Catherine Parr
Queen consort of England and Ireland
Reign	12 July 1543 – 28 January 1547
Spouse	Sir Edward Borough John Neville, 3rd Baron Latymer Henry VIII of England Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley
Issue
Lady Mary Seymour
House	House of Tudor (by marriage)
Father	Sir Thomas Parr
Mother	Maud Green
Born	c. August 1512 Blackfriars, London, England
Died	5 September 1548(1548-09-05) (aged 35-36) Sudeley Castle, Gloucestershire, England
Signature

Catherine Parr (Katherine, Kateryn, Katheryne or Kathrine); (c. August 1512^[1] – 5 September 1548) was Queen consort of England and Ireland and the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII of England. She married Henry VIII on 12 July 1543. She was the fourth commoner Henry had taken as his consort, and outlived him. She was also the most-married English queen, as she had a total of four husbands.

Catherine enjoyed a close relationship with Henry's three children and was personally involved in the education of Elizabeth and Edward, both of whom became English monarchs. She was influential in Henry's passing of the Third Succession Act in 1543 that restored both Lady Mary and Lady Elizabeth to the line of succession to the throne.^[2]

Catherine was appointed Regent from July to September 1544 while Henry was on a military campaign in France and in case he lost his life, she was to rule as Regent until Edward came of age. However he did not give her any function in government in his will. On account of Catherine's Protestant sympathies, she provoked the enmity of powerful Catholic officials who sought to turn the King against her; a warrant for her arrest was drawn up in 1546; however, she and the King were soon reconciled. Her book Prayers or Meditations became the first book published by an English queen under her own name. She assumed the role of Elizabeth's guardian following the King's death; and another book, The Lamentations of a Sinner, was published.

Six months after Henry's death, she married her fourth and final husband, Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley. The marriage proved to be short-lived as she died in September 1548, probably of complications resulting from childbirth.

Early life[link]

Catherine was born in 1512, most likely in August, although the precise date is not known.^[1] She was the oldest surviving child of Sir Thomas Parr, Lord of the Manor of Kendal in Westmorland (now Cumbria), descendant of King Edward III, and the former Maud Green, daughter and co-heiress of Sir Thomas Green, Lord of Greens Norton, Northamptonshire. The Parrs were a substantial northern family which included many knighted members. She had a younger brother, William, later 1st Marquess of Northampton, and a sister, Anne, later Countess of Pembroke. Sir Thomas was Sheriff of Northamptonshire, Master of the Wards, and Comptroller to King Henry VIII. Sir Thomas Parr was also a close companion of King Henry VIII. Her mother, Lady Parr, was a close friend and attendant of Queen Catherine of Aragon. Catherine was presumably named after Queen Catherine, who was also her godmother.^[3]

Like the family of King Henry's second wife, the Boleyns, the Parr family had gone up in the world as a result of royal favor and successful marriages.^[4] Her father's ancestry was more distinguished than that of Thomas Boleyn and John Seymour and Catherine's lineage, unlike that of Henry's wife, Anne Boleyn, was better and more established at Court.^[4][5] Though not of the aristocracy at the time, the Parrs were in the service of the royal family, in the household of Catherine's ancestor, John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster. Their marriage alliance with the Ros (or Roos) family enhanced their standing.^[6] Catherine's grandfather, William, was part of King Edward IV's court. William held the office of comptroller of the household from 1471 to 1475 and again in 1481 till Edward's death in 1483.^[7][8][9] William was held in high favour with the King and was one of only two courtiers to become Knight of the Garter in the second reign of Edward IV. Sir William Parr could claim royal descent through King John of England, King William "the Lion" of Scotland, the Brus family from which came Robert de Brus, King of the Scots, and more.^[10] Sir William's wife, Lady Elizabeth, was the daughter of Henry, 5th Lord FitzHugh and Lady Alice Neville. Alice was sister to "Warwick, the Kingmaker". Lady Alice's family, the Neville's, were already established at court being descendants of John of Gaunt's daughter Lady Joan Beaufort and her second husband, Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmoreland. Catherine Parr was the only wife of Henry VIII to descend from the Beaufort family. This connection made Catherine a fourth cousin through Henry's father and a second cousin once removed through his mother. Through Catherine's mother, Maud, she was also related to Henry by her ancestress Joan Wydville (or Woodville), sister of Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers, father of King Edward IV consort, Elizabeth Woodville. When the Duke of Gloucester became King in 1483, as Richard III, both Elizabeth and her mother Alice were appointed ladies-in-waiting to Alice's niece, queen consort Lady Anne Neville. The profession would span five generations down to Catherine's sister, Anne, who would serve all six of King Henry VIII's wives.

