I completely and utterly adore the Tudors, it's my favourite programme ever and I am so sad that it's finally ended.

Opinions on the Queens:

Katherine of Aragon-
She was gracious and a possessed all the qualities of a good Queen. A strong woman who stood up for herself and her daughter's rights. She is probably the only wife who would have been able to rule a country in her own right and she ruled capably as Henry's regent which I think is amazing. It was under her that England defeated the Scots at the battle of Flodden Field. She was proud and stubborn, which some people view as a bad quality but I think that it adds to her strength of character and shows how regal she really was. The only thing I dislike about her is how she mooned over Henry when he had quite clearly rejected her, although I know she was more bothered about retaining her rank as Queen she was still hoping that Henry would return her love when he quite obviously wouldn't. I think it shows that she lacked a little self respect at times.

Anne Boleyn-
I don't think she was Ms Independent like everyone thinks she is, I just think she liked to mouth off out quite a bit but she was actually a pawn in her family's game like every other woman at that time. No doubt she was a fiery, ambitious lady who knew what she wanted and how to get it, which is admirable even in today's society never mind back in Tudor England. She was intelligent, witty and fun, as well as being a fashionista, she would certainly have been more suited to present day society where she could have used her abilities for something good. I don't mind her really but I can't ever truly respect her like like I do with the other wives because of her poor treatment towards Katherine and Mary (direct or otherwise) and how she caused so many problems for the people of England (again whether directly or not). However, she was a victim of a cruel man who decided to kill her on a whim and I sympathise with her. I would probably have placed her as a strong second favourite if it wasn't for the whole Katherine/Mary saga which really made me lose respect for her although she I know she wasn't all bad as she was capable of great charity and kindness when the mood took her.

Jane Seymour-
I think Jane has to be my favourite wife of Henry's. She has all the good qualities I admire in women. She was a good woman with a kind heart and had a deep, inner strength that was hidden behind a mask of fragility and femininty. She befriended Mary when she was in desperate need of a friend. Some people say that she never did anything good for Elizabeth but to be honest Elizabeth was too young to be brought to court and had to live with the shame of being her mother's daughter, so Jane wouldn't have been able to help her straight away and she did allow her to Edward's christening. As well as her warm heart she was extremely clever. She knew how to work the court and King. She acted as the submissive wife yet she was quite political, involving herself in the Pilgrimage of Grace and bringing Mary back to favour. She had great 'court smarts' and knew how to flater the King's ego. She was ambitious and had her own opinions but she knew she had to be careful about how she went about it because of how the King had treated his previous wives, some people think this makes her weak but in actual fact it shows how clever she was and makes me think she was very astute. I also think that she brought out a gentler side to Henry and she truly made him happy, giving him the wife he had always wanted in every possible way. Had she lived longer I think she would have become an even greater Queen than what she was.

Anne of Cleves-
Poor Anne, she has gone down in history as the Flander's Mare. I don't know what to say about her really. The title of the 'dull' wife usually goes to Jane Seymour but if I had to give it to anyone it would have to go to Anne. She got married, had the marriage annulled and lived happily ever after as the King's honourary sister. She was intelligent enough to accept the King's terms for annulment and reaped the benefits. That's it. Not to say that she wasn't a lovely woman, from all I have heard about her she was friendly, fun and kind. But I find it a little desperate that she wanted Henry back after he killed Catherine Howard even though she had a cushy life as the King's sister and ir does seem a little catty that she publicly said she thought she was better looking than Catherine Parr. She just doesn't inspire or interest me at all like the other wives, she really was quite boring.

Catherine Howard-
Catherine is a difficult one to form an opinion on. People try to defend her by saying she was young and naive, but in truth I think she was very stupid. At the age of fifteen you know the difference between right and wrong. You know it is wrong to have pre-marital sex and it is a crime to commit adultery, especially against a King. I doubt very much that she didn't know what happened to her cousin who was executed on false charges of adultery, so it is beyond stupidity to cheat on a King. I don't know if I believe she actually slept with Culpepper, but at the very least she had a romanic affair with him, which is still stupid. However, I do feel for her. It can't be easy to be young and lively, and then being stuck with a smelly, fat man for a husband. And in a way, I think it is a little admirable that she stuck two fingers up at the King and dared to cheat on him like he cheated on his other wives. She does have my sympathy but I think she wanted to have her cake and eat it too, and in the end she got caught up in everything. That being said she did sound like a sweet girl and I like how she tried to petition for prisoners in the Tower and bring them some small comforts.

