God, of infinite goodness...
...send prosperous life and long...
...to the high and mighty Princess of England...
...Elizabeth.
There can be no question of her legitimacy.
You will prepare a bill to put before Parliament.
lt will state that the line of succession is now firmly vested in our children...
...and no others.
l shall do as Your Majesty commands.
l am mindful, Mr. Cromwell, that there are some people...
...some wrong-headed, some biased people...
...are still unwilling to accept the validity of my marriage to the queen.
ln view of that, l think some sanction should be made against them.
Everyone will be given their opportunity...
...to demonstrate their loyalty.
l am told that the lady is much dismayed...
...at having given birth to a daughter and not the son she promised.
To my mind, it is sure proof that God has abandoned her.
How is my mother, the queen?
Alas, l cannot visit or speak to her.
l have little communications with her ladies.
And they tell me she is still strong...
...but always begs the king, your father...
...of his mercy, to be allowed to see you.
l am sure His Majesty will one day relent...
...for l think....
l believe with all my heart that he still loves and cares for me.
Oh, l am sure that he does.
Bishop Tunstall.
Sir Thomas.
Please.
Thank you.
To what do l owe this honour?
We have known each other a long time, Sir Thomas.
Now you've retired from public life and l never see you.
Naturally, l was concerned about your welfare.
l am very well, thank you.
But l am--
l am exercised by the fact that one of our old acquaintances...
...is still under house arrest.
You mean Bishop Fisher?
Yes, the outcome is regrettable.
The outcome of what?
His intransigence.
l see.
Tell me...
...has the king sent you here to see me?
His Majesty wondered...
...why you did not attend the queen's coronation...
...as you were invited to do.
Well, in answer to that, let me--
Let me show my poor mind to you.
There's a story about the Emperor Tiberius.
He had enacted a law, which exacted death for a certain crime...
...unless the offender was a virgin.
Now, when a virgin eventually appeared on the charge...
...the emperor didn't know exactly how to proceed.
So one of his council proposed the perfect solution:
Let her first be deflowered so she then can be...
...devoured.
There are some...
...and, no, l won't name them...
...who first procure you for the coronation...
...next to preach at it, and then to write books defending it.
Thus they deflower you...
...and will not fail soon afterwards to devour you.
But they shall never deflower me.
That was beautiful.
Do you play?
All the time.
-Majesty. -Lady Eleanor.
Yeah, well, you can take a look.
Never mind.
More like this. Watch.
Fingers like so.
Don't squeeze the arrow.
Draw...
...and release.
l'll never do that.
Yes, you will.
Your Grace, l have him.
Mr. Secretary.
Your Grace.
And your son.
Yes. l'm teaching him how to sport before l get too old for it.
Do you shoot, Cromwell?
Sometimes, Your Grace.
My lord.
Shall we walk?
What does the king want?
His Majesty would like to see you back at court with your wife.
He misses Your Grace's company.
And?
His Majesty is aware that you favour the imperialist cause.
You say so openly in council...
...and have, perhaps, a great sympathy for the dowager princess.
Don't you?
Actually, l do.
l'm not heartless...
...whatever some people think.
Quite the contrary.
But l serve the king.
His Majesty intends to vest the succession...
...with the children he will have with Queen Anne.
A bill will go before Parliament.
He wants to know if he'll have your support.
-She's hungry. -Hey.
Hey.
What are you doing?
Your Majesty.
May l not feed her from my own breast?
Queens don't do that...
...especially not for a daughter.
Give her back to her wet nurse.
The princess will shortly be given her own establishment at Hatfield.
Among others, the Lady Mary will attend and wait on her.
Catherine's daughter?
Yes.
lt is well that she knows her new place.
Secretary Cromwell is arranging it.
l will still give you a son.
Come soon, my darling, to my hot bed.
-Ladies. -Majesty.
Alice, children?
My dear family, l have something to say to you.