It was first thought that Catherine Parr was born at Kendal Castle in Westmorland, England. However, at the time of her birth, Kendal Castle was already in bad condition, and by 1572 it would be derelict.^[11] At the time of Maud Parr's pregnancy, she was at court attending the Queen, and by necessity the Parr family was living in their home at Blackfriars, London. Historians consider it unlikely that Catherine's father, Sir Thomas, would take his pregnant wife on an arduous two week journey north over execrable roads to give birth in a crumbling castle in which neither of them seemed to spend much time.^[12][13] Her father died when she was young and she was close to her mother as she grew up.^[14]

Catherine's initial education was similar to other well-born women, but she developed a passion for learning which would continue throughout her life. She was fluent in French, Latin, and Italian and began learning Spanish when she was Queen. According to David Starkey, Catherine was most likely better educated overall than Anne Boleyn.^[4] As a child, Catherine could not tolerate sewing and often ironically said to her mother "my hands are ordained to touch crowns and scepters, not spindles and needles".^[3]

Until recently, many sources stated that Catherine married the elderly Edward Burgh, 2nd Baron Burgh in 1529, at the age of seventeen.^[3][15] However since the release of Antonia Fraser The Wives of Henry VIII in 1994, and David Starkey's 2004 book on the six wives, Catherine's first husband has been identified as Sir Edward Borough. Some blame for this mistake could be attributed to 19th century historian Agnes Strickland's book on the wives of King Henry VIII. Research of documents (including Maud Parr's Will) conducted by Susan James and Linda Porter for their biographies on Catherine confirm that she married the 2nd Baron's grandson, also called Edward. Sir Edward Borough was the eldest son of the 2nd Baron's eldest son, Sir Thomas Borough, who would become the 1st Baron Burgh in December 1529 after his father was declared insane. In her will, dated May 1529, Maud Parr says she is 'indebted to Sir Thomas Borough, knight, for the marriage of my daughter'. At the time of his son's marriage, Thomas was thirty-five which would have made Edward around Catherine's age.^[3] Edward was in his twenties and may have been in poor health. He served as a feoffee for Thomas Kiddell and as a justice of the peace. His father, Sir Thomas, Anne Boleyn's chamberlain, also secured a joint patent in survivorship with his son for the office of steward of the manor of the soke of Kirton in Lindsey. The younger Sir Edward Borough died in the spring of 1533, never fulfilling the title of Lord (Baron) Borough.^[3][13]

Lady Latimer[link]

