Word: viii
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...lovelies, throwing extravagant parties and hanging out with friends who keep him out of trouble--at least until the wrong girl comes along. If this sounds like an upcoming episode of Entourage, then adjust your cultural references back about 500 years and add some tights. The young celeb: Henry VIII. The first wife: Catherine of Aragon. The friends: Cardinal Wolsey and Sir Thomas More. The temptress: Anne Boleyn. Sound familiar...
Unlike the corpulent old Henry VIII many of us remember from our history textbooks, young Henry VIII lived a life that was positively high-def-TV-ready, one that could have spiced up 16th century newsstands, had tabloid editors been around instead of Erasmus. And now Henry is making up for centuries of being relegated to the Old Kings' club by becoming Hollywood's hunk du jour. The Tudors, the most expensive Showtime series ever, starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers as a svelte and sporty King, starts April 1. A film adaptation of Philippa Gregory's 2002 best-selling historical novel...
...clergy. Williams, who was accompanied by his wife and two children, timed his trip to mark the 40th anniversary of a historic meeting between Archbishop Michael Ramsey and Pope Paul VI. On that first formal encounter between the heads of the two Churches since England's King Henry VIII broke with Rome in the 16th century, the Pope gave Ramsey the ring that symbolizes his papal authority. Williams was wearing that same ring in his meeting with Benedict. And these days, he might wish he had his own symbol of absolute power to wield back at home...
...Look Jonathan Rhys Meyers has already played a king with a thing for velvet and young girls, in CBS's 2005 Elvis movie. But for the Irish actor's next swaggering royal role, in Showtime's 2007 series The Tudors, he has to learn some new skills. As Henry VIII, Rhys Meyers will tackle "jousting, lute and a minimum of six languages," alongside Sam Neill as Cardinal Wolsey. Even draped in jewels befitting the portly, much married monarch, "I look nothing like Henry," the lean Match Point star admits. "I have to make him my own." Funny, that's just...
...change" is exactly the sweet spot the Queen is trying to hit, says a senior adviser. Moving glacially, of course, can accentuate the sense that she is out of date. But by background as well as policy, that's the way she wants it. Her "Uncle David," King Edward VIII, loved making waves before he abdicated in 1936, and spooked his successors about playing the reformer too overtly. "No gimmicks!" the Queen has told aides. "I am not an actress!" She wants the monarchy to be a focus for continuity and enduring patriotic values, which make instinctive sense...