Welcome back to the decline of Catherine of Aragon onThe Spanish Princess.
Maggie and Thomas More hole up back at the palace, just in case they were infected.
The Tudors: practicing social distancing before it was cool.
Credit: starz
Theres so much repressed yearning here it should get a knighthood for being so British.
Meanwhile, things get messy for Meg and Mary in Scotland and France and shocker!
Henry is not at all supportive of them.
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Here are six historical observations from this weeks episode.
It was commonplace for the court to leave London during outbreaks, as we see in this episode.
Now, if youve visited Hampton Court, you might be thinking, wait, isnt that Henrys palace?
Isnt it supposedly haunted by at least one of the wives he murdered?
You would be correct.
But in this era, the residence was owned by Wolsey.
He would later give it to Henry in a last-ditch effort to save himself from disgrace.
But Im getting ahead of myself.
But its most lavish staterooms for the king were not completed until 1525.
In fact, Wolsey is largely credited for promoting the ideals and styles of the Italian Renaissance in England.
He amassed money from numerous sources, including through questionable taxation processes and levying money through the church.
It really is impossible to overstate Wolsey’s influence on Henry.
Catherine bristles against it here, as hes increasingly allowed to humiliate her and do whatever he likes.
But thats really the way it was.
Jean Stewart
With no help from Henry, Meg returns to Scotland.
Girl cannot catch a break.
She also takes her fists to Jean Stewart and banishes both of them from her castle.
That makes her the half-sister of Megs sons.
So her second husband is shacking up with her first husbands daughter!
The nerve of this dude.
So, Catherine writes Mary, warning her to make her own choices.
Henry sends Charles Brandon to fetch his sister back from France.
Henry wasnt completely blind to the feelings there.
Sure, sure, blame it on her tears.
That’s the source of moisture that propelled this marriage, riiiiight.
Mary and Charles really did have a secret wedding at the Hotel de Clugny in Paris in March 1515.
And because no one could marry a princess without the kings consent, technically, it was treason.
Henry VIII did indeed contemplate execution for his old pal.
But well have to wait until next week to see how it ends.
Rock-a-bye-Bessie
The affair with Bessie gets messier this week, as we learn shes carrying Henrys bastard.
At the episodes end, Bessie delivers a boy (with some help from Catherine) and Henry rejoices.
Bessie Blount is most famous in British history for providing Henry VIII with his first healthy, thriving son.
She was perhaps the best treated of all of Henrys mistresses, and this is why.
Though the ignominy Catherine must endure as Henry celebrates this child is very real.
Wolsey definitely played a shady role in all of this, being named the boys godfather.
Perhaps he could make Henry an offer he couldnt refuse.