My income is now so greatly reduced...
...that we can no longer go on living as we are accustomed.
l am no longer the recipient of the king's bounty...
...and so l must live frugally...
...and reduce my household.
Those of you who can must live in your own houses...
...and eat at your own tables.
lt will be okay.
-But, Father-- -No. Come on.
Things inevitably must change.
You can't all be supported forever.
Life is not like that.
Real life is raw...
...and difficult.
And you must face up to that fact.
lf not to even worse things.
-Come on, eat up. -What does Father mean?
Eat your food while it's hot.
Would you pour the wine, please? Thank you.
Yes, Mother More.
The Lady Mary, Lady Bryan.
Lady Mary.
Welcome to Hatfield, your new home.
l am Lady Margaret Bryan, the princess's governess.
These other ladies are also here to attend the princess...
...as, of course, are you.
Lady Mary, may l present you to Her Highness...
...the Princess Elizabeth.
You will be shown to your room.
You will begin your duties in the mornings, after prayers.
l shall say my prayers alone.
This is your room, milady.
Christmas.
Well, why is it, as you get older, it always seems to be Christmas?
Of course, it is always Christmas for you, isn't it, my lord?
A baron in your own right now and some new titles. Remind me?
Master of Buckhounds.
Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.
Was there not another one?
Master of the Bedlam Hospital for the lnsane?
Yes.
Do you plan to visit it?
l don't mean as an inmate.
l read one of your satires about life here at court.
lf l were you, l'd be more careful about poking fun...
...at those who have the power to hurt you.
That's just friendly advice.
Here, my love.
l have a gift for you.
lt's fantastic.
-Who made this? -Master Holbein.
The man's a genius.
As are you...
...my beautiful queen.
Happy Christmas.
l could still do it.
l could find a way to poison her.
No.
-l thought that was what you wanted-- -lt would be blamed on my master.
At the moment, he doesn't need that.
He has a war with the Turks to contend with.
-But why should anyone ever know? -Don't be stupid, Brereton.
They would find you and torture you, and you would tell them everything.
No, l wouldn't.
l'd die a martyr's death.
You have never seen a man being tortured.
Now, do you understand?
You don't act alone.
Charles.
-Happy Christmas. -And to Your Majesty.
-l have a gift for you. -Where is it?
You'll have to wait till the new session of Parliament...
...for it's my vote.
How could l have ever doubted you?
Eleanor Luke.
You see the way the king looks at her?
She's his mistress.
Get rid of her.
-Mary. -Majesty.
We must find you a new husband.
l have another gift for you.
l am with child again.
Your Majesty, councillors...
...here is the new act, The Act of Succession...
...which l am commanded to present shortly to the Houses of Parliament.
The act nominates the children born of His Majesty and Queen Anne...
...as first rightful heirs.
lt protects this nation from the great divisions it has suffered in the past...
...when several different titles have pretended to the throne.
The act warns that anyone saying or writing anything to the prejudice...
...or slander of the lawful matrimony between the king...
...and his most dear and entirely beloved wife, Queen Anne...
...or against his heirs, would be guilty of high treason...
...for which the penalty is death...
...and forfeiture of goods to the crown.
''The new act requires all the king's subjects...
...if so commanded, to swear an oath...
...that they shall truly, firmly, constantly...
...without fraud and guile, observe, fulfil, maintain, defend...
...and keep the whole contents and effect of the bill.''
This oath will also require recognition of the king's supremacy...
...in all matters, spiritual and temporal.
Those who refuse to take it will be accounted guilty of treason...
...and sent to prison.
That is all well done, Mr. Secretary.
l am pleased.
So it must be sworn by oath after all.
God save us.
Does the king remain obdurate?
Yes, Holy Father.
He refuses to listen to advice.
And he forces all true believers to perjure their immortal souls.
How so?
They must all swear an oath that the king is head of the English Church.
Those who refuse are put in prison.
