You think you know a story but you only know how it ends.
To get to the heart of the story you have to go back to the beginning.
Your Grace.
His Eminence, Cardinal Campeggio.
Lorenzo, my old friend.
My dear Wolsey.
Come.
Your Grace must forgive my incapacity.
God has given me gout as a great trial.
Now, His Majesty is very keen...
...that the legatine court be set up straight away...
...to determine the case for his annulment.
Indeed, indeed.
I have the pope's written commission to decide upon this matter.
And from my decision, there can be no appeal.
And yet...
If Your Grace has some water.
Water.
Mixed perhaps with a little wine.
And yet?
You and I are old friends.
And we are both men of the world, Cardinal Wolsey.
I even have a son who travels with me.
And so?
His Holiness wishes to satisfy the king, however difficult that might be.
But for all our sakes, would it not be better...
...if you and I were to try and persuade His Majesty to give up his divorce?
Surely his passion for this girl will alter and fade with time...
...as all such passions inevitably do.
I fear Your Eminence may have proceeded here in ignorance.
Let me make certain things plain to you.
If you do not grant the king his divorce...
...papal authority in England will be annihilated.
You should remember, the greater part of Germany...
...has already become estranged from Rome.
The same thing could happen here.
It would mean the total ruin of the kingdom.
Is there any danger that they could declare your marriage valid?
Wolsey has assured me that the pope has already decided in my favour.
The trial's just for the sake of appearances...
...a way of appeasing the emperor.
Then we can start planning the wedding?
Yes.
Yes, my love.
Also for the sake of appearances, there is something else.
For a while, I shall have to share Catherine's table.
And sometimes her bed.
- Her bed? - It's nothing.
My lawyers have just advised me that to do otherwise might risk countersuit.
I could be seen to be acting against her conjugal rights.
You think it's nothing to go back to bed with your wife?
What do you think is going to happen?
What usually happens.
How little you trust me.
I trust you.
I love you.
Catherine is not to blame for this. Nor am I.
But the fact is, Excellence, we broke God's law...
...for which there can be no dispensation.
You understand how deeply this touches my conscience...
...and how quickly I need it to be resolved.
I do. I sympathise.
As does His Holiness, naturally.
But His Holiness also suggests to Your Majesty...
...another possible solution.
I have already made it plain to Your Eminence that His Majesty...
No, this is not the same, my friend.
This is a solution which should very much please His Majesty.
What is it?
His Holiness is aware of the queen's great piety.
She herself has spoken of it, her love for the Mother of God, for the saints.
And he wonders if Her Majesty might be persuaded...
...like Jeanne de Valois, the sometime wife of Louis Xll...
...to abdicate her marriage...
...and retreat to a nunnery.
What do you think, Wolsey?
Well, it would certainly expedite matters.
It would save us the pain of a trial.
And since it would be voluntary...
...it couldn't offend her nephew, the emperor.
And moreover, it would afford Her Majesty an honourable retirement.
You will put this to her right away.
Majesty.
Will Your Majesty at least consider the proposal?
I will give you my answer in due course...
...after I have spoken with the king, my husband.
Father, will you hear my confession later?
Yes, my child.
- Your Majesty. - Your Eminence.
Your Majesty.
I beg that you yield to the king's will.
- And what is his will? - As His Eminence proposes.
That you join a religious community of your choosing...
...and take a vow of perpetual chastity.
You speak to me of chastity?
Have you not a mistress and two children, Your Eminence?
Your Majesty is entering the third period of your natural life.
You spent the first two setting a good example.
With this single act, you could put the seal on all your good actions.
Please rise, Your Grace.
It is not seemly for a man of your dignity...
...to be seen to beg in public, whatever the cause.
Eminence.
- So you talked to Campeggio? - Yes.
I told him I could not give an answer without Your Majesty's permission.
And what answer will you give him?
- I will tell him the truth. - Catherine.
All the world now agrees that your marriage to me was unjust.
Even you must acknowledge it.
So unless you agree to take the veil, I shall have to force you.
Do I have your permission to talk to Campeggio?
I will not speak to him if you do not want me to.
- My lady. - Lady Anne.
Master Cromwell.
Do you have a message from the king?
I think we understand each other.
A mutual friend, a Mr. Fish, now living in exile in Holland...
...has sent me a gift for you.
What is it, Master Cromwell?
The Obedience of the Christian Man by William Tyndale.
It contains many good criticisms of the papacy...
...and of the arrogance and abuses of priests.
