WHAT?  Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens 

WHERE? National Portrait Gallery, St, Martin’s Place, London WC2H OHE

WHEN?  Now until 8th September 

WHY GO?  To meet women who shaped history. There’s never been a King more famous for his marital exploits than Henry VIII, ‘Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived’, succinctly sums up the fate of his six wives and each has a tale to tell, all gloriously presented in this gripping new exhibition. 

Shaping history, the wives endured lives of intrigue, debauchery and exploitation with a whiff of romance here and there.  

Every detail is explored through manuscripts, miniatures, textiles and artefacts plus contemporary reconstructions including an impressive parade of photographs taken from waxworks at Madame Tussauds by the great Japanese photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto.

Separate galleries highlight each Queen in chronological order, focusing on how each became a wife and consequently met her demise, all except Katherine Parr who outlived Henry and Anne of Cleves, the one he cruelly discarded. 

Undoubtedly the most popular in contemporary culture , the captivating Anne Boleyn, mother of Elizabeth I, gets preferential treatment as the subject of so many documented films, books and operas highlighting the juicier elements in no uncertain terms. 

There’s even a kitsch film snippet directed by Ernst Lubitsch in 1920 recreating Anne being cast aside by Henry when he sets eyes on wife number three, Jane Seymour. 

Reputed to have been Mary Pickford’s favourite film, it has to be seen to be believed for melodrama!

IN THE KNOW  Worth noting, the National Portrait Gallery’s, ‘Pay What You Wish’ scheme allows virtually free entry to this and other exhibitions at certain times. 

Take the kids on a free history trail, tickets can be booked in advance online, by phone or in person.