Like our brother in Christ, Bishop Fisher.
Yes, Holy Father.
This is unacceptable.
The shepherd cannot stand idly by while the wolf enters the fold...
...and threatens his flock.
l have decided to make Fisher a cardinal.
You will send his hat to England.
Let's see if the king is still prepared...
...to prosecute and torture a Prince of the Church.
-Freshen those horses. -Yes, sir.
Take them to the stables.
Mistress Bryan.
-A very good morning to you. -Your Majesty.
l'm on progress.
l've come to see my daughter. How is she?
She is a credit to Your Majesty in every way.
My Elizabeth.
Who knows, Mistress Bryan...
...perhaps one day, this little girl will preside over empires.
Please forgive me.
l don't have much time.
Thank you for all your care toward our beloved princess.
Your Majesty.
What do you mean?
More exercise for us, l fear.
Lady Eleanor.
-My lord. -My lord.
How did you suppose no one would find out your secret?
-l-- -Your chamber was searched today.
My lord?
The jewels were found.
You did not hide them well enough.
-Jewels, l don't-- -Her Majesty's jewels.
The ones you stole.
-lt's not true. -And l say it is true.
And if your crimes were ever reported...
...who do you suppose would believe you?
After all...
...Lady Eleanor...
...no one could accuse you of being innocent...
...could they?
What am l to do?
Leave court.
Go back to your family.
See if they will have you.
''When her loose gown From her shoulders did fall
And she caught me in her arms Long and small
And therewithal sweetly Did me kiss
And softly said, 'Dear heart, how lik e you this?'''
Cousin Madge.
Lady Sheldon, what are you reading?
Nothing, my lady.
Just some poetry.
By Sir Thomas Wyatt.
Give it here.
You should not be wasting your time on such trifles.
lf you must read when you are supposed to be attending on me...
...then you should read that book.
You will learn a great deal more from it...
...perhaps even some wisdom.
Yes, madam.
Now go about your business.
The Earl of Wiltshire, Your Majesty.
Papa.
Your Majesty.
You look well.
And l believe you're already showing.
A little.
How was your trip to Paris?
lt was-- King Francis is not the easiest man to deal with.
He sends you wedding presents...
...yet he pretends he cannot officially recognise you as queen...
...as long as Catherine remains alive.
How is the king?
He must be pleased at your condition.
He is.
But...?
Everything is fine.
But when l was last with child, the king took a mistress.
And now--
Now l fear he will take another...
...since l must be careful for the sake of the child...
...and not let him enjoy his conjugal rights.
lt is natural for a man...
...when his wife is big with child and not willing to lie with him...
...to find some temporary consolation elsewhere.
And for kings, it is properly expected.
Sweetheart, listen to me.
The danger to you and to us is not that the king takes a mistress...
...but that he takes the wrong one.
Someone we can't control or who would seek to control the king.
But if you suppose the king is sure to take a mistress...
...then make sure she is your choice...
...and not his.
l must make my report to the king.
l'll see you later.
All right, sir.
-Mr. Secretary. -Reverend Fisher.
l just came to see if you were being well treated.
Oh, as to that, my aged stomach...
...cannot cope with the rank food the jailor brings.
But that is nothing since it pertains to my body and not my soul.
You have not taken the oath.
No.
Why not?
Do you refuse to accept that the king's marriage is proper and legal?
l believe His Majesty thinks it so.
But you don't?
No.
l believe what l have always believed.
The king's marriage to Queen Catherine is still valid...
...and can be undone by no man, not even Archbishop Cranmer.
And do you dispute...
...that the king is supreme head of the Church in England?
Yes, l do. Most emphatically.
The king, our Sovereign Lord, is not the supreme head on Earth...
...of the Church of England.
Tell me...
...how is Sir Thomas More?
Jailor!
l will...
...see if the quality of your food can be improved.
Thank you.
