How Powerful was Henry VIII?

Was Henry VIII as all-powerful and tyrannical as we have come to believe? Is the scheming of Thomas Cromwell portrayed in Wolf Hall close to the truth? What were the roles of the clergy, or parliament, or the land-owning gentry, in supporting or influencing the sweeping changes that rocked England during the period?

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Professor George Bernard. He has been picking apart the conventional view of Tudor society, the work of influential past historians, and the roles of a Machiavellian monarch, the church and individuals, to ask where did the power really lie? And did they really have a choice?

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