History Series / TheTudors

* TheBeard:
** Thomas Tallis seems to be played more as a subversion as he's played as genuinely attracted to both his lovers. George Boleyn and Mark Smeaton are TheBeard [[IncrediblyLamePun played straight.]]
** Mark Smeaton definitely is. George is an open question because in Season 1 he definitely seemed to enjoy sex with women in at least one instance -- funnily enough, with the sisters who later were caught up with Thomas Tallis. It's quite possible he just didn't like his wife.

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Many, many examples throughout the series, but perhaps the most striking change is Queen Claude of France, played by the stunning Gabriella Wright. The real Queen Claude was pale, obese, and sickly, with a hunched back due to scoliosis.

* AssInAmbassador: Henry wants to meet a couple of French ladies so he can inspect them before he decides to marry them. The French ambassador then jokes to Henry that he tries them all out before making a choice. Clearly he was unaware about what kind of man Henry was because [[BerserkButton hilarity does not ensue]].

** Anne Boleyn and infant Elizabeth: "Because the pope, and he, and the emperor all AGREE. She is a bastard and you are not my wife." Sadly for Anne, this also went for most of the English people at that time. She does end up regaining some of her reputation after her death, because regardless of her previous actions, she was innocent of the crimes she was excused of and her execution was considered unjust.

* TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask: Subverted in that she was not supreme ruler. Otherwise fitting with Catherine Parr, who was married to a king who thought nothing of sending her sister and ladies to the [[EvilTowerOfOminousness Tower]]. While also agreeing to a warrant for her arrest. She still managed to greet her most bitter enemies with a smile and then get the king on her side in the end.

The first two seasons devote most of their time to the dissolution of his marriage to the older UsefulNotes/CatherineofAragon and his deepening relationship with the saucy UsefulNotes/AnneBoleyn, who was to become his second wife. Gone from this series is the traditional vision of Henry as the bearded, bloated, jewel-encrusted, aging monarch who gleefully sent his wives to the chopping block. Instead, Creator/JonathanRhysMeyers' portrayal is that of a young, dynamic king determined to use his position to squeeze as much pleasure as he can out of life whilst balancing atop the ruthless world of Renaissance politics.

The first two seasons devote most of their time to the dissolution of his marriage to the older Catherine of Aragon and his deepening relationship with the saucy UsefulNotes/AnneBoleyn, who was to become his second wife. Gone from this series is the traditional vision of Henry as the bearded, bloated, jewel-encrusted, aging monarch who gleefully sent his wives to the chopping block. Instead, Creator/JonathanRhysMeyers' portrayal is that of a young, dynamic king determined to use his position to squeeze as much pleasure as he can out of life whilst balancing atop the ruthless world of Renaissance politics.

* HundredPercentAdorationRating: Catherine of Aragon. Not just the great majority of the English people, but also Rome and her powerful nephew were on her side. Even the French King remained half-hearted in his support of Anne, not wanting to engage his son to her daughter but rather to Catherine's daughter Mary. This shows that even in France, people believed Catherine to be Henry's legitimate wife. That is especially important: France was the ''sworn enemy'' of Catherine's family, and yet they recognized her marriage as valid. In real life, even ''Martin Luther'', ''John Calvin'' and ''Ulrich Zwingli'' supported her. Literally no one in Europe thought Henry was in the right.
** Catherine of Aragon was the daughter of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella]], considered some of the best monarchs (and best 'people') to ever reign...ever. It's 'still' met with academic gasps to insinuate that either ruler wasn't the saint they are remembered as.
** Jane Seymour also counts. She is almost universally loved both in England and by most of Europe.

* AlphaBitch: Anne Boleyn, Lady Rochford and the Countess of Hertford.
* AluminumChristmasTrees:
** While the series has a deserved reputation for playing fast and loose with history, some of the more outrageous events depicted are historically accurate. An example would be the Field of Cloth of Gold summit in the second episode of the first series, where Francis really did beat Henry in an impromptu wrestling match, spoiling the English king's mood for the rest of the conference.
** The Treaty of Perpetual Peace in the first episode. A ridiculous application of 21st century mores to the Rennaisance, right? Nope, they actually tried it. However, it wasn't ''quite'' as comprehensive or innovative as it is portrayed in the series: it was simply a nonaggression pact between the major nations of Europe. And it took place a bit earlier than is portrayed.

* BringIt: "And what if he does not?"

* BrotherSisterTeam: Anne and George Boleyn.

* ChivalrousPervert: Francis Bryan.

* DancesAndBalls: A ''lot'' of them.

* DrivenToSuicide: Wolsey and Elizabeth, the lady in waiting of Catherine d'Aragon.

* GambitPileup: The royal court in action.

* MatingDance: Anne and Henry in Season 2.

* MeaningfulFuneral: Jane Seymour's.
* MentorArchetype: Thomas More.

* OopNorth: The Pilgrimage of Grace.

* PimpedOutDress

* RequisiteRoyalRegalia

* SelfMadeMan: Thomas Cromwell.

* SweetPollyOliver: Brandon's latest squeeze.
* TerribleTrio: Anne Boleyn, Thomas Cromwell and Thomas Cranmer.

* ThoseTwoGuys: Richard and Harry in the Season 4 battle in France scenes.

* UnwantedSpouse: Anne of Cleves.

* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Elizabeth.

* {{Irony}}:
** Strictly fictional but: Henry refused to have Jane crowned until she gave birth to a son. She died after giving birth to a son but before being crowned. As a result, some people are questioning Edward's place in the succession. In RealLife, Jane wasn't crowned because there was an outbreak of plague in the planned spot for the coronation and, obviously, she as the king's wife wasn't going to go anywhere near there until the threat was over. Also, Edward's place was never threatened by her not being crowned. Coronation or not, with Catherine and Anne dead, Jane was religiously and legally Henry's wife, and therefore, he was the legitimate male heir of a king. Still, that's a pretty sweet bit of irony the show's throwing at Henry.
** Henry's great desire to continue the Tudor line ends up indirectly causing it to end, since the audience either already knows or learns in the finale that ''none'' of his children will have children of their own because of his actions. Edward, due to being overprotected by his father [[ItMakesSenseInContext (or so the ghost of Jane Seymour claims)]] grew up sickly and died before he had a chance to marry and produce his own heir. Henry never gets around to arranging a marriage for Mary due to her constantly fluctuating status and the threat her husband might prove to her father...so by the time ''she'' became queen she was in her late thirties with no children, and unlikely at that stage to be able to have any; her unsuccessful marriage to Philip II of Spain also failed to produce an heir. Elizabeth tells Mary that after seeing what happened to Katherine Howard (and no doubt remembering what happened to her own mother) she has decided she will never marry; this is TruthInTelevision as Elizabeth really did say this at age 9. For various reasons she stuck to this decision throughout her life, and upon her death, the English throne passed to the House of Stuart.