Not Just the Tudors: "Henry VIII on Screen: The Historians' Verdict"

Published: October 9, 2025
Host: Professor Suzannah Lipscomb (History Hit)
Guests:

• Dr. Joanne Poole (historian, author of "The House of Dudley")
• Jessie Charles (author of "The Siege of Loyalty House")
• Alex von Tunzelmann (columnist, screenwriter, author of "Fallen Idols")

Overview

This special "Not Just the Tudors Lates" episode dives into the rich and varied portrayals of King Henry VIII in film and television. Professor Suzannah Lipscomb and her panel of expert historians and writers assess the spectrum of Henrys—from the brash and bombastic to the vulnerable and juvenile—exploring what each on-screen king reveals about perceptions of the man and the era. Focusing on four major portrayals (Charles Laughton, Richard Burton, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Damian Lewis) while touching on a range of others, they critique acting choices, historical fidelity, shifting gender and sexual politics, and the relationship between history, narrative, and the cultural moments that spawned each portrayal.

Key Discussions & Insights

Setting the Stage: Why Henry VIII Endures on Screen

[02:22 - 04:07]
Suzannah introduces the episode’s mission: to determine which screen Henry VIII is most effective and why. The discussion begins by situating Henry as a blend of "man and myth," the archetype of the consuming, womanizing, often tyrannical monarch, and why film and television keep returning to his story.

Charles Laughton in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933)

First British film to put Henry VIII onscreen; Oscar-winning; sets culture’s image of Henry.

[05:23 - 11:14] Memorable Moments & Analysis:

• Iconic Scene: Laughton’s Henry rips apart a capon with his hands—foundational to how we visualize Henry (the “chicken-eating king”).
  • Alex von Tunzelmann: “The official food of history is now chicken, thanks to this scene.” [07:13]
• Stage Energy: Laughton’s grand, stage-influenced performance—at once repulsive, comic, and sensitive.
  • Jessie Charles: “He is utterly repulsive. … And yet, there are moments of great sensitivity.” [06:28]
• Satire & Power: The chicken scene mocks refinement and manners, demonstrating Henry’s power and the social structure.
  • Alex: “It’s a real statement of power… he controls it.” [08:44]

[11:14 - 16:39] Layers of Character:

• Duality—Vulgarity & Vulnerability:
  • Henry’s loneliness: “I would exchange it all to be my lowest groom who sleeps above the st[able] with a wife who loves him.” [11:31]
  • Joanne Poole: “He is a toddler tyrant, throwing his toys out the pram.” [15:19]
• Contextual Nuances:
  • Political undercurrents: Anti-French sentiment reflects 1933’s anxieties (rise of Hitler, British imperialism).
  • Suzannah: “Certainly of its time… imperialistic and xenophobic.” [14:32]

[16:39 - 21:56] Gender & Performance:

• Women’s Voices: Film foregrounds women’s perspectives, group scenes, and “gossip”—a proto-feminist structure.
  • Joanne: “He is almost subject to [women] throughout the film… a very certain particular portrayal.” [17:55]
• Performance of History: Henry “steps out of the Holbein”—cinematically merging portrait and man.

[21:56 - 23:11] Influence on Historical Drama:

• Upstairs/Downstairs Structure: Use of servants and courtiers as a means to interpret events becomes a template for future historical costume drama.

Richard Burton in Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)

[23:11 - 31:26] Sexual Politics & Bleak Henry

• Sinister Sexuality: Burton’s Henry is chilling, less charming; sexual politics feel aggressive and toxic by modern standards.
  • Jessie: “I have a visceral reaction… completely so sinister, so unpleasant, so chilling.” [26:08]
• Narrative Structure: The love-hate dynamic is “never fully explained,” making the film emotionally bleak.
  • Panel: Discomfort with the film’s length, overwritten dialogue, and lack of chemistry.
• Anne Boleyn’s Agency: Shift to agency in Anne’s fall; film invents that she chooses her execution to protect Elizabeth’s future legitimacy.
  • Jo: “She sacrifices herself to ensure that Elizabeth can reign… it gives it that hopeful ending that otherwise we don’t have.” [31:26]
• Feminist Lens, Faith Overlooked: Modern lens adds “girl power” conclusions, but entirely omits Anne’s religious motivations.
  • Alex: “They don’t go near [religion]… it doesn’t work for 20th century audiences.” [33:25]

Keith Michell in The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970)

[41:23 - 43:10]

• The Renaissance Prince: More sympathetic, civilized; charts Henry’s evolution from young prince to obese tyrant.
  • Joanne: “You can tell a longer and fuller story. … People change and for Henry that meant more paranoia and cruelty as time goes on.” [42:03]

