After French treachery, angry young Henry VIII prepares for war while Cardinal Wolsey conspires for peace. However, affairs closer to home pose potential threats to the king.

Henry and the court go to the summit to sign the treaty with France. Tensions are understandably high, and tempers of both kings flare up more than once. Meanwhile, Henry takes on a new mistress named Mary Boleyn. He soon tires of her and her father summons her sister Anne to court and tells her to find a way to keep the king's interest.

The King asks Charles to escort his sister, Margaret, to her betrothed and promotes him to Duke of Suffolk, the envoys from the Holy Roman-Emperor meet with Cardinal Wolsey and determine how to cement the treaty between the two nations, and Anne catches the King's notice in a play. Elsewhere, the Emperor is invited to the King's court, and it is learned that the King of France knows of the treaty talks.

As a reward for his denunciation of Martin Luther, the Pope christens Henry `Defender of the Faith', but a brush with death causes the king to seek a solution to his lack of an heir. Princess Margaret marries the decrepit King of Portugal reluctantly, but the union is short-lived, and Henry's desire for Anne Boleyn intensifies when Anne goes home to her family estate.

Henry is angered by the actions of Emperor Charles and Brandon's marriage to Margaret, but promises patience in his relationship with Anne Boleyn.

As King Henry gains in confidence, his displeasure with the way the Catholic Church handles his request for an annulment of his marriage to Katherine of Aragon grows. As a result, Cardinal Wolsey's position is weakening.