- King Henry VIII: [Before the hunt] With no man to hold onto, how do you propose to stay on the horse?
- Anne Boleyn: As you do, Your Grace - with my thighs.
- Katherine of Aragon: [being led to court; stops in front of Mary and Anne] So, the Boleyn whores. Two former ladies of mine. What did I do to upset you, that you should turn against me like this?
- Anne Boleyn: [nose in the air] You failed to give England an heir.
- Katherine of Aragon: And that upsets you so?
- Anne Boleyn: What upsets the King upsets me.
- Katherine of Aragon: How dare you.
- Lady Elizabeth: Now, go to France. The queen of France is sophisticated. Be useful to her, amuse her; she'll admire your spirit. Learn from her. Observe the ladies of the court - see how they achieve what they want from their men not by stamping their little feet, but by allowing the men to believe that they, indeed, are in charge. That is the art of being a woman.
- Mary Boleyn: [as she enters the room] Anne.
- Anne Boleyn: [Comes to sit on the bed and kisses Mary's hands] I meant to come sooner. I'm sorry I did not. I have been kept occupied.
- Mary Boleyn: So I hear; amusing the king.
- Anne Boleyn: Only that sister, I assure you; despite his best efforts.
- Mary Boleyn: What, and not yours?
- Anne Boleyn: [is silent for a moment] How is it?
- Mary Boleyn: The child is strong. He gives me no rest; like his father.
- Anne Boleyn: Do you feel as awful as you look? You know, in France, no woman would allow herself to get in such a state.
- Mary Boleyn: Why did you come, Anne, if all you desire is to torment me?
- Anne Boleyn: Perhaps now you know how it feels; to be deceived by your sister.
- Mary Boleyn: I did nothing...
- Anne Boleyn: You stole the king away, and then you betrayed me over Henry Percy!
- Mary Boleyn: If that's what you think, fine, then tell yourself that!
- Anne Boleyn: I did, sister. Every day and every night I was in exile.
- King's Messenger: [Knocks and walks in] A gift, from the king.
- Anne Boleyn: Then give it to my sister.
- King's Messenger: [Awkwardly] It's for *you*, Mistress Anne.
- Anne Boleyn: Me? Then send it back! Immediately!
- [Messenger leaves, Anne looks at Mary sweetly]
- Anne Boleyn: How dare he? See? I have your interests at heart.
- Mary Boleyn: [Shocked] Why? Why this cruelty? You know I love him.
- Anne Boleyn: Well, perhaps you should stop.
- Jane Parker: Put yourself in the queen's shoes. She knows the only reason the king's asked you here is because he desires you. She's a good woman, trust me.
- Mary Boleyn: [in Henry's bedchamber] So, this is it? Where the king of England sleeps?
- King Henry VIII: And reads and writes. Finds a few moments each day to himself.
- Mary Boleyn: [nervously] And yet you invite me here?
- King Henry VIII: Because I like you, and trust you.
- Mary Boleyn: You hardly know me.
- King Henry VIII: I am lied to a hundred times a day; petitioned, lobbied. One learns how to decipher a face.
- [Runs a finger over Mary's cheek]
- King Henry VIII: Yours is as the sun; one shouldn't gaze too long.
- [Mary looks down, blushing]
- King Henry VIII: My flattery makes you uncomfortable?
- [Realizes]
- King Henry VIII: Because compliments in your family are usually for someone else; the elder sister.
- [Mary looks surprised]
- King Henry VIII: That's something I understand - what it is to be the second child, forever in the shadows. Am I making you uncomfortable again?
- [Mary shakes her head, and they kiss]
- Lady Elizabeth: [after the King marches in, angry] Your Grace.
- King Henry VIII: Your daughter, where is she?
- Lady Elizabeth: [Quietly to her servants] Leave us.
- King Henry VIII: Where is she?
- Lady Elizabeth: Which one?
- [Stares coldly as she walks forward]
- Lady Elizabeth: Your Grace, which one?
