The Queen Who Survived Henry VIII | The Six Queens of Henry VIII | Channel 5

[Music] catherine was bright and attractive she'd be married twice before both times to older men and both had died leaving her financially independent so catherine was a rare woman in the 16th century she didn't have to marry for security or position she could marry for love and Catherine had made her choice Thomas Seema was a handsome and powerful courtier the couple were deeply in love and planning to marry but Seymour had a rival for Catherine's hand for King [Music] Henry had been watching Catherine and he liked what he saw he found himself drawn to this mature intelligent and caring woman we often think that in pursuing catherine parr henry was looking for a nursemaid I think he was looking for an equal Catherine had been married before and she was older than the giddy Catherine Howard but she was also beautiful experienced and self-assured she was named after Catherine of Aragon who is her godmother and she shared many of her qualities so in a sense here I think we can see Henry looking back to his first marriage this was exactly the sort of Queen he'd chosen right back at the beginning for Catherine this was a disaster she loved Thomas Seymour and she had no ambition to be queen or to lose her head Catherine could have refused Henry's offer that it was pretty unthinkable a proposal from the king was the equivalent of a Royal Command Catherine didn't know what to do so she turned to God for guidance and the answer came back loud and clear on the 12th of July 15:43 in a small private ceremony at Hampton Court Catherine married the man she chose was Henry the eighth's Catherine wasn't marrying for love or for the crown she was marrying Henry because she believed God wanted her to be queen for a reason [Applause] it's a real thrill to be able to see these this is Catherine's own copy of her book prayers and meditations and you can see it's beautifully bound it was the first work to be written by woman and published under her own name but it's really an inoffensive collection of snippets from other holy works this however is completely different this is Catherine's spiritual autobiography in this book Catherine attacks what she saw as a superstitious Roman Catholic Church she describes the Bishop of Rome the Pope as a persecutor of the gospel a set of fourth of all superstition and counterfeit holiness bringing many souls to hell Catherine believed it was her god-given mission to convince Henry to finish his Protestant reforms and finally rid England of Catholicism I now pronounce you man and wife Henry had no idea of Catherine's religious convictions it was just as well [Music] extreme Protestant reformers were considered heretics in henries England and the punishment for that was death the new Queens beliefs would have to remain a secret at least for now by the summer of 1546 Henry was back from fighting in France and Catherine saw her opportunity why you have to the glory of God began a good and a godly work in banishing that monstrous idol of Rome you should thoroughly finish the job ends your church clean it of the tracks and purge it of the superstition but Catherine had gone too far Henry thought he'd cleansed the Church of superstition and he didn't like being told he hadn't done things properly and he didn't want to be pushed into further reform Henry hated all sorts of extremism he was mortally offended by Catherine's words and this was an age when words could be treasonous so why did Catherine say it perhaps she thought she could sway the king whilst he was sick and weak whatever her reasoning it was an intensely risky strategy for well sweetheart unfortunately for Catherine her words were overheard by Bishop Gardiner [Music] it is a good hearing when women become teachers and a fine thing to come in my old days to be taught by my wife I think the queen forgets herself it's an unseemly thing for any of his Majesty's subjects to reason or argue with you garden and you just how to manipulate Henry he filled the Kings already paranoid mind with thoughts of Catherine's disloyalty the religion of the Queen not only goes against the policy of your government it teaches the people that all should be equal it is a dangerous and perilous thing for a prince to suffer such insolent words Gardner then went in for the kill speaking the words she spoke and defending those arguments by law deserves death finish what you started the other day it seems you have clear ideas or matters of religion Henri was setting a trap he expected Catherine to repeat her radical views and sign her own death warrant but she wouldn't fall into his trap why would she require my opinion God has appointed you the supreme head and gothner here on earth not so Kate you instruct me and are no longer instructed by me I just he was very much mistaken me I think hid preposterous and unseemly for a woman to try to instruct or teach her husband Catherine acted the meek and submissive wife is this sure sweetheart I spoke not to push my own opinion but to hear yours she claims she had only said radical things in order to hear the truth from Henry it was a bold lie but would it be enough to save her life it does me good to hear these words from your mouth perfect friends we are again catherine had denied her beliefs but she had escaped with her life catherine parr was Henry's final wife but she showed she knew him best of all what Henry needed was obedience for Catherine this meant a massive personal sacrifice religious reform was her life but she knew she couldn't carry out that reform if she went to the executioner's block tonight so she hid her true beliefs and survived to fight another day Catherine Parr chose to live [Music] Catherines words had a powerful effect on the aging king he was a man had been betrayed so many times by his best friend by countless advisors by the wives had loved and lost to find out that one person had been true to him all along then everything Henry believed he had finally found his perfect wife but he didn't live long enough to enjoy her on the 28th of January 1547 three and a half years into his final marriage bloated and riddled with disease the 55 year old King died [Music] you you

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Id: qvhzLyK1yZM

Length: 10min 16sec (616 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 08 2020