Jonathan Rhys Meyers in The Tudors (2007)

[43:10 - 50:26] The Sexy Young Henry

• Aesthetic & Chemistry: Fast-paced, visually lush, highlights Henry’s early charisma and sexual energy.
  • Jessie: “What this has that others don’t is chemistry and desire… part of the actual story.” [44:13]
• Menace & Fire: Despite being physically unlike the historical Henry, Rhys Meyers captures the “fire in his eyes” (citing Thomas More’s description).
  • Jo: “There’s something back there that is terrifying and that goes on a switch.” [45:51]
• Natalie Dormer as Anne: Highly praised for intelligence, sex appeal, agency.
  • Alex: “Probably my favourite screen Anne… incredibly smart, incredibly sexy, really uses her power.” [46:25]
• Historical Liberties: Timeline accuracy improves in later seasons, especially in Anne’s storyline.

Damian Lewis in Wolf Hall (2015, 2024)

[52:00 - 61:52] The Subtle, Secular, Supporting Henry

• Supporting Role: Henry as observed by Thomas Cromwell; performance is less imposing, more interior.
  • Jessie: “He is the master, really, and the monster… he’s the one whispering, ‘executed.’” [54:24]
• Interiority & Modern Taste: Natural lighting, visual darkness symbolize modern tastes (more “intimate” and “internalized”).
  • Alex: “Visually it’s perfect… but you’re always creating characters out of the material.” [56:21]
• Capricious Tyrant: Some panelists wanted more physical terror or presence, but credit Lewis’s subtlety and menace in select moments.
• Secularism & Modernism: Downplays religious motivation, foregrounds secular, psychological drama.
  • Jo: “The message is very secular… Thomas More, who feels so strongly about religion, is stubborn and a zealot.” [65:11]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“The official food of history is now chicken, thanks to this scene.”
— Alex von Tunzelmann on Laughton’s (1933) capon-eating, [07:13]

“There is something inherently ridiculous about Henry VIII, and Lawton plays into that.”
— Joanne Poole, [10:33]

“I would exchange it all to be my lowest groom who sleeps above the st[able] with a wife who loves him.”
— Charles Laughton’s Henry, [11:31]

“He is a toddler tyrant, throwing his toys out the pram.”
— Joanne Poole, [15:19]

“This is horrid Henry. I have a visceral reaction to Richard Burton in it. … So sinister, so unpleasant, so chilling.”
— Jessie Charles, on Burton’s portrayal, [26:08]

“They don’t go near [religion] because it doesn’t work for 20th century audiences.”
— Alex von Tunzelmann, [33:25]

“He captures the contradiction… there is hurt, there is want, there is a sort of lovely side as well as a vicious side.”
— Jessie Charles on Rhys Meyers, [48:13]

“Ultimate[ly] you are doing a take and a reduction. … Who you choose as your protagonist shapes everything.”
— Alex von Tunzelmann, on adaptation vs. accuracy, [60:48]

“Charles Laughton… matches that mood. Every time I go back, I’m more and more impressed with it. I think it is an extraordinary piece of work. He deserved the Oscar.”
— Alex von Tunzelmann on Laughton’s legacy, [68:44]

Comparing the Henrys: What Do These Portrayals Tell Us?

About Henry VIII:

• An endlessly mutable figure—villainous, comical, pathetic, charismatic.
• Films/series reflect contemporary anxieties, gender politics, and cultural shifts in each era.

About History Onscreen:

• No screen Henry is “neutral” or definitively “accurate.”
• Each dramatization is a “take” shaped by both historical documents and modern taste.
• Shift from individual, central Henrys (1930s–70s) to ensemble dramas and outsiders’ perspectives (Wolf Hall).

Verdict: The Panel’s Favorites

[66:18 - 69:40]

• Jessie: Damien Lewis for subtlety and nuance; “I would just love to see him star as a Henry.”
• Joanne: Robert Shaw (A Man for All Seasons) for childishness and desperation—“But I’ve gained new appreciation for Charles Laughton. … It’s important to laugh at someone like Henry.”
• Alex: “I’m afraid for me, it is Charles Laughton. … Every time I revisit it, I’m more and more impressed with it.”

Closing Thought

Despite differing verdicts on the “best” Henry, all agree that each performance is a prism reflecting not only the monarch but also the times and cultures that produced them. Charles Laughton’s foundational performance continues to shape cultural imagination, but every screen Henry speaks, in some way, to both history and modernity.

Listen if:

• You love historical film, nuanced character study, or sharp, witty banter among experts.
• You’ve wondered why every history fair has turkey/chicken legs, or why Henry is continually reimagined.
• You want to trace the evolving image of monarchy, masculinity, and power over nearly a century of cinema.