- King Henry VIII: I have torn this country apart for *you*!
- Anne Boleyn: For which you should thank me, not be angry!
- King Henry VIII: Broken with Rome...
- Anne Boleyn: Freed yourself, more like, from the decadence of a corrupt church.
- King Henry VIII: I got rid of a good woman in the queen...
- Anne Boleyn: A dried-out husk who failed you, and whose Spanish blood shackles you to Rome!
- King Henry VIII: For which I will be excommunicated!
- Anne Boleyn: And instead, become head of a new church! The Church of England! Closer to God...
- King Henry VIII: So forgiveness, you say, makes a man great. What else?
- Anne Boleyn: Generosity. Humility. The ability to recognize his match in others and not be threatened by it.
- King Henry VIII: His match in other men?
- Anne Boleyn: Women too.
- King Henry VIII: You believe that? That women can be the match of men?
- Anne Boleyn: It is a question women have asked themselves for some time. But we concede men do have some value, so, we regard them as equal.
- Katherine of Aragon: [to the king] I know you. You have decided, but it grieves you. Will you destroy your marriage, your country, your soul before God, on the whim of one girl? Because she denies you? Because she tortures you with her refusal? You think she doesn't know exactly what she's doing? She wants me to step aside. Where is my wise husband? Where is he?
- [Resigned]
- Katherine of Aragon: You are a king, so be one.
- Lady Elizabeth: [after Anne and George are arrested] My children! My children...
- [Turns around and slaps her husband, then walks towards her brother almost calmly]
- Lady Elizabeth: Look what you have *done*!
- King Henry VIII: [during a supper in the banquet hall, to Anne] What's so amusing?
- Anne Boleyn: I was merely offering my thoughts on the new French king. With such great power, yet such meager authority as a man.
- King Henry VIII: [intrigued] Continue.
- Anne Boleyn: [slowly walking forward] His pettiness is astounding. He will bear a mortal grudge at the mildest of slights; spoiled cub with a spike in his paw, riven with resentment, unable to forgive or forget. A great king, a great man, rises above such things.
- King Henry VIII: And what would you know of great men?
- Anne Boleyn: [never taking her eyes from Henry's] I've read enough books and heard enough talk to believe I'd know one, if he were before me.
- King Henry VIII: Then look about you. I am curious. Do you see one here?
- Anne Boleyn: [approaches him, still not looking away] Looking my lord... still looking, my lord.
- [Stops in front of him]
- Anne Boleyn: Ah, there. Found one.
- [the king and the entire hall laugh]
- Mary Boleyn: [after Anne effectively steals Henry during Mary's childbirth] How can you show your face in here? My own sister... Take care, because he will only do to you what he has done to me.
- Anne Boleyn: You should not have given yourself so lightly; these are the consequences.
- Mary Boleyn: I gave myself to a man I loved, and he loved me.
- Anne Boleyn: A man's love is worthless. Our mother succumbed to love, look what it got her - a weak, feeble husband. Love is of no value without power and position. When I give the king a son, he will not bear the name "bastard".
- Mary Boleyn: [Understanding what Anne is saying] What you suggest is *treason*. He cannot marry you; he has his queen.
- Anne Boleyn: [Smiles coldly] Who cannot produce a male heir.
- Mary Boleyn: You reach too high, as always!
- Anne Boleyn: The King will deal with Katherine; you'll hear about it from where I'm sending you. You are to go back to Rochford. Isn't that what you've always wanted? A life in the country, alone with your child?
- Mary Boleyn: [Refering to the Queen] The crowds are with her.
- Anne Boleyn: [Confidently] The crowds have no vote. And the bishops that do are in Wolsey's pocket.
- William Stafford: If you came with me, I would never betray you or take you for granted.
- Mary Boleyn: It's impossible, you know that. My family would never allow it.
- William Stafford: And you would care what they think after everything they've done to you?
- Anne Boleyn: [having a breakdown] I struck him today. What am I doing? I'm destroying it all on my own! I cannot sleep, without sleep I cannot think!
