Sunday, March 27, 2011

Wolsey, Wolsey, Wolsey – The Tudors Episode Summary 1.3

King Henry VIII meets Anne BoleynSynopsis: The Spanish envoys arrive in England to discuss the details of a treaty that King Henry VIII and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V are to sign to seal their allegiance with each other. Soon after, the Holy Roman Emperor arrives in England, and signs the treaty with Henry VIII. The two vow to help each other in invading the French territories, a plan that is of great disadvantage to Cardinal Wolsey. Moreover, the plan to rid the court of Wolsey has been set in motion. Henry VIII finally meets Anne Boleyn, and is immediately enamored with her.

Episode Summary: Henry VIII asks Charles Brandon to escort Princess Margaret and her dowry to Lisbon for the princess is to marry the King of Portugal. Henry finds in Charles a trustworthy man whom he could rely on the safety of his sister despite his reputation as a philanderer. Margaret is anyway the King’s sister, and Charles is already betrothed to the cousin of the Marques of Dorset, Elizabeth Grey. In addition to his task of bringing Princess Margaret to Portugal, Henry has also asked Charles to give away his sister in his name. Given that Charles is but a commoner, Henry VIII makes him the Duke of Suffolk, a man worthy of giving away Princess Margaret to the King of Portugal. Continue reading...

Thomas More meets with the Spanish envoys that are all too anxious to get an audience with King Henry VIII. To fulfill their goal, Thomas advises them to reach out to the King’s right hand man, Cardinal Wolsey. The Spanish envoys, however, have reservations towards the cardinal, knowing that he favors French interests. Thomas More defends the cardinal believing that Wolsey’s actions are only done to benefit England. He then asks the Spanish envoys of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V’s dealings of the Lutheran uprising, and is surprised to hear that he is not as persistent in denouncing the heretic especially with the German Princes entertaining the heretic as their guest. Thomas More is proud to inform the Spanish envoys that King Henry VIII himself is writing a pamphlet that will demolish Luther’s arguments, defend the Papacy and the Roman Catholic faith.

The envoys meet with Cardinal Wolsey in private with the purpose of discussing the treaty of perpetual friendship between the Holy Roman Emperor and King Henry VIII. In the treaty, King Henry VIII’s very young daughter Princess Mary is to be betrothed to the Holy Roman Emperor despite her previously been betrothed to the Dauphin of France. With the details of the treaty ironed out, the Spanish envoys deliver the Holy Roman Emperor’s personal message to Cardinal Wolsey. Acting as Charles V’s representatives, the envoys inform Wolsey that the Holy Roman Emperor wishes to bestow upon him a pension. Moreover, they inform him of his willingness to help in Cardinal Wolsey’s ambition of becoming a Pope.

In the Framingham Castle, Thomas Boleyn meets with the Duke of Norfolk who is anxious to know the progress of their plan to match up Anne Boleyn with Henry VIII. Thomas Boleyn had set the plan for the two to meet, using the pageant for the Spanish envoys as a venue for their meeting. It is their aim for Anne Boleyn to seduce Henry VIII with the ultimate goal of her urging the King to denounce Cardinal Wolsey.

Cardinal Wolsey, Thomas More, and the Spanish ambassadors Mendoza and Chapuys arrive at the pageant. The show begins with the arrival of masked young women dressed in white. Thomas More explains that they represent the imprisoned Graces – Kindness, Honor, Constance, Mercy, and Pity. Moreover, one of the masked women is, in fact, King Henry VIII’s sister, Princess Margaret. Soon after, their captors masked young women dressed in black arrive. They represent Danger, Jealousy, Unkindness, Scorn, Disdain, and Strangeness. Young masked men that include the King arrive to represent Youth, Devotion, Loyalty, Pleasure, Gentleness, and Liberty. The young masked men attack the castle to free the imprisoned Graces. The moment King Henry VIII meets Anne Boleyn’s eyes; the mysterious masked young woman immediately captivates him. Although the King is partnered to dance with his sister, he could not keep himself from stealing a glance at Anne Boleyn. During the dance, Princess Margaret who heard of her fate of marrying the aged King of Portugal pleads with her brother not to give her hand away to an aging King. Before he could answer, they change dance partners. Henry VIII dances with the mysterious young lady who captivated him, and learns that she is Anne Boleyn.

The Spanish envoys meet with Queen Catherine of Aragon who is most delighted to see them. They speak in their native language with Mr. Pace who secretly understands Spanish intently listening to their conversation. Aware that there are people around her whom she distrusts, Queen Catherine of Aragon whispers to Ambassador Mendoza to be watchful of Cardinal Wolsey. The Ambassadors finally have an audience with the King and are surprised to hear from him to put their trust in Cardinal Wolsey for he speaks for the King in regard to the matter of the treaty. They are however pleased to hear the King extend an invitation to the Holy Roman Emperor for a personal visit.

Later, Henry learns from Wolsey that the Holy Roman Emperor has accepted his invitation, and will soon arrive. It is the Holy Roman Emperor’s goal to find allies to help his attack on the French starting with the invasion in Italy to reclaim his jurisdiction in the Duchy of Milan. Soon after, Charles V plans to attack France itself with the help of Henry VIII who then orders Cardinal Wolsey to build a greater warship than the last one they just launched. Henry VIII intends to have the greatest navy at all costs.