Why did you get rid of Lady Eleanor?
She stole something precious from me.
Are you sure she stole it?
Yes.
l had the evidence. l had no choice.
l hope Your Majesty is not too disappointed?
No.
ln any case...
...l have something for you.
Your Majesty.
Elizabeth.
Thank you.
What's this?
Majesty, there are a number of small monastic institutions...
...l have had cause to investigate.
The monks there refuse to take the oath.
They'd rather serve the vicar of Rome than you.
This is a bill for their dissolution.
The very considerable wealth of these houses...
...would thus be transferred to Your Majesty's exchequer.
Well?
Majesty, l have just heard...
...that the pope intends to make Reverend Fisher a cardinal.
Apparently, he has already dispatched a cardinal's hat.
Then Fisher will have to wear it upon his shoulders.
For, by the time it gets here, he won't have a head to put it on.
And what of More?
l want to know.
Will he take the oath?
How is she? Does she feed well?
She's good in every way, Your Majesty.
And hardly cries at all, as if she already knows that she is a princess.
l love you, Elizabeth.
l love you with all my heart and l bid you never forget it.
Your Majesty.
Before l leave, l wish to say something to the Lady Mary.
Lady Mary.
Lady Mary, l am here in kindness.
l would welcome you back to court and reconcile you with your father...
...if you will only accept me as queen.
l recognise no queen but my mother.
But if the king's mistress...
...would intercede with the king on my behalf...
...then l would be grateful.
Sir Thomas More.
Sir Thomas.
Mr. Secretary.
Please be seated.
This is but an informal occasion.
A little ale, perhaps?
No, thank you.
l'm sure we both know the object which has brought us together.
lt is very widely rumoured, Sir Thomas...
...that you will refuse to take the oath of succession.
Now, l say this to you very openly and sincerely...
...that l wish no harm to come to a great man...
...who has for years enjoyed and deserved...
...His Majesty's good graces.
l would rather lose my own son than to see any hurt come to you.
May l ask your opinion of the king's new marriage?
l have no opinion.
l neither murmur at it nor dispute upon it.
l never did.
Never will.
Then what of His Majesty's claim to supremacy...
...over the Church in England?
l was unsure about this matter...
...until l reread His Majesty's own pamphlet:
The Assertio Septem Sacramentorum.
ln fact, l have....
l have a copy of it here.
Of course, in the pamphlet...
...the king asserts the divine origin of the papacy.
The pope's supremacy descends directly from the rock of St. Peter.
l think you'll find His Majesty's arguments are as persuasive...
...and powerful now as they were when he first wrote them.
Will you take the oath?
l need hardly remind you of the consequences of not doing so.
Mr. Secretary, l am the king's loyal subject.
l say no harm...
...l think no harm, but l wish everybody good.
And if this be not enough to keep a man alive in good faith...
...l long not to live.
Sir Thomas.
You should know that the king himself has no mind to coerce you.
He simply asks you to relent...
...and condescend to his request that you take the oath.
Mr. Cromwell, please impart to the king my utter faithfulness...
...truthfulness and loyalty to him.
Lord Farthington is most witty and most fair.
He is indeed.
l cannot help myself.
-And l noticed he has eyes for you. -Oh, you know his hand belongs....
What l wouldn't give to marry him.
l agree.
Cousin Madge.
Yes, madam?
Come and talk to me.
l suppose you have many admirers.
Yes.
But l always remember what Your Majesty told us...
...about not being lewd and setting a standard.
l'm sure you do.
But would it surprise you to learn that one of your admirers is the king?
-lt's not true. -lt is true.
Now, would it surprise you even more...
...if l told you that you would have my blessing...
...to become his mistress?
-Madam? -While l am with child...
...His Majesty needs to be able to lie with another woman.
He is a passionate man.
But she must be someone l can trust.
Whose family l can trust, like yours.
After all, we are family.
And you are reformers.
