Mary is the youngest-seeming, blonde, and affectionate eldest daughter of the Boleyn family. Installed as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine, her life is upended when she catches King Henry VIII's eye and her ambitious family pressures her to become his mistress. Unlike her cutthroat relatives, Mary values genuine affection and longs for a simple, natural life in the countryside at Hever Castle rather than the treacherous environment of the royal court.

Anne is the fiercely ambitious, elegant, and sophisticated sister of Mary. She views her family’s strategic maneuvers as an opportunity for her own advancement and refuses to remain a passive participant in their schemes. Passionate and determined, Anne sets her sights high and uses her intelligence and allure to captivate those in power, embarking on a dangerous campaign to secure the ultimate prize at court.

George is the only surviving son of the Boleyn family and the heir to their titles and estates. He is a consummate courtier—handsome, witty, and graceful—who dutifully serves his family’s ambitions despite his own personal resentments. He shares a close, affectionate bond with his sisters, frequently acting as their confidant and mediator in times of high tension.

Henry is the vigorous, thirty-year-old King of England. Vain, powerful, and ruled entirely by his desires, he is increasingly obsessed with producing a legitimate male heir to secure the Tudor line. His capriciousness and willingness to restructure entire religious and political institutions make the court a dangerous place for anyone who displeases him.

Katherine of Aragon is the dignified Queen of England and Henry's first wife. Facing the end of her childbearing years without producing a living male heir, her position becomes increasingly precarious. She is a maternal figure to her ladies-in-waiting, enduring public scrutiny and her husband's blatant infidelities with steadfast resilience.

Thomas Howard, the Duke of Norfolk, is the ruthless and ambitious patriarch of the Howard family. He views his nieces and nephews entirely as political currency, openly dictating their marriages, living arrangements, and sexual relationships to secure power, wealth, and proximity to the throne for his lineage.

Thomas is a baron, diplomat, and the father of the Boleyn siblings. He actively leverages his children’s positions at court to elevate his own status, prioritizing wealth and viscountcies over their personal happiness or moral well-being.

Elizabeth Howard, Lady Boleyn, is the pragmatic and unsentimental mother of Mary, Anne, and George. Born into the powerful Howard family, she fully supports her brother's cutthroat strategies and demands strict obedience from her daughters in matters of state and the bedchamber.

William is a courtier in the king's service and Mary Boleyn’s first husband. He is forced to step aside and endure the public humiliation of becoming a cuckold when the king claims his wife, though he receives knighthoods and land as compensation for his compliance.

William is a confident, self-assured soldier and courtier in Uncle Howard's service. Unlike the ambitious men of the court, he desires a quiet life as a farmer and wishes to marry for love, representing the honest, country life Mary yearns for away from the monarchy.

Jane is George Boleyn's wife, a woman known for her mean-spirited nature and vicious gossiping. She resents the intensely close bond her husband shares with his sisters and acts as a hostile, spying presence within the Boleyn family dynamic.

Henry is the son of the richest landowner in the kingdom. He falls in love with Anne Boleyn and agrees to a legally binding secret betrothal with her, briefly defying the authority of the older generation at court.

Wolsey is the immensely powerful advisor to King Henry VIII. He enforces the king's will and traditional court order, making a lifelong enemy of Anne when he destroys her early romantic plans at the behest of her family and the crown.

Francis is a fellow courtier who captures George Boleyn's heart. Their forbidden affection forces them to carry out their relationship in intense secrecy due to the severe, life-threatening laws of the era concerning love between men.

Catherine is Mary Boleyn's first child. Raised primarily in the countryside, she represents the maternal grounding and simple domestic life that her mother desperately wishes to prioritize over court politics.

Henry is Mary Boleyn's young son. Because of his parentage, he is viewed by the Boleyn family and Anne as a highly valuable pawn in their quest for power, much to his mother's distress.