You will find it most illuminating.
But always and ever be cautious as to whom you show this.
You must know it might be accounted heresy even to possess it.
And Wolsey is still keen enough to prosecute heretics...
...as we are called, who embrace the true religion.
I will.
And God bless you, Master Cromwell.
Wait.
Please, will you give this to the king?
With my love.
My lady.
Come here.
Chicken.
Chick...
Good chicken.
Don't run away.
Got you.
You never even told me your name.
- Jane. - Jane.
Why did you leave the court?
When your sister died...
My sister is still here, Thomas Tallis.
She hasn't left me.
She can't leave me.
You can see her too, can't you?
I came all the way from London.
And I really want you to come back to court.
Why?
You liked my sister more than me. I could tell.
I want to marry you, Jane.
What is it you wish to confess?
Father, I wish to tell you about my first marriage to Prince Arthur...
...His Majesty's older brother.
I know of it. Go on.
He never knew me.
I swear to you, under the sacramental oath...
...I was intacta e incorrupta da lui comme venne dal ventre di sua madra.
I want to be clear.
You say you were untouched and unviolated by Prince Arthur...
...as when you came from the womb of your mother?
Yes, Father.
So you came to the king's bed a virgin, intacta e incorrupta?
Yes, Father.
Father, I say in all humility...
...I cannot accede to your request.
I am the true and legitimate wife of His Majesty.
Therefore your proposal is inadmissible.
Come what may...
...I will live and die in that vocation to matrimony...
...to which God has called me.
I understand.
Furthermore, I give you permission to break the seal of the confessional...
...and tell the whole world what I have told you.
Henry wants you back at court.
You are his sister after all.
How can I return while he flaunts himself with his slut?
I would be seen to be approving of his ridiculous liaison.
Margaret, you and I must stay in the king's good graces or we are nothing.
Let him marry who he wishes.
That was always your philosophy, wasn't it, Charles?
So very cynical.
Is that why you keep company with that devil Boleyn?
You liked him enough once when he helped us back to court.
Or were you just being cynical?
I didn't see all of his game. Now I do, I despise him.
So do I. But I hate Wolsey more.
- It's a marriage of expedience. - Rather like ours?
No. I loved you.
You don't know the meaning of the word.
You can love...
...perhaps for a year or a month, a day...
...even for an hour.
And in that hour...
...I do believe you love as well and deeply...
...as any man.
But after that hour, you love not.
You love another...
...and then another.
Your love...
...is most generous where it is most hurtful.
- Margaret. - Don't play the fool.
Doesn't become you.
Eminence.
I need to see Cardinal Campeggio.
Forgive me. My father is indisposed.
In any case, there is nothing further he can do for the time being.
He has sent some reports to Rome...
...and must await the replies from His Holiness.
And in the meantime...
...my poor father needs to rest and restore his strength.
- Lady Anne. - Good evening, Lady Anne Boleyn.
- There is the Mistress Boleyn? - Yes, there she is.
The girl for whom the king...
...would sacrifice his marriage to a most gracious and loving queen.
I have tried to argue him out of his course.
But I swear that an angel descending from heaven would not dissuade him.
Do you think they have taken things to the ultimate conjunction?
I've received a petition from the dukes of Suffolk, Norfolk and Lord Boleyn...
...saying the divorce has the support of the people of England.
As Your Eminence would quickly discover...
...if you stepped outside these doors and saw the people...
...that is a manifest lie.
On the contrary, the people love their queen.
And they have every reason to do so.
If you'll excuse me.
- Wolsey. - Her Majesty has refused the offer.
Are you surprised?
However, Campeggio tells me...
...that the pope is prepared to consider legitimising any children...
...that you might have with Mistress Boleyn...
...whether you are married or not.
Are you mad?
You're gonna have to do a lot better than that.
Forgive me, Ambassador Mendoza.
I am new to this court.
Who are these men talking with the king?
Lord Rochford is the father of Anne Boleyn, Norfolk is her uncle.
Like the Duke of Suffolk, they are Wolsey's sworn enemies...
...and everyone at court knows it.
They would stop at nothing to bring him down.
Yet the king still loves him?
Not so much as before, perhaps.
But the cardinal should never be underestimated.
May I know what you think of the king's matter?
It is no secret that the emperor is outraged...
...at the king's behaviour toward the queen.
And I can tell you in strict confidence that he has written to His Holiness...
...demanding that the matter be settled in Rome, not here.
