The difficult pursuit of an annulment approved by the Pope begins when Henry meets and falls in love with Anne Boleyn, a charming lady-in-waiting to the Queen.
Convinced that his future lies with Jane, he takes the chance to be rid of Anne when his friend Charles Brandon tells him of rumors suggesting that she has been unfaithful.
Although Henry's personal life improves with his marriage to Jane Seymour, who helps reunite him with his daughters, his position is threatened when Catholics in the north start to rebel against him.
Finally his wish comes true when Jane gives birth to a son, Edward, but she falls sick and dies from childbed fever a few days later, leaving him in a deep state of depression.
Anne is ordered by her father to do everything to win back Henry's love, as his lack of attention becomes evident after her miscarriage of her second child and his growing interest in her lady-in-waiting Jane Seymour.
Henry removes Elizabeth from the line of succession, convinced she is not his daughter, and sentences Anne to execution by beheading, which she goes to with dignity, gaining admiration from the people.
Anne re-appears in the final episode of Season 4 in the dream sequence alongside Elizabeth, expressing pride for her clever daughter, proclaiming her innocence that the crimes she was killed for, and showing sympathy for her deceased cousin Catherine Howard.
Because of Katherine's seeming inability to have living sons, along with the onset of the menopause, Henry worries that England might face a reversion to civil war in the event of his death.
She is last seen dictating her will on her deathbed, intercut with it read aloud by a mournful Henry; Anne Boleyn smiles upon hearing the news and states that "Now, I am indeed queen."
Katherine re-appears in the final episode of Season 4 in the dream sequence alongside Mary, confronting Henry about his mistreatment towards their daughter and her own status as his 'true wife'.
He takes her last confession in the Tower and breaks the news to her that Elizabeth is to be declared illegitimate, but promises her that he will endeavour to keep her in the King's "good and kind graces".
Lady Rochford is a keen supporter of the Reformation and abhors the Catholic faith, although she is so moved by Jane's actions that she puts aside her opinions.
She is seen to be good friends with Anne of Cleves and, in the fourth season, grows close to Catherine Parr, who vows to raise Elizabeth in the faith of her mother.