Henry VIII by Hans Holbein
When I first had the idea of writing about the six wives of Henry VIII, I got in a muddle.
That is to say, I got the wives in a muddle – something Henry VIII was also known to do, although in a rather different way.
What happened was this. I was driving along a Sussex lane with my husband, Harold Pinter, when I suddenly saw a notice saying ‘Hever Castle’.
Harold was unimpressed as he had come to the conclusion (he told me later) that Sussex had rather too many castles for its own good. But as I was at the wheel, I was able to park and wheel us in for a good tour oftoo many complaints from Harold – or from the other tourists, who at that time of day were mainly schoolchildren. After all, Anne of Cleves, who lived at Hever, was one of the famous six. I was immediately excited.