In the year of 1533, it is thought that Catherine spent her time with the widow of her cousin Sir Walter Strickland, the Dowager Lady Strickland, Catherine Neville at the Strickland's family residence of Sizergh Castle in Westmorland (now Cumbria). Parr was not only related to Neville by blood, but also by marriage. Catherine's great-aunt, Agnes Parr married Sir Thomas Strickland, son of Sir Walter and Douce Crofte.^[16] Another relation was through Elizabeth Ros, daughter of Sir John Ros of Kendal and Catherine Strickland who married Sir William Parr; the two were Catherine's paternal great-great grandparents.^[17] The Dowager Lady Strickland was kin to Parr's next husband, John Neville. In the summer of 1534 she married John Neville, 3rd Baron Latymer, of Snape, North Yorkshire. At age 40, Lord Latimer was twice Catherine's age. Latimer was her father's second cousin, a twice-widowed descendant of George Neville, 1st Baron Latimer, Warwick, the 'Kingmaker's', 'idiot uncle'. From his first marriage to Dorothy de Vere, sister of the John de Vere, Earl of Oxford, he had two children, John and Margaret. Neville was one of fifteen children born to Richard Neville, Lord Latimer and Anne Stafford, daughter of Sir Humphrey Stafford. Latimer's branch of the Neville family was in line for the title of Earl of Warwick and because of this, Lord Latimer dealt with quite a bit of sibling rivalry. Legal actions were taken by his younger brothers and Latimer, at the time of his marriage to Catherine, was having financial difficulties. But as Lady Latimer, Catherine now had a home of her own, a husband with a position and influence in the north, a ready-made family, and a title. Catherine would be the only female from the Parr family, apart from her great-aunt, Mabel, to marry into the peerage. From the beginning of the marriage, Catherine made an attempt to be a good wife. Her affection for her husband would grow deep enough to cherish a remembrance of him, his New Testament with his name inscribed inside, which she kept until her death. Catherine would also prove to be a good step-mother to her step-children; a trait which she would again show after her marriage to the King. Her teenage stepson, John, proved to be difficult. There is some indication that Margaret, his sister, was their father's favourite. Nevertheless, Catherine would continue a relationship with the two after her marriage to King Henry, bringing Margaret to court as her lady-in-waiting and securing a position for John's wife in her household.^[18]

Latimer was a supporter of the old religion and had bitterly opposed the king's divorce, his subsequent marriage to Anne Boleyn and its religious ramifications. In 1536, within two weeks of the riot in Louth, a mob appeared before the Latimer's home threatening violence if Lord Latimer did not join their cause. Catherine watched as her husband was dragged away by the rebels. As prisoner of the insurgents, conflicting stories of which side Latimer was truly on began to reach Cromwell and the King in London. The rebellion in Yorkshire put him in a terrible dilemma. If he was found guilty of treason his estates would be forfeited, leaving Catherine and her step-children penniless. The King himself wrote to the Duke of Norfolk pressing him to make sure Latimer would 'condemn that villain Aske and submit [himself] to our clemency'.^[19] Latimer was more than happy to comply. Both Catherine's brother, William Parr and uncle, William Parr, 1st Baron Parr of Horton fought with the Duke of Norfolk and the Duke of Suffolk against the rebellion. It is to most likely to Catherine's credit that Lord Latimer survived; both her brother and uncle probably intervened at one point and saved Lord Latimer's life.^[18]

Snape Castle

Between October 1536 and April 1537 Lady Latimer lived alone in fear with her step-children, struggling to survive. It is probable that, in these uncertain times, Catherine's strong reaction against the rebellion strengthened her adherence to the reformed church.^[18] In January 1537, Catherine and her step-children were held hostage at Snape Castle during the uprising of the North. The rebels ransacked the house and sent word to Lord Latimer, who was returning from London, that if he did not return immediately they would kill his family. When Lord Latimer returned to the castle, he somehow talked the rebels into releasing his family and leaving, but the aftermath would prove to be taxing on the whole family.^[18]

The family would later move south after the executions of the rebels which pleased Cromwell and the King. Although no charges were found, Latimer's reputation, which reflected upon Catherine, was tarnished for the rest of his life. He spent the last seven years of his life blackmailed by Cromwell. Catherine would spend much of her time in the south during the years of 1537–42. Her husband was called away frequently to do the bidding of Cromwell and the King and be present during Parliament. With Cromwell's fall in 1540, the Latimers reclaimed some dignity and as Lord Latimer attended Parliament in 1542 he and Catherine spent time in London that winter. Her brother, William and sister, Anne had been present at court. Anne entered court service in 1531 as maid-in-waiting to Henry's queens. It was here that she became acquainted with her future fourth husband Sir Thomas Seymour. The atmosphere of the court was much different from the rural and parochial estates. It was here that Catherine could find the latest trends, not only in religious matters, but in less weighty secular matters such as fashion and jewellery.^[18]

