Henry was never intended for the throne of England. However, the death of his older brother Arthur at the age of 15 and his taking of his dead brother's bride, propelled the young prince into the limelight and laid the foundations for one of the most spectacular reigns in English history. The young Henry VIII was an artist, musician, theologian and sportsman — the perfect Renaissance prince — but the failure of his first wife Katherine of Aragon to produce a male heir brought out his darker side.

Henry could be cruel and capricious, using arbitrary execution as an instrument of Royal policy. In his bid to produce an heir, he would dismantle the established church in England, loot its posessions, and set himself up as an absolute monarch. By the time of his death, his desire to maintain his own magnificent dynasty had seen him marry six times, deplete the nation's coffers, and cut a swath through the English nobility. Yet a new age had been born in the fires of change and through the years had transformed a Renaissance prince into a sickly, overweight tyrant, his rule marked a sea-change in the fortunes of England.

Charles Brandon was the third son of Sir William Brandon who, as Henry VII's standard bearer, had been killed by Richard III in person at the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was brought up at the court of Henry VII and became a favourite of Henry VIII. He held several posts in the royal household and distinguished himself in the French campaign of 1513. In 1515 he privately married Mary Tudor, Louis XII's (king of France) widow and Henry VIII's sister, to avoid the political difficulties surrounding the marriage — Henry was keen to acquire the gold plate and jewels which Louis had promised Mary before his death and he made it clear he would only sanction Suffolk's marriage to her if he did indeed get them. Wolsey brokered a deal, however and the couple were able to have a public wedding some months later. Suffolk supported Henry's divorce from Katherine of Aragon, in direct opposition to Wolsey, and after the latter's disgrace, his influence increased rapidly to the point where he acted as High Steward at the coronation of Anne Boleyn. He died in 1545, a year after commanding an English army invading France. Through his daughter by Mary, Frances, he was grandfather to Lady Jane Grey who would reign for nine days in 1553.

Thomas Cromwell was not of noble descent, but, having studied law and been employed by Cardinal Wolsey, he became a member of the English Parliament in 1523. Just nine years later, having gained the King's confidence, he was Henry VIII's chief minister. Under his leadership of Parliament the English Reformation proceeded apace and acts were passed which freed Henry from the control of Rome, establishing him as head of the English church and enabling him to divorce his first wife, Katherine of Aragon. Cromwell also presided over the dissolution of the monasteries, and in 1540 he was created Earl of Essex. He had supported Henry in disposing of Anne Boleyn and replacing her with Jane Seymour, his son's wife's sister. However, after her death, his advice to Henry to marry Anne of Cleves, a disastrous alliance, gave his political enemies (most notably Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk) the ammunition they needed to remove him from office. He was arrested, imprisoned and executed privately at the Tower of London in 1540 after which his head was boiled and set upon a spike on London Bridge.

Youngest child of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, Katherine is the first wife and queen consort of Henry VIII, she was once married to Henry's older brother, Arthur, but that marriage was never consummated. Most of her children with Henry VIII were either miscarried or they died in infancy; her one surviving child was her daughter, Princess Mary. Because of her seeming inability to give him a son, Henry was worried that a queen regnant might throw England back to the days of civil war, as when the Empress Mathilda, daughter of Henry I, ascended the throne. And with the War of the Roses still fresh on his mind, he was determined to have a legitimate son to pass his throne to. He therefore preferred to believe that Katherine lied when she swore that her previous marriage was never consummated and that therefore his marriage to her was incestous and illegal.
Katherine was very lonely at court, her only friend was the ambassador of Spain, as Cardinal Wolsey dismissed her Spanish ladies-in-waiting for fear that they were spies for the Holy Roman Emperor. Nevertheless, she always does her duty as Queen of England admirably, even mingling with and donating to the common people after church services, and she is loved by the English people despite her Spanish background. She is banished to spend her final days at the house "The More", without any contact from the king's staff or her daughter Mary.

