Henry VIII also slept with her sister.

Ugh. 

I know.

I can sleep with whomever I want. But, you? No, no, no!

And he said it just like that, too.

[Laughter]

Hi, I’m Isabella Holland, and I’m the curatorial assistant with the European paintings department at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

And I am Per Sia (per-see-ah) or Per Sia (per-sha), either one works, and I am a fabulous drag performer.

I’m so excited to talk to Per Sia about The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England, which is coming to the Legion of Honor and explores the art created during the 118-year reign of the Tudors, a dynasty of family that are utterly captivating, tumultuous, and kind of crazy.

Oh, well, I’m so excited. I can’t wait to hear all about it. I got all dressed up just for you.

I think we should start with Henry VIII, who of course is the most notorious of the Tudor monarchs. 

Bad, bad boy. Oof.

So Henry VIII took over and we had high hopes for him as a young king. He was above normal height. He had a fine calf.

Ohh. 

And in addition to his very good looks, allegedly his good looks, he was also kind of classified as a very learned, smart king, well versed in other languages, well versed in the humanities and classical study.

Wow. So then when did he, when did it turn? What happened? 

Lustfulness. He had six wives. Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, Catherine Parr. 

I can’t even get a date!

So he was married to Catherine of Aragon, who was this bonafide Spanish princess, who was actually originally married to his brother Arthur. And with Catherine of Aragon, he had his first baby, Mary I. However, Catherine was unable to produce this so desired male heir.

You mean he wasn’t able to produce.

I know. The male gives the chromosome. I know. Obviously, their science wasn’t as developed as it is now.

No, no.

So Henry VIII is married to Catherine of Aragon, but then really rocks about when he becomes besotted with her lady in waiting, Anne Boleyn.

Ooh. Escándalo.

He implores the pope to let him get a divorce. He kind of claims that, I don’t believe that Catherine of Aragon actually didn’t consummate her relationship with his brother. So therefore, Henry was entitled to a divorce. 

Wow. 

It’s like I can do it, but you can’t.

Seriously.

Henry VIII marries Anne Boleyn, and with Anne Boleyn, he has a second daughter, Elizabeth I. Henry VIII accuses Anne Boleyn of adultery and has her beheaded. And not a day after she’s been beheaded, he is betrothed to his next third wife, Jane Seymour.

Oh, what a shady, shady man. Ew. Off with her head. I’m getting married. 

Jane was able to evade that fate, and she gave him the desired male heir, who would be the future, Edward VI. But due to complications of the pregnancy, she dies around two weeks after. And there’s this amazing portrait by Henry VIII’s court painter that depicts the young infant Edward.  There’s this line of verse in Latin that kind of showcases how the young prince has all the amazing qualities and attributes of his father.

Yeah and it’s interesting because the child is painted the same way that Henry VIII is, and it gives it that sense of grandeur. But it’s just a little kid!

For his fourth bride, he chooses Anne of Cleves. We also will be having a portrait come to the show and it depicts Henry VIII right when he’s going to marry Anne of Cleves.

I mean, I love the outfit. That’s something I would personally wear. I mean, there’s a resemblance, I think.

One of my favorite stories is Henry VIII again sends out Hans Holbein, preferred portraitist, to go and capture Anne of Cleves in a miniature format. And Henry VIII became so infatuated with the miniature of Anne of Cleves, but when she came to court, finally presented to him as his wife, he was like, “This is not what I signed up for.”

He was catfished. It’s like, “Oh, you don’t look anything like on your dating profile.”

Again, he claimed they didn’t consummate their relationship and their marriage was annulled.

So after Anne of Cleves comes Catherine Howard, who is actually the cousin of Anne Boleyn. And like her cousin, she also is accused of adultery by Henry VIII.

And she gets —

Yeah.

Her head chopped off.

The last wife is Catherine Parr, who actually survives him. He dies before he can do anything nasty to her.

Well, that’s great. She survived. Yay!

So in order to remember the wives of Henry VIII, there’s a rhyme that goes with it.

Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived! 

Yes!

Oh I got it!

Well I’m so excited now that the museum can be a platform to showcase how iconic you are and the drag community is so essential to this city. We want to be a space for everyone who makes the city what it is.

Especially right now where our country, it’s not looking very cute for people like me. What I do is drag and who I am is trans. Literally my livelihood is on the line. People don’t want me to exist. But you know what? As queer people, we’re resilient, and we push forward and have been and will continue. And we’re here now and you’re having me. And I’m both trans and a drag performer. So this is amazing. And on that note, it was lovely to learn about this new exhibit. I learned so much, especially that divorce, beheaded, died, divorce, beheaded, and survived. And we survived! 

I’ll cheers to that.

Cheers, thank you so much for having me. 

Thank you so much, Per Sia.