by my Ancestry Grandfather the English Monarch King Henry VIII, and instead of their Royal Descendants, on to the English Throne! But our Grandfather the King Henry VIII loved her very, very much!!! Just look, what he gave her, and how he treated her! Always the best, as he could! He made her the most richest Lady, in England! But on the other hand, also, he wanted to protecting, her, and also his Dearest and most Precious Beautiful Royal Children, with her, so he did, what he did, as otherwise, no one from us, would be here, today! His first three Children, living in gold and silver, died, without even, being able, having their own children! Is this not strange, enough? And the Royal Descendants, from his both Royal Children, with his Royal Wife and our Ancestry Grandmother the German Princess and English Queen Anne of Cleves, even, despite of the poverty, need, discriminations and terribly hard life, in Exile, they, still, live in Slovakia, even, until today! And what their enemies did to me, personally, also, and this, absolutely innocently, you can read on: www.ludovitbialon.com". Thank you very much and Best Regards to all! Prince of England and Ireland from Tudor-Cleves Ludovit Bialon.

didi-5 This series - and can you imagine the BBC financing and supporting a nine-hour historical drama series these days? - focuses on one of the six wives each episode, an interesting approach which comes off better in some instalments than others. Still, what is here is excellent - and far better than the ridiculously truncated film which followed a few years later.Keith Michell as Henry. What more can I add to the praise which has already been put forward? He is excellent in every episode; we see Henry as a complex character who at times can cause us to sympathise with his predicament. The writing of this series is tight and believable, and the supporting characters are solid. This always helps move a series along when many supporting players are there throughout. Of particular note are Patrick Troughton as Norfolk, Bernard Hepton as Cranmer, and Sheila Burrell as Lady Rochford.Of the six wives, all are excellent in their own ways. Katherine of Aragon's story is rushed, but Annette Crosbie does her best and is both memorable and pathetic ... Dorothy Tutin as Anne Boleyn is more fiery but the trial scene is truly regal and gives a different perspective ... Anne Stallybrass as Jane Seymour is sweet, pious, and just a little bit cunning (and that episode, largely in flashback as Jane lies sick to death at her son's christening, is well done) ... Elvi Hale as Anne of Cleves is extremely convincing, and her episode is full of intrigue ... Catherine Howard, as played by Angela Pleasance, is all gloss and no substance, but you still feel for her as she goes headlong to her fate without recognition ... and Rosalie Crutchley as Katharine Parr is a dull old crow in black, widow of old men, who at first resents her lot and then comes to respect and love the sick king.This series really is remarkable. I would never get bored watching it - and eventually, it led to another top-class BBC drama, Elizabeth R, using some of the same cast and moving the story through the reigns of Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I herself.

marytimlaw This is the best of the 6 episodes about Henry's wives, probably because she was the most vital of his Queens, and the only one to be crowned in her own right. Dorothy Tutin is outstanding as the charasmatic woman who captured the heart of the King - she is a vivid contrast with Katherine of Aragon, solid and boring, and Jane Seymour timid and sly - I would recommend this film to anyone interested in the Tudor era and Anne in particular.