Catherine Parr-
This Catherine is probably one of the most inspirational women of the Tudor era. She was extremely intelligent, had great court smarts and was kind hearted. She published her own books and was the only wife to ever escape the wrath of the King by talking her way out of the situation. She finished Jane's work and brought Henry's children together, having a great impact upon all of them and giving them the mother figure that they all missed. I think she posseses all the good qualities of the previous Queens and she is definetely my second favourite wife. The only reason why she is not first is because of her relationship with Thomas Seymour. She seems to have been overly besotted by him and it annoys me how much she mooned over him as well as actually allowed him to flirt and harrass Princess Elizabeth. It seems she was so love struck by him that she lost her mind and couldn't see any of his obvious flaws which I think is quite pathetic. But I still admire her for her intelligence, bravery and kindness.

So here is how I ranked the wives in order of preference:

1) Jane Seymour
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2) Catherine Parr
3) Katherine of Aragon
- both were brilliant women but made silly choices for the love of a man
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4) Anne Boleyn - when she was good she was great but she had a bit of a nasty side to her
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5) Catherine Howard- seemed a nice girl just not very bright at times
6) Anne of Cleves- nothing personal, she's just a bit boring compared to the others

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Favourite Actresses on the Show (main roles)
We know the Tudors was all about the girls really! Here's what I thought about the actresses who played their respective parts.

Maria Doyle Kennedy (Katherine of Aragon)
I must say I was very impressed with performance despite having doubts about her when first seeing her in the promotions. I wasn't happy that she was so dark compared to the very fair Katherine, but she was amazing. She was very natural and gave her character all the grace and regalness that I am sure the real Katherine had. The only thing I was a bit put off by was the slightly dodgy Spanish accent but it wasn't too bad compared to some of the other accents on the show. She certainly dominated the first two seasons for me as the best actress on the show. 8/10

Natalie Dormer (Anne Boleyn)
I think I'm in the minority here but I don't think Natalie pulled off her role very convincingly. She seemed to lack the mystery and charm Anne possessed, especially in season 1, and I kept wondering to myself why was Henry so obsessed over her compared to all the other ladies. All she ever seemed to do was pout, give that lopsided smirk and look pretty. She started to grow on me in season 2 and I think this was because Natalie had grown into the part a little more. I still think she over acted though, and I was very aware of her acting all the way through her performance. I must say though, she gains points for the season 2 finale. I actually found myself wishing she she would have a few more episodes before she finally left us. Over all, she was alright but nothing special. Perhaps I just have very high standards regarding Anne because she was such a complex woman. Natalie did well in dramatic scenes but in normal every day scenes she was rather lacking.
6/10

Anita Briem (Jane Seymour season 2)
Again, I think I'm in the minority here, but I actually thought that Anita was the better of the two Jane actresses. She didn't have a lot to say but what she did say fit perfectly to what I imagine Jane to have acted like. She had a very soft, quiet voice and she always looked very unassuming and shy. She played the awkward, shy girl to a tee and I thought the scenes between her and Jonathan were some of the best romantic scenes in the show. She did mumble her lines somewhat, although I'm pretty sure that was how she meant it to come across as she was overwhelmed by the attention, and she lacked a bit of grace moving about in her gowns, although again that kind of fits my perception of Jane. The only other thing that put me off a bit was that it was clear she wasn't English, but other than that she made Jane seem human. I'm still annoyed she left but oh well. 6.5/10

Annabelle Wallis (Jane Seymour season 3)
I might have said that Natalie Dormer was an over actor, but I firmly believe that Annabelle Wallis was an under actor. She was perfectly fine saying mundane lines about nothing of interest, but when she had to put a bit of emotion into a scene she fell short completely. It was as though she felt awkward speaking and I cringed a couple of times when she had to say a long line, it was as though she just couldn't quite get through it. That being said she was good with her expressions and even if her lines didn't convey much her face told us everything we needed to know. I'm also giving her some extra credit for her ghost finale scene, which she completely owned. It was as though she was a completely different person and she was my favourite ghost Queen. I think I'm a bit biased against Annabelle because she was the second actress, but I also think it's partly because of how the writers wrote the part. Season 3 Jane could do no wrong and was a 2 Dimensional, but as soon as she got a bit of spirit in the finale scene Annabelle had something to work with. However, since her performance over all was lacking, I'm only going to give her 5/10.