By the winter of 1542, Lord Latimer's health had deteriorated. Catherine spent the winter of 1542–1543 nursing her husband. John Neville, Lord Latimer, died in 1543. In Lord Latimer's will, Catherine was named guardian of his daughter, Margaret, and was put in charge of Lord Latimer's affairs until his daughter's majority. Latimer left Catherine Stowe Manor and other properties. He also bequeathed money for supporting his daughter and in the case that his daughter did not marry within five years, Catherine was to take £30 per annum out of the income to support her step-daughter. Catherine was left a rich widow faced with the possibility of having to return north after Lord Latimer's death.^[18]

Using her late mother's relationship with Henry's first queen Catherine of Aragon, Catherine took the opportunity to renew her friendship with Lady Mary. By 16 February 1543, Catherine had established herself with Mary and was now part of her household. It was in the household of King Henry and Catherine of Aragon's daughter, Lady Mary, that Catherine Parr caught the attention of the King. After the death of Parr's second husband, Catherine began a relationship with Sir Thomas Seymour, the brother of the late queen Jane Seymour, but the King took a liking to her and she saw it as her duty to accept Henry's proposal over Seymour's. Thomas Seymour was given a posting in Brussels to remove him from court.

Queen of England and Ireland[link]

Catherine Parr's arms as queen consort^[20]

Catherine married Henry VIII on 12 July 1543 at Hampton Court Palace. Her previous husband had died on 2 March 1543. She was the first Queen of England also to be Queen of Ireland following Henry's adoption of the title King of Ireland. As Queen, Catherine was partially responsible for reconciling Henry with his daughters from his first two marriages, who later became Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I. She also developed a good relationship with Henry's son Edward, Prince of Wales, later King Edward VI. When she became Queen, her uncle Lord Parr of Horton became her Lord Chamberlain.

For three months, from July to September 1544, Catherine was appointed regent by Henry as he went on his last, unsuccessful, campaign in France. Thanks to her uncle having been appointed as member of her regency council, and to the sympathies of fellow appointed councillors Thomas Cranmer (the Archbishop of Canterbury) and Lord Hertford, Catherine obtained effective control and was able to rule as she saw fit. She handled provision, finances and musters for Henry's French campaign, signed five Royal proclamations, and maintained constant contact with her lieutenant in the northern Marches, Lord Shrewsbury, over the complex and unstable situation with Scotland. It is thought that her actions as regent, together with her strength of character and noted dignity, and later religious convictions, greatly influenced her stepdaughter Lady Elizabeth (the future Queen Elizabeth I).

Although she must have been brought up as a Catholic, given her birth before the Protestant Reformation, she later became sympathetic to and interested in the "New Faith". She came under suspicion that she was actually a Protestant by the mid-1540s, as we would now understand the term. This view is supported by the some strong reformed ideas that she revealed after Henry's death, when her second book, Lamentacions of a synner (Lamentations of a Sinner), was published in late 1547. The book promoted the Protestant concept of justification by faith alone, which the Catholic Church deemed to be heresy. It is unlikely that she developed these views in the short time between Henry's death and the publication of the book. Her sympathy with Anne Askew, the Protestant martyr who fiercely opposed the Catholic belief of transubstantiation, also suggests that she was more than merely sympathetic to the new religion.

