The following is a list of characters from the Showtime television series The Tudors (2007–2010).
Characters The main cast are listed in credits order.
Character name Portrayed by Historical basis First appearance Last appearance King Henry VIII Jonathan Rhys Meyers (2007–2010) Henry VIII of England Episode 1.01 Episode 4.10 As the virile young king of England, King Henry VIII seems to have it all. However, he is troubled by religious unrest and political struggles in his own realm, as well as changing allegiances with other countries. Weighing most on his mind is his failure to secure the throne's stability by producing a male heir with his wife Katherine of Aragon, a pious and dutiful Queen who is popular with the people. He does, however, dote on their daughter Mary, whom he hopes to marry off to the son of another European ruler. The series portrays Henry as having a major turning point in his marriage to Katherine after a near-death experience in the early 1520s, after which he becomes obsessed with trying to produce a male heir.
The difficult pursuit of an annulment approved by the Pope begins when Henry meets and falls in love with Anne Boleyn, a charming lady-in-waiting to the Queen. Determined that Anne should become his new Queen and provide him with a legitimate son, Henry separates himself from his wife and the Catholic Church. When he fails in his attempts to have a son with Anne and instead has another daughter, Elizabeth, he is quick to lay the blame at Anne's door. He meets Jane Seymour, shy daughter of a knight. Convinced that his future lies with Jane, he takes the chance to be rid of Anne when his friend Charles Brandon tells him of rumors suggesting that she has been unfaithful. Anne is quickly brought to trial, found guilty and executed.
Although Henry's personal life improves with his marriage to Jane Seymour, who helps reunite him with his daughters, his position is threatened when Catholics in the north start to rebel against him. He crushes the rebellion and brutally punishes those involved. Finally his wish comes true when Jane gives birth to a son, Edward, but she falls sick and dies from childbed fever a few days later, leaving him in a deep state of depression. He remains a widower for three years until Thomas Cromwell persuades him into a fourth marriage with the German princess Anne of Cleves. Henry is disgusted by her when he finally meets her. Unable to escape the betrothal, he marries her but starts annulment proceedings soon after.
Henry notices the beautiful Catherine Howard and decides to marry her because she makes him feel young again. She is executed once her hidden past relations with Francis Dereham and her adulterous affair with Thomas Culpeper came to light. Henry later marries his sixth and final wife, Catherine Parr, a wealthy widow closer to his age. She is a loving stepmother to all three of Henry's children and is made Queen Regent during Henry's absence in France. Bishop Gardiner and others suspect her of heresy and nearly have her arrested for it, but she is able to convince Henry of her devotion to him. Henry's health declines until his death in January 1547. Cardinal Wolsey Sam Neill (2007) Thomas Wolsey Episode 1.01 Episode 1.10 King Henry VIII's primary and most trusted adviser in the first part of his reign, with leanings towards France. Wolsey's personal power and influence over the King has aroused the ire of several noble families, and even of Queen Katherine of Aragon herself. Despite being a cardinal of the Catholic Church, he has a long-time mistress whom he treats as his wife. Wolsey desperately tries to find a way for Henry to free himself of his marriage to Katherine, but fails and his enemies pounce. Wolsey is subsequently charged with financial corruption, arrested for treason and commits suicide by slashing his neck during prayer (historically he died of natural causes whilst en route from York to London to face trial). Sir Anthony Knivet Callum Blue (2007) Thomas Knyvett Episode 1.01 Episode 1.10 Longtime friend to King Henry VIII; he only appears in the first season. Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk Henry Cavill (2007–2010) Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk Episode 1.01 Episode 4.10 King Henry VIII's best friend. Brandon briefly falls out of favour when he secretly married Henry's widowed sister, Princess Margaret, after her brief term as Queen of Portugal. Brandon's infidelity makes the marriage an unhappy one. He becomes an ally of the Duke of Norfolk and Sir Thomas Boleyn, to bring about the downfall of Cardinal Wolsey and to ensure his own return to court. After the removal of Cardinal Wolsey as Lord Chancellor, Brandon is appointed to the presidency of the Privy Council by Henry. After his promotion he shows little interest in the work of government leaving this responsibility to the Duke of Norfolk with whom he jointly shares the duties as president. Brandon is seen as a playboy in the show's first season, but he becomes a mature courtier and magnate after marrying his ward Catherine Willoughby in the second season. He now hates the Boleyn family. In the third season, he is a reluctant but efficient leader of the King's forces, sent to repress a Catholic uprising. He is jealous of Thomas Cromwell, working to ensure his fall from office. In the third and fourth seasons, Brandon senses the increasing disdain that his second wife feels for his flawed character. In the final season, they are separated and he falls in