Goofs

When King Henry is getting ready for bed, he unbuttons his breeches, then picks up a pomegranate. The angle changes and his breeches are fully buttoned. His hands were occupied with a knife and the pomegranate and could not have rebuttoned them.

While talking to Wosley, the French cardinal says that Pope Alexander is about to die. Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia) died in 1503. Henry VIII didn't become king until 1509.

The Treaty of Perpetual Peace (1502) was actually signed by Henry VII (father of Henry VIII) and James IV of Scotland and was cemented with the marriage of James IV and Margaret Tudor (sister of Henry VIII). The movie incorrectly shows that Henry VIII and Francis I of France sign this treaty after meeting at the Field of the Cloth of Gold (1520), when in fact no treaty at all was signed.

When King Henry engages in a joust, neither his shield nor his horse displays his own coat of arms. Also, the shields shown have broad raised edges prone to catching the opponent's lance. In reality, jousting armour and shields were designed to have lances deflect off.

The crown shown on Whitehall's gates and worn by the King is an earl's coronet. It has eight leaves and eight pearls, which is not a King's crown.

During the joust scene, none of the jousters are wearing neck protection called a gorget. Even though they have armour on their chest up to their neck and a helmet on their head there is a very large unprotected area on their throat. Since this is such a vulnerable area no jouster or fighter in armour would leave their throat unprotected in such a manner.

An English ambassador described as the "uncle" of Henry VIII is murdered in Italy by Frenchmen; Henry VIII had no such uncle. There is also no historical evidence that composer Thomas Tallis was bisexual, as portrayed in the series.

The Palace of Whitehall as shown to be the home of Henry VIII from the beginning of the series, only fell into Henry's hands in 1530 after he removed Cardinal Wolsey from power. Up until this point in time it was called York Place, and was taken by Henry to be his home with his fiancée Anne Boleyn. The Palace was not referred to as Whitehall Palace until as much as a decade after.

By the time of the events of this series, the historical Brandon (who was already in his early 40s) and Princess Mary were long married with three children. Henry's eldest sister, Margaret Tudor, was actually married to King James IV of Scotland and became the grandmother of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Henry was about a decade older than Anne Boleyn, who was born circa 1501 (some say 1507), and did not seriously begin his pursuit of her until he was in his mid-thirties.

There are numerous ways in which the series does not coincide with history. Liberties are taken with character names, relationships, physical appearance, and the timing of events. Time is conflated in the series, giving the impression that things happened closer together than they actually did. By the time of most of the events in this series, King Henry VIII was already in his mid-to-late 30s. Catherine of Aragon was really only six years older than Henry VIII, instead of the 15-year age gap implied by the show (Henry is said to be 25 as the series opens) and the relative ages of the actors. The character of Henry's sister, called "Princess Margaret" in the series, is actually a composite of his two sisters: the life events of his youngest sister, Princess Mary Tudor, coupled with the name of his eldest sister, Margaret Tudor (to avoid confusion with Henry's daughter, Mary I of England). Historically, Henry's sister Princess Mary first married the French King Louis XII. The union lasted approximately three months, until his death; Louis was succeeded by his cousin Francis I, who was married to Louis' daughter Claude of France. Mary subsequently married Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. As The Tudors begins, Henry is already negotiating a peace treaty with Francis; the series' Princess Margaret thus marries the Portuguese king, who lives only a few days until she murders him in his sleep.

In one scene where Woolsey comes riding out of the palace gates astride a donkey, in the crowd by the left gate can be seen a concrete traffic bollard.

When the action cuts to "Paris, France", the city pictured is Vienna, Austria. The famous Stefansdom is clearly visible on the left of the shot, and distinctive eighteenth century Viennese onion-shaped spires at the right.