It's a romanticized version of the split of the Church of England from the Catholic church, told through the lives of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, and those surrounding them. Henry VIII's (Eric Bana) needs a male heir to the throne from his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Lacking one, brothers-in-law Thomas Norfolk and Thomas Boleyn, plan on installing Boleyn's daughter Anne (Natalie Portman), as his mistress and hope she will give him the much desired son. Lady Elizabeth (Kristin Scott Thomas), Anne's mother, is disgusted by the plan. To please her dad and uncle, Anne agrees. Visiting the Boleyn estate, Henry is injured while hunting and is nursed by Anne's younger sister, Mary (Scarlett Johansson), who is married to William Carey (Benedict Cumberbatch). When in Mary's care, the king falls in love with her, inviting her to his court. Mary and William, aware the king desires her, reluctantly agree. The Boleyn sisters become ladies-in-waiting to Catherine and the king sends William on an assignment abroad. With her husband away, Mary falls for Henry.
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Then, Mary gets pregnant. When Mary almost miscarries, she is told to stay in bed until the baby is born. Norfolk calls for Anne to keep the king's eye from wandering off. Anne successfully wins Henry over. After Mary delivers a son, Henry Carey, the king sends Mary to the country at the request of Anne. Henry gives in to Anne's demands to break with the Catholic church since the Pope would not annul his marriage to Catharine and declares himself Head of the newly born Church of England, getting his marriage annulled by Cardinal Wolsey.
Anne's schemes of playing out her cards and making him wait for his prize, drive Henry crazy, which leads to him raping her. Anne marries Henry and becomes his queen. And, although she gave birth to a perfectly healthy daughter, Elizabeth, Anne didn't give Henry a son, so he starts courting Jane Seymour. For fear of losing Henry, Anne tries to get her brother to impregnate her, after she miscarries Henry's second child with her, a boy, but she gets arrested, is found guilty of incest, adultery and treason and gets sentenced to death. Mary returns to court and begs Henry for Anne's life. Anne begs Mary to raise her daughter Elizabeth if need be. Waiting for the cancellation of the execution as Henry promised, Mary watches from the crowd, but Henry decided to go ahead with Anne's execution anyway. Anne's daughter grows up to become Elizabeth I.
Best part of story, including ending:
It's a romanticized version of what happened when the Henry VIII decided to leave the Catholic church and become the head of the Church of England.
Best scene in story:
Where Henry falls in love with Mary.
Opinion about the main character:
Anne is rather ruthless.
