Matchmaking begins in earnest as Cromwell schemes to secure the Reformation by marrying Henry to a Protestant wife - but the king's marital reputation precedes him; the condition of Henry's wounded leg turns life-threatening.

War looms with France and Spain aligning against England with backing from Rome, so Henry agrees to a politically fortuitous marriage with Anne of Cleves (Joss Stone), a plain and unsophisticated German aristocrat he has never met.