Secrets of the Six Wives

Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived. Those are the 6 wives of Henry VIII. Catching that man's eyes was plain old dangerous. In her introduction to this series, Lucy Worsley, historian, tells us, "The story of Henry VIII and his six wives is one of the best-known in history. There's Catharine of Aragon, the bitter abandoned first wife. Anne Boleyn, the original 'other woman'. Jane Seymour, bit of a doormat. Then we've got Anne of Cleves – she was the ugly one. Catherine Howard, the one who slept around. And Catherine Parr, the saintly nurse. But I'm going to tell you a different story ...[than these caricatures]. Six wives whose names were tarnished by Henry's propaganda machine.""I'm going to show the story from their point of view." This more complete telling of their stories is great to watch and chock full of information. If you've read a lot of Tudor history, there will be some repetition, but it is presented nicely. Worsley narrates and most of the action is shown in re-enactments. Lucy explains that the scenes shown "all really happened and were recorded in historical documents or reported by eyewitnesses.""Their point of view" includes, for example, the story of how the intelligent educated Catharine Parr was not just a nurse. She translated some parts of the Bible while queen, and it enraged her husband and almost got her arrested for treason. In spite of his split from the Catholic Church, Henry VIII was traditional in his religious views.Original locations are shown, even if just for background. In addition, there are brief appearances by Peter O'Donoghue, the York Herald of the College of Arms, and Amalia D'Alascio, of the Vatican Archives. Worsley traveled to the archives (a gorgeous building) to see 17 love letters which Henry wrote to Ann Boleyn before they were married.Lucy Worsley has had other TV series. In particular, I enjoyed her 3-part series on the evolution of murder mysteries as entertainment. This is a bonus extra on the Joan Hickson remastered set,  Miss Marple: The Complete Collection . In her day job, Worsley is the Chief Curator for the Historic Royal Palaces in England. The Historic Royal Palaces are just what the name sounds like, a collection of palaces which used to be homes of a royal sovereign, but are now just open to the public. For example, no royalty still lives at Hampton Court."Secrets of the Six Wives" first aired in January 2017. It has 3 episodes which total 168 minutes. If you get the DVD, English subtitles are available. There are no bonus features.I am a history nerd and enjoyed watching this series. The locations and costuming added greatly to the enactments, which are well done. I have read quite a bit of English history, but there was new information for me: 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.Happy Reader

I first want to preface this by saying Lucy Worsley is an amazing historian and presenter. I have seen all her documentary films and have always been entranced, entertained, and educated by them. That being said, Secrets of the Six Wives is her crowning achievement. Lucy plays the role of a maid in Henry the VIII's court during the reign of the various wives. She inserts herself seamlessly into the scenes, sometimes as a passive observer, at other times as an active participant in the events. Moving between past and present, she spins the tales of the wives like a master storyteller or bard of the past. I typically don't watch documentaries more than once, but for this I made an exception and bought it to add to my library. I am so glad I did.

I loved it and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in Henry VIII and his wives. This program is a documentary with a twist: the narrator is inserted into the reenactments. I didn't learn very much because I have read several books on the subject but it was a lot of fun to watch. Dr. Worsley is not just knowledgeable, she is very likeable and kept my interest. The recreations were convincing and the location shots added a new dimension for me. There is a glimpse of the scroll of the famous jousting match for Prince Henry (I don't think the people handling the scroll wore gloves!) and the infamous love letters in the Vatican. I had a few quibbles (we really don't know if Katherine Howard's lover was the same Thomas Culpepper who was involved in a rape and murder--Katherine's lover shared the name with his brother, which was apparently common at the time) but nothing major.

I had so much fun watching this and one of the things that makes it the most fun is Lucy, she doesn't just narrate off camera or stand in front of the camera like a statue. She gets dressed up in the clothes of the time and brings you right in to the situations as if you were right there with her going back in time. In other words she seems to enjoy telling these stories as much as you do watching them and that is an excellent way to host a documentary I thoroughly recommend this

According the history books, this movie/documentary is very accurate. King Henry 8th was an evil mess. Too bad his wives had to suffer and be beheaded. Very interesting story that also highlights Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth's lives. They were the two half sisters and daughters of Henry 8 that were caught in the middle of his mess between two of his wives, which were their mothers. The other four wives were interesting also. I highly recommend this DVD.

We started watching this on PBS and didn’t get to see it all. That’s when I decided to purchase this from Amazon. Lucy really knows how to keep history interesting! We also love how she goes back and forth from telling the story to being in it. My husband and I both enjoyed this very much and plan on watching her other dvds and reading her books now!

I'm a real fan of Henry the 8th history, as apparently many people are. I just love any insight and even reminders of the details of the sordid mess. But anyway, I enjoyed this very much, even the part that apparently annoyed some viewers; where the narrator dresses in costume and inserts herself into the story. Brought it to life and was entertaining as well as educational.

This movie was part documentary which did not interfere with the story but rather enhanced it. Since I have other HENRY VIII movies, this was not much of a secret about the wives. However, there are bits and pieces in this movie that I have not seen in others. I really enjoyed the narrator and the way she included herself in the history of the movie. Well done.

Well produced and filmed. The story is told in an informative and interesting manner that keeps the reader interested and eager to hear and view more.

What a good idea to have the presenter act in the stories...and in costume !!!

It was ok

Lucy is the best. I loved this.

This series is created in a way that makes these events more interesting and much more entertaining than what the history books contain.