Henry VIII was a tyrant. He was a brutal, wilful, petulant king, whose desire to do whatever the hell he felt like and deal with the consequences later, had driven his country into uncharted and dangerous waters. And this is his reign made manifest upon the streets of London- a city filled with massive mock battles on the river, accidental shootings of washerwomen, new churches to prevent bodies being dragged through Whitehall Palace, confusing mass executions of both Protestants and Catholics on the same day, parades of soldiers never destined to fight, and the king going through wives faster than some residents went though a decent jacket.

And in all of this- that highest ranked of all London residents, Thomas Cromwell was to fall from power and be put to death. The sheer madness of the king made manifest in a city just trying to cope  ...