He would not seek to interfere in any other way?
In what way?
Well, if the queen were to be renounced...
...might he consider military intervention on her behalf?
He has not said so.
- Has anyone asked him? - No.
Not yet.
- Your Majesty. - Margaret.
Not her. She's not worth it.
She's a cheap nothing.
Open your eyes. Look at her.
Look at yourself.
Look to your own marriage.
How are you?
Burning.
Burning with impatience.
My lady, Archbishop Warham...
...and Bishop Tunstall are here to see you.
My lords.
I understand that you are among my council for the legatine court.
As honourable men whose first duty is to God and your conscience...
...you are welcome.
- Has the king sent you? - Yes, Your Majesty.
We must discuss your brief.
I have nothing against His Majesty, whom I love with all my being...
...only against his advisers...
...and a certain woman whose ambition would ruin a kingdom.
Madam, we are not here to discuss a brief or any such.
- But... - We came here to report, madam...
...that rumours of plots against the life of His Majesty are abroad.
And plots against Cardinal Campeggio.
If any such plots were to be successful...
...then clearly both you and your daughter...
...would be suspected of involvement.
I cannot believe the king would give credence to such rumours...
...since he knows, as you know...
...that I value my husband's life even much more than my own.
Madam, there is yet another complaint.
That you are flippant and show yourself too much to the people.
That you rejoice in their acclaim, smiling, nodding and waving at them.
Therefore, we suppose that you hate the king.
Why should you suppose that?
Because you don't accept that all this time you've been living in sin with him.
Even when the truth has been revealed, you refuse to accept the king's offer...
...offer to retire to a religious house.
That again.
I have answered for that already. God never called me to a nunnery.
I am His Majesty's true and legitimate wife.
- Madam, for the love of God... - Yes, for the love of God.
As you yourself once professed, archbishop.
You told people that you knew my case to be true.
So, what changed your mind?
Was it Wolsey?
Tell me, do you prefer your place in this earth...
...rather than your place in heaven?
- You have not answered the charges. - Sir.
I consider it hard indeed to be charged and accused by my own lawyers.
Where is the justice in that?
I will speak to you no more, but you will not act for me.
Catherine.
Why do you go on denying me justice?
You're so heartless.
So full of hatred.
I can't persuade myself any longer that you love me.
I do love you.
I have never ceased to love you. You know that.
I don't know it.
Perhaps you should be kept away from our daughter...
...in case you start poisoning her mind against me.
How can you say these things to me?
After all this time, after all that we have meant to each other.
I'm only asking you to be reasonable.
I am being reasonable. It is you who will not be reasonable.
What is it you really want, Thomas?
- Want? - In life.
What do you want?
I don't know. Travel, I suppose.
Adventure, if I could.
Travel? Where would you go?
Have you not heard?
Sea discoverers to new worlds have gone.
Cabot to Newfoundland, others to America, the Indies.
Some speak of China, Cathay, the fabled lands of Marco Polo.
But where would you go?
I'd set out here...
...though the hair is a forest of ambush and snares.
But the brow becalms us when it's smooth and plain.
And the dark pools of the eyes are dangerous to our ship...
...for to be drawn into them would be shipwreck.
The nose, like the first meridian, directs us down...
...to the Islands Fortunate...
...the swelling lips.
I would anchor here...
...and hear the siren songs.
Then sailing on...
...past the glorious promontory of chin.
We may encounter survivors...
...as we travel down towards your India.
And we pause at the Atlantic navel.
Then the current carries our pilot on...
...to another forest...
...where many are shipwrecked...
...and no further ever get.
I have a new motto.
What is it?
You'll have to find it.
Where is it?
On a piece of ribbon hidden somewhere.
Is it here?
No.
- Down there? - No.
Is it down here?
I can't wait much longer.
You won't have to.
Your Majesty, there are fresh delays.
No one can see Campeggio.
Where is it? Tell me.
What if someone is deliberately stalling?
Delaying things, making excuses.
Campeggio?
No. No, someone else, someone much closer to you.
I'm touching it.
That's how it's going to be.
Let them grumble.
Someone much closer to you.
I want to ask you frankly about Campeggio.
Do you trust him?
Do you think he's compromised?
Who knows, perhaps he's getting a pension from the emperor.
As I know it, Lorenzo is the least prejudicial of men.
And he has suffered personally at the hands of Charles's soldiers.
When they entered Rome, they ransacked his house.
I don't believe he has love for the emperor.
Then why is he delaying the trial?