- George Boleyn: It's embarrassing.
- Anne Boleyn: Look, she has her eye on you. Sweet Jane Parker would be a match to please our father.
- George Boleyn: Ugh, vile girl, she's the most ambitious little serpent at court.
- Anne Boleyn: [Giggling] She can't stop watching!
- William Carey: [deleted scene; after an awkward dinner] Have you christened the child?
- Mary Boleyn: ... Henry.
- William Carey: I see. And is he to take my name, or is he to be a Fitzroy or some other sign that he's a royal bastard?
- Mary Boleyn: ... He is to be Henry Carey.
- William Carey: [looking up at her] To think, all I needed to say was no.
- [begins to cry]
- William Carey: Can you forgive me? Although I could never forgive myself.
- [Mary takes his hand and he kisses hers]
- Anne Boleyn: You cannot undo what has been done before God. And consummated too!
- Sir Thomas Boleyn: There have been... improper intimacies?
- Anne Boleyn: I have lain with my husband. There's nothing improper about it.
- Anne Boleyn: They say he's with Jane Seymour now. Is it true?
- Mary Boleyn: No.
- Anne Boleyn: Thank you. A generous lie.
- The Duke of Norfolk: [regarding the punishment for Anne's secret marriage] You will be sent to France and stay there until you've learned your lesson.
- Anne Boleyn: What? No! Father, please!
- Sir Thomas Boleyn: How can you have done this? You knew full well that Mary's friendship with the king is at an extremely delicate state! Any scandal, any mark upon her name could be fatal!
- The Duke of Norfolk: You will be sent to join the court of the French queen and stay there, until your father has forgiven you.
- Anne Boleyn: [crying, runs into the hall where Mary is waiting] You told them, didn't you?
- Mary Boleyn: It was for your own good. You never would have gotten away with it. It would have ruined your prospects forever.
- Anne Boleyn: [still crying] Really? For *my* good? Well, I'll try to remind myself of that while I'm in exile, and you're here in the king's bed, not challenged for our father's affection! That it was for my good, and not yours!
- [Storms off]
- Anne Boleyn: [On the scaffold] Masters, I here humbly submit to the law, as the law has judged me. As for my offenses... God knows them, and I remit them to God, beseeching Him to have mercy on my soul. I beseech Jesus, save my Sovereign and master, the King, the goodliest...
- [voice breaks]
- Anne Boleyn: ... and gentlest master there ever was.
- [Sees Mary reading the King's note and realizes it's not a pardon; begins to tremble and cry as she takes off her hood, cape, and necklace; kneels on the scaffold]
- Anne Boleyn: Sweet Jesus, I commend my soul to thee.
- King Henry VIII: [talking in secret] Your sister is gone, as you wished. Will you give yourself to me now?
- Anne Boleyn: No - when you are loyal to me above all others.
- King Henry VIII: But I am.
- Anne Boleyn: No. You are loyal to the *queen* above all others.
- King Henry VIII: I barely see Katherine.
- Anne Boleyn: But she sits on a throne beside you; your right hand in matters of state.
- King Henry VIII: For appearances' sake only.
- Anne Boleyn: Still, she is your queen. And ever present.
- [Glances around]
- Anne Boleyn: I feel her eyes on me, and those of her spies. Look at us - forever reduced to meeting in secret like this, speaking in whispers... hardly conducive to passion.
- King Henry VIII: What would you have me do?
- King Henry VIII: [Banging on her bedroom door] Anne!
- Anne Boleyn: Your Grace?
- King Henry VIII: You received my gifts?
- Anne Boleyn: Yes.
- King Henry VIII: And? Do they not please you?
- Anne Boleyn: On the contrary, my lord, they please me greatly.
- King Henry VIII: Then why do you insult me by returning them?
- Anne Boleyn: Because you insult me by sending them at all! My sister lies abed with your child! If you wish to please me, sir, then send her the gifts you send me!
