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Viewers have been left curious about the ending of Jude Law’s new critically acclaimed film, Firebrand.
Law stars as Tudor monarch Henry VIII, in the historical drama documenting the relationship between the 28-stone King and his sixth wife Catherine Parr, played by Alicia Vikander.
King Henry was infamous for having six wives, two of whom were beheaded, and a third who died after childbirth. Only Parr survived the marriage to the monarch, relatively unscathed.
“History tells us many things, largely about men and war. For the rest of humanity we must draw our own – often wild – conclusions,” reads the title card for the film, while the trailer reads “Based on a true story”.
*Spoilers ahead*
However, the new film, directed by Karim Ainouz, takes some liberties with historical facts as it reimagines part of the lives of the royals. Based on the 2013 book, Queen’s Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle, it marks Ainouz’s English language directorial debut.
Set in 1543, Firebrand questions what really happened when Henry VIII, with infected legs oozing with pus and gangrene, finally died. Law wore the scent of “blood, faecal matter, and sweat” in a bid to get into character. He also enlisted the help of a former IT manager to act as a “bum double” during sex scenes as he struggled to put weight on.
Catherine disagrees with Henry on some matters of religion in the movie, as she tries to further the Protestant cause. This is based on truth, as it is reported that the historical Henry complained to an adviser, “A good hearing it is, when women become such clerks, and a thing much to my comfort, to come in mine old days to be taught by my wife.”
In the film, his ally Bishop Gardiner takes the complaint as greenlighting Catherine’s removal from court. He also has a personal vendetta against the Queen as she is in love with another member of the court, Thomas Seymour.
According to some historians, an order for Catherine’s arrest was made. If charged and then convicted with heresy, the Queen faced the death penalty. While Gardiner was not involved in the scheme in real life – although he was in opposition to her – he is portrayed as an ardent nemesis of Catherine in Firebrand.
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In the movie’s ending, Catherine feels the walls closing in on her, and after veiled threats from her husband that she will be beheaded, decides to take matters into her own hands. After Henry asks her to beg for her life – as he lies helpless with leg ulcers – Catherine takes action and suffocates the King.
There is no historical evidence to suggest that this incident took place in reality. Instead, Catherine is said to have out-witted her husband by charming him into revoking his grievances against her. Henry is most likely to have died from a combination of diseases, including heart and kidney failure, in 1547.
Parr, whose previous two husbands also died, was made a widow for the third time upon his passing.
Although the film has been criticised for its liberal approach to the facts, there are some lesser-known historical accuracies it uncovers. For instance, Catherine was a respected author, and the first woman to publish an original work in print, in her own name in England and in the English language.
She did go on to marry Seymour following Henry’s death and shared a child. Shortly after Henry’s death, Catherine fell ill and died in 1548, with Seymour being executed by beheading shortly after in 1549.
