Season synopsis
Contains spoilers for this season and earlier seasons.
Henry's marriage to Catherine Howard gives him renewed energy, but her place at court becomes dangerous as secrets from her earlier life emerge. Lady Rochford helps arrange meetings with Thomas Culpeper, and Catherine begins an affair while Henry struggles with his painful leg wound. Francis Dereham, a former lover, demands employment in her household. An anonymous accusation prompts an investigation that first exposes their past relationship and then reaches Culpeper. The king's initial disbelief gives way to anger and withdrawal. Catherine, Dereham, Culpeper and Rochford are executed, leaving another marriage destroyed by the machinery of the court.
Henry next pursues Catherine Parr, removing Thomas Seymour as a romantic rival by sending him abroad. Once married, she becomes regent during the king's invasion of France and takes responsibility for his children. The siege of Boulogne brings disease and heavy losses before an engineer's mine breaches the defences and the city surrenders. Charles Brandon returns with Brigitte, a French woman he has fallen in love with. At home, Bishop Gardiner investigates Catherine's Protestant beliefs, turning the religious struggle into a threat against the queen herself.
As Henry grows weaker, the question of who will control his son's reign becomes increasingly urgent. Surrey's military failures and political ambitions end in a treason conviction, while Catherine escapes arrest when Henry dismisses the men sent to seize her. Brandon dies after a final meeting with his old friend. Visions of Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour confront Henry with the wives and children he has hurt. He sends his family away and approves Holbein's commanding new portrait, ending the series before his death is shown.