- King Henry VIII: I have already shown Mary enough kindness and generosity. Now it pleases me to show you some.
- The Duke of Norfolk: [Storming into the room] Damn you! Not a single detail was left to chance! And now the moment of our greatest glory...!
- Anne Boleyn: Glory? What glory? A mistress gave a man a bastard; no more.
- The Duke of Norfolk: A male bastard, a son!
- Anne Boleyn: The queen may yet give birth to a son.
- The Duke of Norfolk: The queen no longer bleeds!
- Anne Boleyn: [Takes in that information] Can you be sure?
- The Duke of Norfolk: One of her physicians. And the moment this family provides him with a son, he turned his back to it on your account, so you'd better have a plan, girl! And that plan had better work!
- Anne Boleyn: Or what, uncle?
- Lady Elizabeth: Enough! Both of you!
- [pause while everyone takes a breath]
- Lady Elizabeth: And what about Mary, hm? And her child? Or have you forgotten about them already?
- Anne Boleyn: Mary and her bastard child will go back to the country. It is the king's wish... and mine.
- Lady Elizabeth: [Standing] Very well. Then you can be the one to tell her. I think you've earned that privilege.
- Mary Boleyn: I want a husband who loves me. Who thinks it first thing every morning and last thing at night.
- Mary Boleyn: Your Majesty... I'm told I'm too late for my brother, George. I beg you - spare my sister.
- [Later, in a closed room]
- Mary Boleyn: I understand that she has offended you and you wish to replace her as queen, but must she die?
- King Henry VIII: She has been tried and found guilty.
- Mary Boleyn: You could send her away. No one would know.
- King Henry VIII: Why are you here for her? You have put yourself at great risk.
- Mary Boleyn: [pause] Because she's my sister, and therefore one half of me.
- King Henry VIII: And I would do nothing to hurt any part of you.
- [She kisses his hands in gratitude, and he dismisses her]
- Sir Thomas Boleyn: [Showing Mary their new rooms] I am to become an earl, your brother a viscount. In addition, we have received a number of new grants and estates, so all our debts are paid and there's more: George, the king will arrange a match between you and Jane Parker.
- George Boleyn: [frantic] I beg you father, no.
- Sir Thomas Boleyn: I thought you had ambitions for this family. The girl is well connected; her father's cousin to the king!
- George Boleyn: Must I actually marry her?
- Sir Thomas Boleyn: Of course you must marry her. Have you no pride? Or would you rather leave everything to Mary?
- King Henry VIII: [In a letter to Mary] Mary, you risked your life coming to court, and were only spared because of my respect and affection for you. You are advised not to do so again; you will not be shown the same clemency a second time. May God bless you, and my son. And may God have mercy on Anne's soul.
- Katherine of Aragon: So, you want me to creep away and become a nun? Well, I shall not. You want me to lie before God and admit my first marriage was consummated? Well, it was not. You want me to retire and give up my daughter's claim as rightful heir to the throne? Well, I shall not; not in a thousand years, not if you rack me to within an inch of my life. I am Katherine, Queen of England; the King's one true wife and mother of the heir to the throne. Beloved of the people, and beloved of a King you have bewitched.
- Mary Boleyn: Mother, please! Speak to Father... Do something... I don't want to go!
- Lady Elizabeth: This is not a request. We have been *summoned*.
- [Gets up to leave; Anne goes to follow but Mary stops her]
- Mary Boleyn: Please, don't be angry with me. You think I desire to go, for *this* purpose?
- Anne Boleyn: All I know is that a man who didn't know who you were was with you in that room for half an hour, and come out besotted!
- [Turns to leave again]
- Anne Boleyn: I don't know what you said, or did...
- Mary Boleyn: Nothing, sister, except sing your praises and talk about my husband!
- Anne Boleyn: Really? Well, you must show me how you did that sometime.
- Lady Elizabeth: [preparing for the King's arrival] It will cost a fortune to get this house ready for a royal visit! It's money we can't afford. And what if he doesn't like her?
