Six Wives with Lucy Worsley (2016)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Six Wives with Lucy Worsley is a docudrama in three parts which premiered on British television (BBC) in 2016.

 

In 2017, the docudrama premiered on US television (PBS) with the title Secrets of the Six Wives.

 

Here is some basic information about this series:

 

** Director: Russell England

** Host and Presenter: Lucy Worsley

** Language: English

** Subtitles: English

** Run time: 3 x ca. 55 minutes = ca. 165 minutes

 

Important historical scenes are reconstructed by modern actors. The words spoken by the actors are based on contemporary documents and eyewitness reports.

 

The dramatic story about Henry VIII and his six wives is presented by Lucy Worsley. In some scenes, she appears as a host dressed in modern clothes. In other scenes, she mingles with the actors, dressed as a servant or a maid during the time of Henry VIII.

 

The cast includes the following actors:

 

** King Henry VIII (young version)

Played by Scott Arthur

** King Henry VIII (old version)

Played by Richard Ridings

 

** Wife # 1 = Catherine of Aragon

Played by Paola Bontempi

** Wife # 2 = Anne Boleyn

Played by Claire Cooper

 

** Wife # 3 = Jane Seymour

Played by Elly Condron

** Wife # 4 = Anne of Cleves

Played by Rebecca Dyson-Smith

 

** Wife # 5 – Katherine Howard

Played by Lauren McQueen

** Wife # 6 = Katherine Parr

Played by Alice Patten

 

As stated above, there are three episodes. Here is a brief summary of the contents:

 

In episode 1, the focus is on wife # 1

Catherine of Aragon

 

In episode 2, the focus is on wives # 2 and 3

Anne Boleyn and 

Jane Seymour

 

In episode 3, the focus is on wives # 4, 5 and 6

Anne of Cleves, 

Katherine Howard and 

Katherine Parr

 

What do reviewers say about this docudrama? On IMDb it has a rating of 82 percent, which corresponds to a rating of 4.1 stars on Amazon.

 

On Amazon there are at the moment 316 global ratings and 87 reviews. The average rating is 4.7 stars, which corresponds to a rating of 94 percent.

 

As you can see, the ratings are quite good. I understand the numerous positive reviews and I agree with them. 

 

If you ask me, the rating on IMDb is too low, while the rating on Amazon is more appropriate.

 

I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).

 

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Secrets of the Six Wives

(PBS, 2017)

 

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This is Henry

(1491-1547)

King of Henry VIII of England

1509-1547

 

*****

 

There is a popular rhyme about the six wives

It runs like this:

 

Divorced, beheaded, died

Divorced, beheaded, survived

 

Let us take them one by one:

 

Divorced = Catherine of Aragon

Beheaded = Anne Boleyn

Died = Jane Seymour

Divorced = Anne of Cleves

Beheaded = Katherine Howard

Survived = Katherine Parr

 

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On this blog:

The following items:

 

** Henry VIII’s Reformation

** Secrets of Henry VIII’s Palace

** Ghosts of the Mary Rose

 

(Posted in November 2021)

 

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