Henry VIII calls for Sir Thomas Boleyn to show him his gratitude for his diplomatic efforts, and makes him the Knight of the Garter, and comptroller of his household. In their meeting, Henry casually asks about Anne Boleyn, and is very pleased to learn that she is soon to become one of the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting.

Back at the Hever Castle, the home of the Boleyn’s, Anne spends a day with the poet Thomas Wyatt. He notices that something in her dealings with him has changed when the young woman refused his kiss. Anne Boleyn ends her affair with Thomas Wyatt using his being a married man as an excuse. She then warns him not to speak of their affair to anyone or risk fatal consequences for doing so.

Queen Catherine of Aragon is pleased to hear that the treaty with the Holy Roman Emperor is agreed upon, and that Charles V is coming for a visit. She takes the opportunity to almost plead with the King to lie in her bed again. She tries to convince him that when she married his brother that he was very young, and terribly ill that they were unable to consummate their marriage. She expresses her love for him, but King Henry VIII only responds with a kiss on her forehead. Moreover, he picks yet another lady-in-waiting to keep him company for the night.

Thomas More reviews the brilliant but strongly worded pamphlet of Henry VIII that condemns Luther, and praises the Pope. Henry then assigns Thomas the task of presenting a copy of his writing to the Pope for he believes that without his guidance, he could not have conceived or written anything of great value. Henry VIII then offers Thomas More a knighthood. Moreover, he orders Thomas to seize and burn all copies of Luther’s thesis.

Cardinal Wolsey receives a letter from the King of France that expresses the King’s anger towards for their betrayal, and has threatened to work against their interests. Cardinal Wolsey seizes Mr. Pace, falsely accuses him for being a spy for the French, and relieves him of his duties. Moreover, Wolsey falsely accuses him of treason, and sends the guards to take him away. Mr. Pace is taken to the Tower of London, and continues to plead his innocence.

The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V arrives in England to much fanfare, and is pleasantly surprised by the arrival of King Henry VIII to welcome him. The King shows the Holy Roman Emperor all his ships including his flagship the Mary Rose, the largest warship in the world. Charles V is clearly impressed with Henry VIII’s naval army. The two make an alliance, and are convinced that together they can defeat the French, and even conquer the world. Their alliance is only not in paper, but also in marriage given that Henry VIII married Charles V’s aunt, Catherine of Aragon. The Holy Roman Emperor meets with Catherine of Aragon who then delightfully presents to him her own daughter, the very young Princess Mary, to be his future bride. Their marriage will not be for years for the princess is currently only but a child.

Henry VIII holds festivities for Charles V where Anne Boleyn as a lady-in-waiting serves their majesties. Immediately, Queen Catherine of Aragon notices the way her husband looks at the young woman who has been tasked by her own father Thomas Boleyn to find an opportunity to bump into the King. While Charles V dances with his future bride, Princess Mary, Princess Margaret asks her brother the King to dance with her more so to plead to him once more not to send her to Portugal to marry the aged King whom she learned to have gout. Seeing that the King is remains resolute with his decision, Princess Margaret offers a compromise. She asks the King to allow her to marry anyone she chooses when the King of Portugal passes away, and to this the King agrees.

Charles Brandon’s new status as Duke of Suffolk has brought upon jealousy among his peers. William Compton and Anthony Knivert have asked him to use his friendship with the King to put in a good word for them that they too may receive titles or land.

Queen Catherine of Aragon speaks with her nephew to inform him of her failing marriage to the King. Charles V is in disbelief seeing the King’s attentiveness and devotion towards her, but Catherine informs him that it is all but a charade made especially to fool him into believing that their marriage is as happy as one would expect. Catherine even thinks that Henry will ask him for a divorce, but Charles finds this impossible.

Unfortunately for the Queen, the Boleyn’s have set in motion Anne Boleyn’s seduction of the King. At her father’s suggestion, Anne Boleyn bumps into the King, reminding him of his lust for her. True enough, the King could not keep her out of his mind. Henry dreams of running after Anne. In his dream, Anne Boleyn tells him to seduce her.

The fateful day of signing the Treaty of Perpetual Amity and Concord between Henry VIII and Charles V has arrived. Cardinal Wolsey, as Papal Legate and Chancellor of England, presides over the meeting where both Kings are to sign the treaty where the two kingdoms will forever be loyal to each other, and where Princess Mary will be betrothed to Charles V upon reaching the age of twelve. Queen Catherine of Aragon is much delighted with the treaty, and also hearing her nephew swearing to her his honor and allegiance. He asks her to always trust in him.

The Duke of Norfolk asks for an update from Thomas Boleyn regarding their plan to use Anne Boleyn to seduce the King, and to have her influence the King into getting rid of Cardinal Wolsey. Norfolk is not very pleased with the developments, learning that the King has not yet concretely expressed his interest towards Anne other than lustful glances that he believes he has on all young women that catches his attention. Thomas Boleyn is not concerned, but suggests that they seek the help of the King’s closest friend, Charles Brandon. Thomas is aware that Charles too loathes Wolsey, and it would be beneficial to them if he is to become their ally. What they do not know is that the King is very much enamored with Anne, and had asked to see some jewels fit for a Queen to give to her.

Henry VIII notices that his secretary, Mr. Pace, is nowhere in sight. He learns from Cardinal Wolsey that he has been relieved of his duties after being found to be receiving a pension from the French. Mr. Pace is imprisoned in a dark, rat-infested cell in the Tower of London where he continues to plead innocence, and accuses Wolsey to be the one receiving pension from France.


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