This is a 2003 TV version of Phillipa Gregory's novel, not the star- studded 2008 movie, but it is interesting nonetheless. Mary (Natasha McElhone) is elder sister to Anne (Jodhi May) and, under pressure from her family, unwillingly precedes Anne as mistress to King Henry VIII (Jared Harris). The King loses interest in Mary when she becomes pregnant with Henry's only son and he then presses his affections on Anne. Anne's strategy is to sustain Henry's eagerness by declining to have sex with him but, when she fears he may turn elsewhere, she gives in and thus provides one element of the pretext for her ultimate beheading.
Although Anne produces a daughter, afterward Queen Elizabeth I, Henry must have a son to secure the succession. He makes clear his displeasure with Anne for failing to give him one, beginning this flirtation with Jane Seymour. Ultimately, feeling she has no choice in the matter, Anne asks her brother to lie with her, which he does reluctantly. Eventually, her brother and other courtiers are accused of adultery with the Queen and executed in advance of her execution. Mary at last finds happiness with a common soldier and farmer who had befriended her while at court, the only satisfactory and satisfied human being in the entire story.
Natasha McElhone bears an uncanny resemblance to the young Emma Thompson. Jodhi May, on the other hand, is quite a plain Anne Boleyn, though her cleavage has been much enhanced.
Apparently, there is some, though not conclusive, evidence, to support Ms. Gregory's version of history. And BBC has done justice to the convoluted tale with the able intercession of Phillipa Lowthorpe, the director.
One can't help wondering why, with bastardy not so unusual, Henry VIII should not have taken some interest in his only son, conferring on him some ranking and estate as was frequently done in other cases. Perhaps he really was the self-centered SOB that has been handed down to us through history.
Although Anne produces a daughter, afterward Queen Elizabeth I, Henry must have a son to secure the succession. He makes clear his displeasure with Anne for failing to give him one, beginning this flirtation with Jane Seymour. Ultimately, feeling she has no choice in the matter, Anne asks her brother to lie with her, which he does reluctantly. Eventually, her brother and other courtiers are accused of adultery with the Queen and executed in advance of her execution. Mary at last finds happiness with a common soldier and farmer who had befriended her while at court, the only satisfactory and satisfied human being in the entire story.
Natasha McElhone bears an uncanny resemblance to the young Emma Thompson. Jodhi May, on the other hand, is quite a plain Anne Boleyn, though her cleavage has been much enhanced.
Apparently, there is some, though not conclusive, evidence, to support Ms. Gregory's version of history. And BBC has done justice to the convoluted tale with the able intercession of Phillipa Lowthorpe, the director.
One can't help wondering why, with bastardy not so unusual, Henry VIII should not have taken some interest in his only son, conferring on him some ranking and estate as was frequently done in other cases. Perhaps he really was the self-centered SOB that has been handed down to us through history.