Well, there are some technical matters that need to be resolved, that's all.
There is nothing for Your Majesty to be concerned about.
Goddamn it. It's not Campeggio at all, it's you.
You are the one delaying things. You've gone cold on this divorce.
Perhaps you never believed in it.
You lied to me, pretending to be on my side.
Majesty, I swear before you and before God on my honour...
...I am your most humble servant.
And there is nothing on earth I covet so much as advancing your divorce.
And to bring it to pass is my continual study...
...and my most ardent desire...
...for which I am ready to expend my life and my body and my blood...
...so help me God.
Come, Your Grace. Don't be so dismayed.
You understand my impatience.
I know it's not you.
I trust you.
I've known you a long time.
Come, let's talk of other things.
By God's body, Master More.
The anger of the prince means death.
Majesty.
I want you to go to Rome, Mr. Cromwell.
I want you to force His fucking Holiness into submission.
If necessary, telling him that if he does not grant me my annulment...
...England will withdraw its submission to Rome...
...and I will withdraw my allegiance to him.
And make sure he knows this is no idle threat.
I mean it and I will do it if he does not satisfy me.
Send in the Duke of Suffolk.
My Lord Duke, the king summons you.
Charles.
I have a task for you.
I want you to go to Paris and seek out King Francis.
Question him closely about Campeggio.
Ask him what kind of dealings he's had with him, what kind of man he is.
Is he honest? Does he have any ambitions to be pope?
And ask him, does he have any secret dealings with the emperor?
I'll leave at once.
And, Charles...
...ask him about Wolsey.
I want to know everything he knows about him.
You understand?
I want to know whose side Wolsey's on.
Sir Thomas.
Most gracious sovereign lady.
I have brought Bishop Fisher to see you.
I believe he can offer you true and devoted counsel.
Thank you, Sir Thomas.
Majesty.
Please.
Lord Bishop, are you certain that you wish to act for me?
You must be aware of the dangers and difficulties you may face.
I would understand if you would prefer peace and tranquillity.
Gentle madam, what peace or tranquillity can there be...
...without justice and the love of God?
I have studied the case against you very carefully.
They will no doubt press the fact that the pope's dispensation...
...to allow you to marry the king was technically faulty...
...and therefore invalid.
But the obvious way of resolving any such technical deficiency...
...is not to declare the marriage null and void...
...but to issue fresh and more perfect dispensation.
In any case, the continuance of so long space...
...has rendered the marriage honest.
And the principle of supplet ecclesia...
...let the church provide.
...has itself made good any defects in the pope's dispensation.
Then you suppose we may win?
We may win the argument, yes.
But I cannot pretend that it will avail us much.
We shall still try.
Be of good cheer, madam...
...for we are on the side of the angels.
Hearts are trumps.
What is it?
I've heard from Cromwell.
He was eventually allowed access to the pope but wrote in desperation.
Why?
He doesn't believe Clement will do anything for me.
He said, "It might be in his paternoster, but it's nothing in his creed."
The pope might pray for me to solve my problems.
But he won't personally commit to doing anything about it.
Show.
Show me.
We entertained the pope as he passed. And I spoke personally to Campeggio.
He was very careful.
But even in the few words he spoke, I thought he dissembled.
In what way dissembled?
I think he shows one face but conceals another.
He has been asked to deal with a matter he secretly despises.
So my advice to the king, my brother...
...is to not put too much trust in any man...
...in case he should be deceived.
And would you say the same of Cardinal Wolsey?
I have nothing against His Eminence.
Of course not.
But what do you think his attitude is towards the divorce?
As I could tell, he wanted the divorce to go through...
...because he has no love for the queen.
At the same time...
At the same time?
It is my impression that he has marvellous intelligence with the pope.
They understand each other. And also with Cardinal Campeggio.
Therefore, if he has such understanding with them...
...and they are not minded to advance the matter...
...then, to speak frankly to you...
...I think the king should take a closer interest in it himself.
That is my advice.
Majesty.
Where is he going?
I'm sure to service his latest mistress.
Now, why would he have to do that when he has such a beautiful wife?
You should ask him, monsieur.
Don't you ever want to pay him back?
Of course, always. I'm a woman.
Then go to bed with me.
If you like.
But tell me first...
...how is your beautiful wife?
- She's... - She is just like me, non?
You have affairs and she ignores it.
To make love for revenge or pain, what is that?
It hurts the mind. And the soul, it shrinks.
The soul grows smaller.
