Six Queens: Passion and Peril at the Court of Henry VIII

Join us at Southwark Cathedral for this day of talks about the Six Wives of Henry VIII

The Event...

The Wronged Woman; the Goggle-eyed Harlot; the Obedient Wife; the Flanders Mare; the Good-time Girl; the Nurse. Six wives, six stereotypes, and six women whose real stories need to be told.

Unusually for sixteenth-century royalty, Henry VIII believed that his marriages should bring him personal happiness, choosing women he loved more often than political alliances. Yet each of the women was very different in appearance, temperament, religious outlook, and her relationship with the king.

Join a panel of Tudor experts to hear the truth behind the myths about the Six Wives of Henry VIII and explore not just how each of these women rose and fell in the king’s affections, but how they conducted themselves in the role of queen, how they negotiated the tricky politics of the Tudor court, they brought out the best – or the worst – in Henry, and how their legacies lived after them.

Vote for your favourite wife at the start of the event and then again at the end to see if our experts have persuaded you to change your mind!

This event is in partnership with our friends at Tudor Times which is the online repository for all things Tudor and Stewart (1485–1625).

This is in-person only event and won't be recorded or streamed. This event will take place in the Cathedral nave and your ticket allows entry for the whole day.

Our Speakers...

Anne Boleyn - Alison Weir

The imprisonment and execution of Queen Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII`s second wife, in 1536 was unprecedented in the annals of English history. It was sensational in its day, and has exerted endless fascination over the minds of historians, novelists, dramatists, poets, artists and film-makers ever since. It is also the stuff of which myths and legends were made. Alison Weir will speak about one of the most charismatic, controversial, courageous and tragic heroines in history.

Fresh from the sophisticated palaces of Burgundy and France, Anne drew attention at the English court, embracing the play of courtly love. But when the King commanded, nothing was ever a game. Determined to have a crown and reform a church. what she seeks, Anne embarked on a perilous course that would plunge the kingdom into turmoil.

Alison Weir weaves new research and theories into the dark, powerful tale of Henry VIII’s second wife - a woman ahead of her time, who dared to question traditional concepts of femininity, and whose ambition drove her to gamble with the fickle nature of a dangerous king.

Katherine of Aragon - Melita Thomas

Jane Seymour - Dr Elizabeth Norton

Anne of Cleves - TBC

Katherine Howard - TBC

Katherine Parr - TBC