love with Brigitte Rousselot, a young French woman he captured during the siege of Boulogne and takes her back to England. He eventually dies in the season finale. Duke of Norfolk Henry Czerny (2007) Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk Episode 1.01 Episode 1.10 Uncle of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII's fifth wife, Catherine Howard. Norfolk is represented as an arrogant intriguer, conscious of his noble rank and arch-enemy of Cardinal Wolsey. He and his brother-in-law Thomas Boleyn conspire to manoeuvre Norfolk's niece, Anne Boleyn, into Henry's bed in order to gain influence over him and to advance their own interests. Together with Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, they engineer Wolsey's overthrow and then his arrest (and indirectly, his subsequent death). Norfolk is subsequently jointly appointed with Suffolk to the presidency of the Privy Council. Norfolk does not appear in seasons 2, 3 or 4, although, in actuality, he was still alive and played a significant role in the events shown in those seasons; Catherine Howard was a closer relation to him than portrayed in season 3. Anne Boleyn Natalie Dormer (2007–2008) Anne Boleyn Episode 1.01 Episode 2.10(4.10 Dream Sequence) Daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn, and sister of George and Mary Boleyn. Anne was sent to be a lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine of Aragon. She attracted King Henry VIII's attention at the masquerade where she, along with his sister Margaret, played one of the Graces. By her father's orders, Anne continually pust herself in Henry's way, until he is so enamoured of her that he vows he would take her as his only mistress if she would give herself to him. Anne, remembering how her sister Mary was thrown aside after Henry tired of her, refuses him, saying that she was saving her virginity for her eventual husband, causing Henry, already at odds with Katherine for failing to produce a living son, to consider annulment or divorce. Anne admits to her father that while she did not like the role of sacrificial lamb at first, she is growing to love Henry. At first their relationship is a secret, but more and more Henry treats her, rather than Katherine, as his consort. The delay of the annulment proceedings frustrates Henry, and Anne used this opportunity to blame Wolsey for the delay, leaving Henry when she feels that the proceedings will never come to fruition. She also gradually turn Henry against the Catholic church so that, becoming head of the church in his own realm, he can finally divorce Katherine without referring to Rome.
The second season sees Anne reach the peak and end of her power. She is created as Marquess of Pembroke in her own right, and is taken to France to meet King Francis I as the future Queen of England. She sleeps with Henry and conceives a child, whom she is confident will be a boy. Soon afterward, Henry marries Anne and crowns her as Queen, his marriage to Katherine annulled by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer. However, Anne and Henry's hopes are dashed when she gives birth to a daughter, Elizabeth. Anne is ordered by her father to do everything to win back Henry's love, as his lack of attention becomes evident after her miscarriage of her second child and his growing interest in her lady-in-waiting Jane Seymour. Anne encourages Henry to disinherit his elder daughter Mary but tries to establish ties with her on the condition that Mary accept her as queen, but Mary rebuffs this offer. Anne conceives again but experiences another miscarriage, which convinces Henry that his relationship with Anne will never result in male children. Encouraged by Henry and his desire to end his marriage, Anne is eventually accused of witchcraft, incest and adultery. Henry removes Elizabeth from the line of succession, convinced she is not his daughter, and sentences Anne to execution by beheading, which she goes to with dignity, gaining admiration from the people. Anne re-appears in the final episode of Season 4 in the dream sequence alongside Elizabeth, expressing pride for her clever daughter, proclaiming her innocence that the crimes she was killed for, and showing sympathy for her deceased cousin Catherine Howard. Katherine of AragonAs established by the series credits and character list on the official website , the character's name is spelled Katherine with a "K" in contrast to the English language spelling "Catherine" usually used for the actual historical figure. Maria Doyle Kennedy (2007–2008) Katherine of Aragon Episode 1.01 Episode 2.07(4.10 Dream Sequence) The youngest child of King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I of Spain, as well as the first wife and queen consort of Henry VIII of England. She was once married to Henry's older brother, Prince Arthur, but claims that that marriage was never consummated. Most of her children were either miscarried or died in infancy; her one surviving child is her daughter Mary. Katherine is very lonely at court, her only friend being Ambassador Mendoza, as Cardinal Wolsey dismissed her Spanish ladies-in-waiting for fear that they were spies for her nephew, the Holy Roman Emperor, and bribed most of her English ladies-in-waiting, who are also sometimes seduced by Henry. Nevertheless, she always does her duties as Queen admirably, donating to and even mingling with the common people after church services, and she is loved by the English people despite her background.