Six Queens for a Tyrant: The Hell of the Tudors

"Divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, beheaded, survived." This famous rhyme perfectly sums up the tragic destiny of the six women who had the misfortune of sharing the bed of Henry VIII, one of the most unpredictable and cruel tyrants in English history. Crowned at just 17 years old, the young and handsome Renaissance prince gradually mutated into a monster of selfishness and paranoia, obsessed with one single thing: fathering a male heir to secure the Tudor dynasty. This documentary retraces the lives of these six remarkable women, treated by the Crown as little more than broodmares or lambs led to the slaughter. From the dignified and courageous Catherine of Aragon, cast aside after 24 years of marriage, to the flamboyant Anne Boleyn, who altered the course of English history with the Protestant Reformation before ending her life on the scaffold of the Tower of London, each wife paid the ultimate price for the king's infatuation. Discover the ultimate sacrifice of Jane Seymour, the only one to bear him a son at the cost of her own life; the political trap of Anne of Cleves—dismissed as a "Flanders mare" by an aging and impotent king; the brutal beheading of the teenage Kathryn Howard; and finally the resilience of Catherine Parr, the brilliant scholar who accomplished the impossible feat of outliving her executioner. Between miscarriages, political betrayals, ministerial manipulations, and bloody executions, plunge behind the scenes of one of Europe's most disruptive reigns, where a queen’s every glance could be scrutinized for high treason. Director : Hannah Summer Cast : Owen Emmerson, Elizabeth Norton