Joss Stone (Anne of Cleves)
As with Season 3's Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves was a bit too goody-goody, and could do no wrong. Whilst it makes for a nice character it doesn't give the actress much to work with. I can't think of any stand out scenes for Joss. She did alright, but nothing amazing or noteworthy. She also had a really dodgy, almost comical German accent that put me off her even more and it seemed to hinder how she spoke her lines a bit as well. Since she didn't make much of an impact on me all I can give her is a 4.5 really. Sorry Joss, but I really like your singing :)

Tamzin Merchant (Catherine Howard)
Right, so I know that Catherine was meant to be this chirpy, promiscous teenager but it seems that she was also meant to be slightly sympathetic. Yet I really couldn't stand her in this until she was about to be executed, and I really think this was to do with the actress. To me, it just seemed like Tazmin thought 'oh she's just meant to be a bimbo teenage airhead, I'll play her like that' and put on an almost valley girl personae albeit without an accent. Seriously, I know we're meant to relate to her but making her like a modern teenager was not the way to go about with this. To be honest I don't think I'd mind her so much if I hadn't been spoilt with the flirty but human and sympathetic portayals by Lynne Frederick and Emily Blunt but I can't undo what I have seen. Additionally, Tamzin's voice is really annoying she has this sort of sing-song element to it which gets a bit too much at time, and she comes across as very amateur and over the top in her performance, almost as if she were acting in a high school play and not a tv drama. I know I have called Natalie Dormer an over actor at times, but Tamzin is constantly doing it. I just really couldn't warm up to her and I wasn't sorry to see her go.
4/10

Joely Richardson (Catherine Parr)
I knew from the moment I saw her name associated with this series that I was going to be spoilt and I was. I bet the producers were giddy when they saw that she was interested in being involved in the show. She did not disappoint. She made the character her own, making the often overlooked Catherine strong and yet vulnerable. She was flawless in everything she was meant to be portraying. I particularly loved the scene when she discovered that the King meant to execute her and how she got out of it. She conveyed her desperatation and fright so well that I was holding my breath for her. And I felt complete empathy for her when she had to submit herself to him in order to save her own life, the defeat in her voice and on her face was so heartbreaking to watch. But what stuck in my mind the most was that one expression she gave Henry after the incident where the guards tried to execute her and she realises what a monster her husband is. Utter perfection. I couldn't fault her for a single thing. 9/10

Sarah Bolger (Princess Mary)
Definetely my favourite actress of the whole series. She certainly held her own against all the great actors and actresses of this show and to me she was the leading lady of the whole production. She made Mary entirely sympathetic. And even though she played Mary as reserved, she still portrayed her as having a personality and that she was passionate about her beliefs. She conveyed her emotions brilliantly, and made me feel for her the entire time. Whatever Mary felt, I felt. When she was hostile against Anne, I was completely on her side. I was overjoyed when she found a friend in Jane. And I cried with her everytime she was upset. To make the audience feel empathy with your character is an amazing achievement in itself, but she was so young when she did this! She also mimicked Maria Doyle Kennedy's elegance and poise to a tee, I loved the way she curtseyed. She also had great facial expressions, I particularly loved the way she looked at Anne Boleyn in the 'I know no Queen accept my mother' and how unimpressed she looked with Catherine Howard. She made a great transition throughout the three seasons she was in and I especially loved those dark glimpses of Bloody Mary we saw of her. She was also so natural that I forgot she was even acting. I got so emotionally attached to this character like no other. I don't think I could give anyone a complete 10/10 unless it was an acceptional performance, but I will give her a 9.5/10. She was the star of the show in my eyes.

Laoise Murray (Princess Elizabeth)
As beautiful as this young lady is, and I truly believe she is the most beautiful girl in the whole history of the show, I am afraid her acting was nothing short of atrocious. Throughout her whole performance she sounds as though she's reading cue cards. There's not a single hint of emotion in her voice. I know Elizabeth was very regal and astute, but Laoise sounded like a robot. And she conveyed no emotion on her face either. I will, however, praise her for how she held herself, very much like a princess, and she spoke very clearly and concise, although perhaps a little too clearly and concise to make it realistic. But I think she was chosen merely for being a pretty red head who bore a slight resemblance to Natalie Dormer. She was shown up many a time by the other actors. In fact, even that little sweetheart who played Edward was a better actor than she was and outshone her in all their parts. I actually cringed when she called Lady Bryan to tell her Edward was sick. I just could not warm up to this Elizabeth at all. I'm sorry to say but she wouldn't even stand out in a school play. Hopefully she'll improve as she gets older. 2/10
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1) Sarah Bolger
2) Joely Richardson
3) Maria Doyle Kennedy
4) Anita Briem
5) Natalie Dormer
6) Annabelle Wallis
7) Joss Stone
8) Tamzin Merchant
9) Laoise Murray




Costumes
Apart from the acting and storylines, one of the things I love most about The Tudors are the amazing costumes they have. They are all so beautiful and feminine that they make me sigh and wish I could have been alive back then (followed shortly by a gruesome death which makes me thank God that I wasn't!). I know not all of the costumes are accurate for the time but they are so beautiful and fun that it doesn't matter really. Here are some of my favourites:

Katherine of Aragon's