- Sir Thomas Boleyn: And what if you were to look at the bright side, just once! Risk nothing, you gain nothing - Anne understands that!
- Lady Elizabeth: Anne understands nothing! She's just a child! Tell me, when was it that men stopped thinking of ambition as a sin, and started thinking of it as a virtue?
- Sir Thomas Boleyn: [Abruptly stands] That's easy for you to say! You've had position and wealth all your life!
- Lady Elizabeth: Until I married *you*, Thomas. And I was happy to give it up for love.
- Anne Boleyn: [in the Tower] Promise me you'll look after Elizabeth.
- Mary Boleyn: [embracing Anne] It won't come to that, I promise.
- Anne Boleyn: [on Mary's wedding night] Are you afraid?
- Mary Boleyn: A little.
- Anne Boleyn: I should be able to tell you how it will be tonight; give you advice on what to do. I have failed you as an elder sister.
- Mary Boleyn: No one could wish for a better sister.
- Katherine of Aragon: [to the physician, exhausted in childbed] Was it a boy?
- Physician: [nods] Stillborn... Your Majesty.
- Katherine of Aragon: [to her daughter, Princess Mary] No brother for you, to make this country safe. I'm sorry.
- Anne Boleyn: [Happily to Mary before her wedding] Younger than me, more beautiful than me, married before me... I'm eclipsed! I'm the other Boleyn girl.
- Sir Thomas Boleyn: [first lines - strolling through the woods with his wife while the children playfully race through the sunlit fields] I received a request for marriage today for Anne, from the Carey family. William, their eldest son.
- Lady Elizabeth: Oh, that's wonderful.
- Sir Thomas Boleyn: I turned it down - offered them Mary instead. Everyone improves the standing of their family with their daughters; I think Anne can do a lot better than a merchant's son.
- Lady Elizabeth: [exasperated] And Mary can't? I think you underestimate her.
- Sir Thomas Boleyn: Oh, no, that's not true. I think she's the kinder of the two, quite possibly the fairer. But in order to get ahead in this world, you need more than fair looks and a kind heart.
- Young Anne: [after overtaking Mary] I beat you, I beat you!
- Young Mary: Hey!
- [All three children fall down laughing together]
- Sir Thomas Boleyn: Well done, Anne. Well done, children.
- Sir Thomas Boleyn: [Refering to Anne's previous secret marriage] I knew this would come back to haunt us!
- Anne Boleyn: I must go to the king...
- Sir Thomas Boleyn: No, he doesn't want to see you, he doesn't want to hear a word from your lips! He won't even talk to me! The only Boelyn he will talk to, the only person whose testimony he would trust, is Mary!
- Anne Boleyn: [Coldly] Then bring her here, now!
- King Henry VIII: [Refering to Anne] I need to be certain, can I trust her?
- Mary Boleyn: Why would you not?
- King Henry VIII: Usually my instincts are sharp, but with your sister, she has a power over me.
- King Henry VIII: [to Mary] I'm asking you because I trust you. And because I believe, perhaps mistakenly, that you care for me, and that you would put a matter of this importance before family ambition.
- Lady Elizabeth: [about divorcing Katherine] No... that would mean breaking with the Catholic Church. His faith would never allow that.
- The Duke of Norfolk: Nor his good sense. Breaking with Rome would isolate England politically, and leave us at the mercy of the Protestants.
- Anne Boleyn: But the alternative is leaving England without a male heir, and risking civil war -the very thing Henry fears most. Somehow, I need to make him understand that *this* will be worth it; when I am his queen, and give him a son.
- George Boleyn: [Teasing Anne about Henry Percy] Why ever would he interest you? What could you possibly want with the sole heir to the richest earldom in the whole of England?
- Anne Boleyn: [Jokingly] Oh, I had no knowledge of that! I simply like his face!
- George Boleyn: Well, he's betrothed.
- Anne Boleyn: Betrothed is not married. It's a long journey from bended knee to the altar.