Yes, Your Majesty. We all gladly took the oath.
Now will you gladly take the king to your bed?
His Excellence, the imperial ambassador.
-Excellency. -Your Majesty...
...forgive me but l come here upon a mission of mercy.
-Mercy? -Very much so.
Your daughter, the Lady Mary, has fallen ill...
...even to the concern of her doctors.
l have a letter written by her mother.
She would like to nurse her child.
She writes--
lf l may?
''A little comfort and mirth with me would be a half health to her.
l could care for her with my own hands and put her in my own bed...
...and watch with her when needful.''
l will send my personal physician to examine and help her.
But l cannot allow Mary and her mother to be together.
But, Your Majesty, it is just the cry of any mother for any daughter.
But that's just it.
They are not just any mother or daughter.
Do you not suppose they would conspire to plot against me?
-l cannot believe it. -Of course you can believe it.
You know it happens.
And that sometimes illness is used for political purpose.
Do you not believe that Catherine wants Mary...
...to be queen above all else?
Mr. Chapuys...
...Lady Catherine is a very proud, stubborn woman...
...of very great and high courage.
She could muster an army, take the field...
...and wage a war against me...
...as fierce as any her mother, lsabella, ever waged in Spain.
ls that not true?
l've been handed a summons to appear at Lambeth Palace...
...to take the oath.
And l imagine l shall be imprisoned afterwards.
-No. -Father.
You must be good to each other...
...and to everyone else.
Or if you cannot be good...
...be the least bad you can be.
No, darling, no.
Father.
Lady Sheldon.
Where's the queen?
Your Majesty, the queen is feeling indisposed...
...and asks you to forgive her not riding this morning.
Of course.
She--
She wondered if Your Majesty would be pleased...
...if l took her place.
Riding, l mean.
lf the queen gives her permission...
...then why not?
Lady Sheldon.
You there. Down there.
What's your name, Lady Sheldon?
Margaret, Your Majesty.
Though people call me Madge.
Then l shall call you Madge, if you'll allow me.
Of course, Your Majesty.
Sir Thomas?
Are you now ready to swear the oath?
May l see it?
Thank you.
Well?
l don't mean to put at fault this oath or its makers...
...or any man who swears to it.
And l will never condemn the conscience of any other man.
But for myself, in good faith...
...my own conscience so moves me...
...that l will swear to the validity of the succession...
...yet not the rest of it...
...without jeopardising my soul to perpetual damnation.
We are very sorry to hear you say this.
You're almost the first to refuse it...
...and your refusal will cause the King's Highness...
...to be both indignant and suspicious of you.
Here are all the members of the Commons and the Lords...
...who have sworn to take the oath.
-The clergy too. -l myself cannot swear.
But l do not blame any other man who has sworn.
Sir Thomas, we have come to the conclusion...
...that far from being a true and loyal servant to His Majesty...
...there never was a servant so villainous...
...so traitorous to his prince as you.
lf you refuse to take the oath...
...not only will you be imprisoned...
...but the most horrid things imaginable will be done to you.
My lords, these threats are for children, not for me.
Do you deny that you bullied and persuaded the king...
...against his conscience, to write this pamphlet against Luther?
Of course l deny it.
ln the first place, l would never ask anyone...
...be he ever so high or so low, to act against his conscience.
And secondly, l remember it was His Majesty...
...who persuaded me of the paramount importance of the papacy.
l ask you a final time...
...before the awful penalties are exacted upon you...
...why will you not swear?
Why will you not swear?
Oh, Madge.
-What? -Madge.
l don't know. lt's funny.
Madge.
l like your dimples when you laugh, Madge.
Madge?
Your Majesty?
Come here.
Let me...
...examine your dimples...
...a little more closely.
Sir Thomas?
Thank you.
Oh, and Your Highness might like to know...
...that the Reverend Fisher is lodged in the room down below.
Good day to you, sir.