Daughter of Thomas Boleyn, and sister of George and Mary Boleyn. She had a brief chaste love affair with poet Thomas Wyatt, although that romance was terminated when Anne was sent to be a lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine, and as a pawn of her father and uncle's schemes to ruin Cardinal Wolsey. She attracted Henry VIII's attention at the masquerade where she, along with Henry's sister Margaret, played one of the graces. By her father's orders, she continually put herself in Henry's way, till Henry was so enamoured of her that he vowed he would take her as his only mistress if she would give herself to him. Anne, remembering how her sister was thrown aside after Henry tired of her, refused him, saying that she was saving her virginity for her eventual husband, causing Henry, already at odds with Queen Katherine for failing to produce a living son, to consider annulment or divorce. She admits to her father that while she didn't like the role of sacrificial lamb at first, she was growing to love Henry. At first the relationship was a secret, but more and more Henry honoured her as his consort rather than Katherine.

Father of George, Mary, and Anne Boleyn, and brother-in-law to the Duke of Norfolk. Thomas Boleyn was the English ambassador to France, and sees his daughters only as a means to an end. He encouraged Mary when she caught the eye of Henry VIII, and when Henry tired of her, decided to use his other daughter, Anne as a tool to achieve power. Together with Norfolk and Suffolk, he engineered Cardinal Wolsey's downfall, and are now jointly handling the country's affairs.

Longtime friend of Henry VIII, Sir Thomas is a pious humanist who abhors war and tried to advise Henry against it. He nevertheless believes that stern action is required to combat the rise of Lutheranism. During his stint as Lord Chancellor after Wolsey, he burned six people found guilty of heresy, although he offered them the chance to recant. After it became apparent that the king was also changing his attitude towards Roman Catholicism, he was very worried and finally recalled that Wolsey once told him that he should have told the king what he ought to do, not what he can do, for "if the lion knows his own strength, no man could control him". He is married with four children (three daughters and a son).

The Archbishop of Canterbury who was involved in handing the dispute over Henry's marriage of Katherine of Aragon as being "null and void" and recognize Anne Boleyn as the new queen, having everybody swear an oath to recognize their new queen. However depsite his devotion to her he is forced to rreliquish the mutual desire for a reformed faith when Anne falls from favour. He takes her last confession in the tower and breaks the news to her that Elizabeth is to be declared illigitimate but promises her that he will endevour to keep her in the Kings "good and kind graces"

The Pope of the Roman Catholic Church who declares Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn obselete, along with ex-communicating Henry from ever attending mass. He sends a "Soldier in Christ" to assassinate the new queen, with the promise that he will gain access into heaven no matter if it succeeds or fails. Paul is outraged and denounces the executions of both Bishop Fisher and Thomas More.

A charismatic lawyer and gifted speaker, Robert Aske led the Pilgrimage of Grace, an uprising of approximately 10,000 rebels in Northern England angered by King Henry's economic, political and social policies. With promises of negotiations and a pardon for the insurgents, the King lured the rebel leader to Buckingham palace. Once there, Aske and many of his conspirators were arrested, tried for treason and put to death as a warning to others.

Jane's motto may have been "Bound to obey and serve," but Henry's third wife wasn't afraid to speak her mind. She frequently challenged him on issues—from his relationship with estranged daughter Mary to his punishment of the rebels in the North—but always kept her head. Perhaps it was because she delivered the male heir King Henry desperately sought. But their domestic bliss was short lived—Queen Jane died from complications soon after the birth of Prince Edward.

Sir Francis Bryan was a man of many talents and few morals. A powerful member of the King's inner circle, the one-eyed poet/diplomat/soldier's fortunes rose as others fell from grace. He was instrumental in the downfall of his cousin Anne Boleyn, onetime ally Thomas Cromwell and bitter rival Cardinal Wolsey. He was also something of a royal recruiter, lining up women for the King's many affairs.

A charismatic lawyer and gifted speaker, Robert Aske led the Pilgrimage of Grace, an uprising of approximately 10,000 rebels in Northern England angered by King Henry's economic, political and social policies. With promises of negotiations and a pardon for the insurgents, the King lured the rebel leader to Buckingham palace. Once there, Aske and many of his conspirators were arrested, tried for treason and put to death as a warning to others.

A fierce critic of King Henry 8 and a sworn enemy of the Protestants, Von Waldburg was a natural choice to lead Pope Paul III's Inquisition against the English Reformation. Strongly religious and passionately anti-Protestant, the Cardinal was also an avid art collector and patron of the arts.