Anne of the Thousand Days

King Henry VIII (Richard Burton) of England is contemplating what to do about his nearly one thousand day union to his second wife, Anne Boleyn (Genevieve Bujold). The marriage has been controversial in that he, a devoutly religious man, had to break ties with the Catholic church in Rome so that he could divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon (Irene Papas), whom he married for political reasons. As such, many of his subjects consider his marriage to Anne as being not valid, and Anne a whore. The marriage to Anne has also been tempestuous as Anne wanted to marry the young Lord Percy (Terence Wilton), with whom she was in love. But Anne eventually learned to love the power that being Queen of England would bring, a position which was fostered by her family, who could only see the benefit of such a union. The King's current contemplation of what to do stems from what he sees as Anne not fulfilling her end of the marriage in not producing a viable male heir to become the next King of England, she only bearing a daughter, Elizabeth (Amanda Jane Smythe), and a stillborn son. He sees Jane Seymour (Lesley Paterson), one of Anne's ladies-in-waiting, as being a potential Queen in her place. As much as Henry will do whatever in his power to get that desired male heir (his union to Catherine also produced only a daughter), Anne, who Henry professes to love, will do anything to ensure what she considers her and Elizabeth's rightful place within the monarchy.