According to Susan James and Linda Porter, this portrait is the earliest known portrait of Catherine Parr, probably painted around the time of her marriage to Lord Latimer. There has been some recent dispute as to whether or not this was mislabeled and is really the portrait of King Henry's first wife, Catherine of Aragon.^[21][22]

The Queen's religious views were viewed with suspicion by Catholic and anti-Protestant officials such as Stephen Gardiner (the Bishop of Winchester) and Lord Wriothesley (the Lord Chancellor), who tried to turn the king against her in 1546. An arrest warrant was drawn up for her and rumours abounded across Europe that the King was attracted to her close friend, the Duchess of Suffolk.^[23] However, she saw the warrant and managed to reconcile with the King after vowing that she had only argued about religion with him to take his mind off the suffering caused by his ulcerous leg.^[24] The following day an armed guard who was unaware of the reconciliation tried to arrest her while she walked with the King.^[25]

Final marriage, childbirth and death[link]

Shortly before he died, Henry made provision for an allowance of £7,000 per year for Catherine to support herself. He further ordered that after his death, Catherine, though a queen dowager, should be given the respect of a Queen of England, as if he were still alive. Catherine retired from court after the crowning of her step-son Prince Edward on 31 January 1547, to her home at Old Manor in Chelsea.

After having lived many years abroad on command of King Henry himself, Catherine's old love, Sir Thomas Seymour returned to court. Catherine, who still harbored feelings for Seymour, was quick to accept when Seymour renewed his suit of marriage. Since only six months had passed since the death of King Henry, Seymour knew that the Regency council would not agree to a petition for the Dowager queen to marry so soon. Seymour decided to go directly to his nephew, King Edward, and ask for permission. Sometime near the end of May, Catherine was able to marry her old love in secret. The King and council were not informed of the union until summer 1547. When their union became public knowledge, it caused a small scandal. The King and Lady Mary were very much displeased by the union. After being censured and reprimanded by the council, Seymour wrote to the Lady Mary asking her to intervene on his behalf. Mary became furious at his forwardness and tasteless actions and refused to help. Mary even went as far as asking her half-sister, Lady Elizabeth, not to interact with the Dowager Queen any further.^[26]

During this time, Catherine began having altercations with the Lord Protector, the King's uncle, the Duke of Somerset and a rivalry developed between Catherine and his wife, her former lady-in-waiting, the Duchess of Somerset, which became particularly acute over the matter of Catherine's jewels. Catherine had personal jewels, including her wedding ring and many gifts from the King, but a question arose whether she still had the right to wear the jewelry worn by his former queens. These remained in a coffer within the Tower of London.^[27] The duchess argued that the jewels belonged to the Queen of England, and that as queen dowager, Catherine was no longer entitled to them. Instead she, as the wife of the protector, should be the one to wear them. Eventually, the duchess won the argument, which left her relationship with Catherine permanently damaged; the relationship between the two Seymour brothers also worsened as a result, since Lord Seymour saw the whole dispute as a personal attack by his brother on his social standing.^[26]

In November 1547, Catherine published her second book, Lamentations of a Sinner. The book was a success and widely praised.

In early 1548, Catherine invited Lady Elizabeth and her cousin, Lady Jane Grey to stay in the couple's household at Sudeley. The Dowager Queen promised to provide education for both. Queen Catherine's house came to be known as a respected place of learning for young women.

In March 1548, Catherine became pregnant for the first time at age thirty-five. This pregnancy was a surprise as Catherine had not conceived a child during her first three marriages. As sex during pregnancy was frowned upon during the sixteenth century,^{[citation needed]} Seymour began to take an interest in Lady Elizabeth. Seymour had reputedly plotted to marry her before marrying Catherine, and it was reported later that Catherine discovered the two in an embrace. On a few occasions before the situation risked getting completely out of hand, Catherine appears not only to have acquiesced in episodes of sexually charged horseplay, but actually to have assisted her husband.^[28] Whatever actually happened, Elizabeth was sent away in May 1548 to stay with Sir Anthony Denny's household at Cheshunt and never saw her beloved stepmother again, although the two corresponded.

