Henry VIII: Mind of a Tyrant (Channel 4, 9pm)

THE Royal family has been the subject of national fascination for hundreds of years, whether because of scandal, death or marriage.

Now, culture vultures up and down the land will be salivating at the prospect of this gorgeous offering, shedding light on one of our most memorable monarchs.

Shown to mark the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII’s accession to the English throne, this four-part series by Dr David Starkey lifts the lid on the man behind the myth.

Happily for the historian, the programme also coincides with his definitive biography on Henry and a British Library exhibition that he has curated.

It begins with the events that saw the Tudors seize power from the Yorkist house, headed by Richard III – until the fateful Battle of Bosworth. As the newly installed monarch, Henry VII, settled into the throne and created his second son Duke of York, the younger Henry’s path was unclear to those around him.

While he grew to manhood within the safety of his own court, his dour and increasingly unpopular father faced a threat in the form of would-be usurper Perkin Warbeck.

But it was the death of Henry VII’s eldest son, Arthur, that would see the younger brother thrust into the spotlight for the first time – a position he would occupy until his death.

Unsurprisingly, the handsome, athletic, golden-haired youth who ascended the throne of England was seen as a breath of fresh air by a people who were fed-up with his father. He had taxed them heavily, and was not by any stretch of the imagination a charming or warm man.

His second son was a complete revelation, fiery and passionate, keenly interested in lively debate, sport and music.

Although many will know of his numerous and controversial marriages, they may not be aware of the demons that drove him in other aspects of his life.

Henry transformed England as a nation, but the change was personal as well as political. During his turbulent reign, Henry became a different, and new, kind of English king; he also became a very different human being.

His story throws up a series of puzzles too. How can the man who waited five long years to marry the woman he loved condemn her to the scaffold less than three years later? Why did someone who basked in the title Defender of the Faith become Christendom’s greatest heretic?,p.

The Kindertransport Story, (BBC One, 10.35pm)

THIS year not only marks the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the Second World War, but an extraordinary British rescue mission to save nearly 10,000 children from the Nazis.

So, it’s only fitting that this documentary hears the stories of some of the survivors.

Here, Dorothy, Otto and Edith share their memories of living in Vienna in the Thirties and how they were affected by the persecution of the Jews.

Their parents were understandably desperate to get their children to safety, but places on the “Kindertransport” were scarce.

The survivors movingly recall how they said goodbye to their mothers and fathers at the railway station, little realising they would never see them again.

British families were also affected by the project, and Richard Attenborough recounts his experiences of growing up with the two European refugee girls fostered by his parents.