Season synopsis
Contains spoilers for this season and earlier seasons.
Henry marries Jane Seymour as resistance to his religious reforms gathers in northern England. The Pilgrimage of Grace demands the restoration of Catholic practices and challenges the destruction of monasteries. Charles Brandon commands the royal forces but initially faces too many rebels to defeat them outright. Henry offers concessions and a parliament in York to persuade the leaders to disperse, then abandons those promises. When rebellion resumes, he orders a brutal suppression and the execution of its leaders. Brandon carries the burden of enforcing a settlement built on betrayal, while Cromwell's influence remains bound to the king's changing demands.
At court, Jane's pregnancy seems to offer the stability Henry has wanted for years. Her long and frightening labour brings Mary to her side and leaves Henry waiting anxiously for news. Edward is born, and the court celebrates the arrival of a male heir. The relief does not last: Jane becomes gravely ill after the birth, and Henry is unable to save her. He kneels beside her bed, pleading with her and with God as she dies. His withdrawal from public life follows a birth that has secured the succession at a devastating personal cost.
Cromwell promotes a Protestant alliance through Henry's marriage to Anne of Cleves, but the king rejects his new wife and demands an annulment. Brandon and other opponents exploit Cromwell's vulnerability, while Catherine Howard catches Henry's attention. Cromwell is imprisoned for treason and supplies the testimony needed to dissolve the marriage, begging for mercy without receiving it. Anne accepts a settlement and the title of the king's sister. Cromwell's enemies deliberately arrange for his executioner to drink heavily beforehand; the resulting botched beheading ends only when a guard intervenes. Henry moves towards another romance as his former adviser is destroyed.