In 1978, the BBC set itself the task of filming all of William Shakespeare's plays for television. The resulting productions, renowned for their loyalty to the text, utilised the best theatrical and television directors and brought great performances from leading contemporary actors. Henry is a proud monarch who flies in the face of the church in seeking to divorce Queen Katherine and marry Anne Bullen. As Cardinal Wolsey the powerful Lord Chancellor of England attempts to bend Rome to the King's wishes, the court reverberates with political intrigue and accusations of treachery. The verbal jousting of Timothy West and Claire Bloom (as Cardinal Wolsey and Katherine of Aragon) illuminates this rare production of the near full text of Shakespeare's 'last' play.