Mondays, Aug; 29 - Sept. 12, 2022 at 10 p.m. on KPBS TV / On demand now with KPBS Passport!
The 16th century legend of King Henry VIII is turned on its crowned head as the dramatic stories of his six tumultuous marriages are told from the wives’ perspectives in SECRETS OF THE SIX WIVES. With extraordinary attention to detail — including actual first-person accounts pulled from historical records and secrets and stories from the women who surrounded each Queen — SECRETS OF THE SIX WIVES offers an ambitious approach to the oft-told tales.
Led by UK author and historian Lucy Worsley, who moves seamlessly from the present to the past and appears throughout the series as an observer and commenter on the happenings at court, SECRETS OF THE SIX WIVES gives history a new point of view.
Worsley is the Joint Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces, and a face familiar to British audiences as a regular historical contributor to BBC, whose best-selling books bring new angles on centuries of British history. Whether as witness to, participant in, or wry commentator on the marital dramas as they unfold, Worsley shines an empathetic light on the featured women and, in doing so, delivers a new take on the legend of King Henry VIII.
EPISODE GUIDE:
Episode 1: “Divorced” Monday, August 29 at 10 p.m. on KPBS TV - Worsley examines the happy marriage of Henry VIII to first wife, Katherine of Aragon. Despite her skill and devotion as his queen, she fails to give Henry the son he needs and he falls for Anne Boleyn.
Episode 2: “Beheaded, Died” Monday, Sept. 5 at 10 p.m. on KPBS TV - Henry breaks with the Roman Church to marry Anne, but as Worsley notes, he grows tired of her and falls for Jane Seymour. Anne’s fate is sealed; she is executed and Henry immediately marries Jane, who dies soon after she gives birth to a son.
Episode 3: “Divorced, Beheaded, Survived” Monday, Sept. 12 at 10 p.m. on KPBS TV - Worsley presents the last three wives: Anne of Cleves, called “ugly”; young Catherine Howard, whose tragic childhood was abusive; and finally, the far from saintly nurse, Katherine Parr.
WATCH ON YOUR SCHEDULE:
All three episodes are available on demand with KPBS Passport, a benefit for members supporting KPBS at $60 or more yearly, using your computer, smartphone, tablet, Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire or Chromecast. Learn how to activate your benefit now.
CREDITS:
Written by Chloe Moss and produced by Wall to Wall, SECRETS OF THE SIX WIVES, is a Warner Bros. production in cooperation with the British Broadcasting Corporation.
The three-part dramatic and historical series premiered in January 2017.