And perhaps it even dies.
- Your Grace. - Your Grace.
Leave us.
The trial is coming.
Indeed, Your Grace.
I want to make it plain to you again.
If you refuse to grant the divorce...
...you will provoke a marvellous opinion against the pope...
...against the papal courts, and against the papacy itself.
I am obliged to the Holy Father to seek truth and justice in this matter.
And that, Your Grace, I will attempt to do...
...as God is my witness.
You still do not seem to understand.
So let me spell it out for you.
If you fail to find in favour of the king...
...you will lose the king...
...and the devotion of his realm to Rome.
And you will also utterly destroy me.
And that I cannot allow.
I totally understand.
You must have faith, Cardinal Wolsey.
God help me.
My lords, it has become obvious that Wolsey is severely compromised...
...and no longer enjoys the affinity he used to share with His Majesty.
The king is suspicious of his first minister.
And we should encourage those suspicions.
It is time to bring him down.
Here is a pamphlet.
You see, it mocks his period in office as a time of pride, waste...
...repression and ineffectual policies.
It's ready for distribution.
We shall call for the arrest of Wolsey and his agents...
...the impounding of their papers and a thorough examination...
...of his administration.
His corruption will be exposed and treason guaranteed.
All that remains, Boleyn, is for your daughter to prove to the king...
...that all his suspicions are justified.
And then the cardinal will be naked to his enemies.
- To England. - To England.
- Christ. - Sorry, sir. Sorry.
- I'm sorry. - Stupid dog!
- Amen. - Amen.
I declare this legatine court...
...commissioned by His Holiness, Pope Clement, is now in session.
And all that is said here is said under oath...
...and in the presence of God Almighty.
I call upon His Majesty to speak first as to this matter.
Your Eminences know well what cause I have to be here.
It concerns some scruples I have regarding my marriage...
...which prick my conscience.
I have consulted widely to discover the truth.
And I have read in Leviticus that it was against God's law...
...and a sin, for me to marry my brother's wife.
Your Eminences...
...I am not the only one who questions the validity of my marriage.
All of my bishops share my doubts...
...and they have signed a petition to put the matter to question.
My Lords, I tell you now...
...I never signed my name to any such document.
- And if it appears there... - Court has not invited you to speak.
If it appears there, then Bishop Tunstall wrote it...
...without my consent.
The king has the floor. Sit down, sir.
- Sit. - I'm not going to argue with you now.
After all, you are but one man.
As for the main issue...
...if I am asked why I waited so long to bring this question to trial...
...I shall answer truthfully.
That it was the great love that I bore for Her Majesty...
...which prevented me doing so.
It is I, myself, who bear all responsibility...
...for my conscience which troubles and doubts me.
Gentlemen of the court...
...I ask for one thing and one thing only.
Justice.
In a moment, the court will call upon the queen's majesty...
...to reply to the king's statement.
But first, I must tell the court...
...that the queen has sought, through her advisers...
...to question the competence of this court to try her case.
Further, she questions the impartiality of her judges.
Finally, she contends that this matter is in the hands...
...of a higher authority, namely the pope...
...and therefore can only be tried in Rome.
Now, as for the first matter.
Cardinal Campeggio and I can confirm...
...that we have the necessary authorization from His Holiness...
...to try this matter here.
Further, we reject any notion of prejudice on our part...
...and will continue to try the case here as we have been appointed.
So I call upon Her Majesty, Queen Catherine, to address the court.
My lord.
Sir.
I beseech you...
...for all the love that has been between us...
...let me have justice and right.
Give me some pity and compassion, for I am a poor woman and a stranger...
...born out of your dominion.
I have no friend here and little counsel.
I flee to you, as head of justice in this realm.
I call God and all the world to witness...
...that I have been to you a true, humble and obedient wife...
...ever comfortable to your will and pleasure.
I have loved all those whom you have loved, for your sake.
Whether or not I had cause...
...whether they be my friends or enemies.
By me, you have had many children...
...although it has pleased God to call them from this world.
But when you had me at first...
...I take God as my judge...
...I was a true maid without touch of man.
And whether or not it be true...
...I put it to your conscience.
- Now, what is she doing? - Shame.
Catherine, queen of England, come back into the court.
Come back into the court.
Perhaps Your Majesty should turn back. You are being called.
This court has no meaning for me. Therefore, I will not stay here.
Catherine, queen of England...
...come back into the court.
She spits in the face of papal law.
She holds this court in contempt.