Westminster to West End: Cultural Depictions of the Six Wives of Henry VIII

Speaker: Carol Ann Lloyd, Shakespeare and English Historian, formerly with the Folger Shakespeare Library. 

The storyline sounds like a “Made for TV Movie” gone wrong. A young man becomes King and in his obsession for a son marries SIX different women. One gives him a son but immediately drops dead, and another manages to outlive him. But the real drama is how he gets rid of wives he no longer wants around: he divorces two of them—and he cuts off the heads of the other two!

The story begs to be told, and it has—through the years, the story of the six wives has been told in movies, operas, television, and theatre. Most recently, with the surprising smash hit SIX, the story has become an incredibly popular London and Broadway musical. We’re taking a look at the way the Wives have been portrayed in pop culture, including depictions in films and on stage, call outs in the news and on social media, and representations in fashion and even in ducks!

Join us to experience various versions of those most famous of wives: Katherine, Anne, Jane, another Anne, another Katherine, and yet another Katherine. Known now and forever as the Six Wives.