You have written about several of Henry’s wives – which did you find the most interesting character?

They’re each interesting in different ways. You might think that Anne Boleyn would win hands down – bright and ambitious, uncompromising, outrageously forthright. But the sixth wife, Katherine Parr, is fascinating: a clever and always so very cautious woman of a certain age who, within six weeks of the king’s death, chose (and it was definitely her choice, she was the one with the wealth and power) to marry a most unsuitable man, a playboy who duly was her ruin.

Katherine Howard, though, is the one who has, unexpectedly, got under my skin, precisely because she didn’t initially seem to be a big character – but appearances are deceptive, and that apparent simplicity of character was cover for conduct far more daring and outlandish than anything ever even contemplated by those other two queens.