News about Thomas Cranmer

As the second wife of King Henry VIII, she was the queen who was long pursued - and then brutally discarded. But was Anne Boleyn - the mother of Queen Elizabeth I - really guilty of adultery with several men, including her own brother? That is the key question explored in the seventh episode of new Daily Mail podcast Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things. Mail columnist and royal biographer Robert Hardman and his co-presenter Professor Kate Williams examine the charges that led to Anne's execution in 1536. And they also explore how exactly Anne rose to be Henry's second wife, and why she changed her mind about marriage after years of resisting the monarch's advances.

Millions of people now think of her as plain Kate. However, if her husband, Prince of Wales, takes the throne in due course, we will have a sixth Queen Catherine. She is already playing the part, balancing her royal duties with a healthy dose of humor - and a lot has been reported about her discipline in the face of an overwhelming public interest. However, as the author of a new book, The Catherine Code, points out, today's young royals' challenges are nothing to the snake pits occupied by their historic predecessors. They were playing a royal game in which one wrong move could have resulted in death. One Catherine was killed and a third was arrested - incorrectly - of poisoning the king. According to author Bob Casey, five royal namesakes were sick and often mistreated by their husbands, and most often mistreated by their husbands.' Watch out Kate!

Archbishops of Canterbury (current titleholder Justin Welby pictured) have been trusted with assisting members of the Royal Family in dealing with some of the day's most difficult problems. Henry VIII and Thomas Cranmer, perhaps the most notable of all, debated the King's request to divorce Anne Boleyn. Cranmer's attempt went well. However, Justin Welby, his modern-day replacement, could be just as demanding a commission as well. Welby will accompany the Pope on a peace mission to war-torn Sudan this week, a venture they embark on knowing 'the Holy Spirit has the ability to heal hearts.' And the Archbishop will have to be equally hopeful in restoring the peace between the King and Prince William, Duke William, and Duchess of Sussex ahead of Coronation, which is less than 100 days away.