The cast of Henry VIII
The people who make Henry VIII move — what they want, who they love, who they hate, and how each one fits the story. Tap any name to read more.
Daughter of Sir Thomas Bullen; sister to the Viscount Rochfords
Father was Henry of Buckingham, who opposed Richard III; son-in-law is Lord Abergavennys
Daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain; mother of the future Mary Is
Son of Henry VII; married to Katherine, then Anne Bullen; father of Elizabeths
Father-in-law to the Earl of Surreys
Daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain; mother of the future Mary I; widow of Prince Arthur before marriage to Henry VIIIs
Connected to the Howard nobility through marriage; related to Surreys
Son-in-law to the Duke of Buckinghams
Other characters
Cardinal Wolsey
Ambitious Lord Chancellor whose pride precipitates his downfall
Second Gentleman
Observant courtier and gossip; witness to the fall of Buckingham and rise of Anne
Lord Chamberlain
Royal courtier and master of ceremonies; witness to the machinery of power
First Gentleman
Observer and messenger; chronicler of court news and public spectacle
Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester
Ambitious ecclesiastical politician and enemy of reform
Lord Thomas Lovell
Loyal courtier and witness to power's reversals
Thomas Cranmer
Archbishop of Canterbury; the king's trusted spiritual advisor and victim of court conspiracy
Thomas Cromwell
The king's rising secretary and ally to Cranmer; architect of ecclesiastical reform
Sands
Courtier and wit; a fashionable nobleman with a sharp tongue
Cardinal Campeius
Papal legate sent to judge the king's marriage; reluctant instrument of Rome's will
Old Lady
Waiting-woman and confidante; voice of earthly pragmatism and ironic wisdom
Griffith
Katherine's devoted gentleman usher and witness to her dignity in exile
Porter
Keeper of the palace gate; comic guardian of order amid courtly chaos
Third Gentleman
Court observer and chronicler of Anne's coronation
Surveyor
Buckingham's former steward and reluctant informant
Brandon
Royal officer; executor of the king's will
Lord Chancellor
Chief judicial officer presiding over Cranmer's council trial
Man
Palace porter's assistant; crowd-control officer at the christening
Hear every line of Henry VIII, narrated.