The Six Wives of Henry VIII
Catherine of Aragon
Anne Boleyn
Jane Seymour
Anne of Cleves
Catherine Howard
Catherine Parr

Catherine gave birth to her only child — a daughter, Mary Seymour, named after Catherine's stepdaughter Mary — on 30 August 1548, and died only six days later, on 5 September 1548, at Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire, from what is thought to be puerperal fever or puerperal sepsis, also called childbed fever. Coincidentally, this was also the illness that killed Henry's third wife, Jane Seymour. It was not uncommon, due to the lack of hygiene around childbirth. Nevertheless, a theory exists that Catherine's husband, Sir Thomas Seymour, may have poisoned her in order to carry out his plan to marry Lady Elizabeth Tudor^{[citation needed]}.

Lord Seymour of Sudeley was beheaded for treason on 20 March 1549, and Mary Seymour was taken to live with the Dowager Duchess of Suffolk, a close friend of Catherine's. Catherine's other jewels were kept in a coffer with five drawers at Sudeley and this was sent to the Tower of London on 20 April 1549, and her clothes and papers followed in May.^[29] After a year and a half, on 17 March 1550, Mary's property was restored to her by an Act of Parliament, easing the burden of the infant's household on the duchess. The last mention of Mary Seymour on record is on her second birthday, and although stories circulated that she eventually married and had children, most historians believe she died as a child at Grimsthorpe Castle.^[30]

Remains[link]

In 1782, a gentleman by the name of John Locust discovered the coffin of Queen Catherine at the ruins of the Sudeley Castle chapel. He opened the coffin and observed that the body, after 234 years, was in a surprisingly good condition. Reportedly the flesh on one of her arms was still white and moist. After taking a few locks of her hair, he closed the coffin and returned it to the grave.

The coffin was opened a few more times in the next ten years and in 1792 some drunken men buried it upside down and in a rough way. When the coffin was officially reopened in 1817, nothing but a skeleton remained. Her remains were then moved to the tomb of Lord Chandos whose family owned the castle at that time.^[31] The tomb was carefully restored by order of the late Duchess of Buckingham, Lady Anne Greville, daughter of the 3rd Duke of Chandos.^[32] In later years the chapel was rebuilt by Sir John Scott and a proper altar-tomb was erected for Queen Catherine.

Iconography[link]

Portrait of Catherine Parr, once thought to depict Lady Jane Grey.

The full length portrait of Catherine Parr by Master John in the National Portrait Gallery was for many years thought to represent Lady Jane Grey. The painting has recently been re-identified as Catherine Parr, with whose name it was originally associated. The full-length format was very rare in portraits of this date, and was usually used only for very important sitters. Lady Jane Grey, although of royal blood, was a relatively obscure child of eight when this was painted; it was to be another eight years before her disastrous and short-lived reign. The distinctive crown shaped jewel which the sitter wears can be traced to an inventory of jewels belonging to Catherine Parr and the cameo beads appear to have belonged to Catherine Howard, from whom they would have passed to her successor as queen.^[33][34][35]

In media[link]

Film and Stage[link]

Catherine first appeared in cinemas in 1934, in Alexander Korda's film The Private Life of Henry VIII. Charles Laughton played the king, with actress Everley Gregg appearing as Catherine Parr. The film makes no attempt to depict the historical Parr's character, instead portraying the Queen for comic effect as an over-protective nag.

In 1952, a romanticised version of Thomas Seymour's obsession with Elizabeth I saw Stewart Granger as Seymour, Jean Simmons as the young Elizabeth and screen legend Deborah Kerr as Parr in the popular film Young Bess.

In 1970, in "Catherine Parr", a 90-minute BBC television drama (the last in a 6-part series, entitled The Six Wives of Henry VIII) Catherine was played by Rosalie Crutchley opposite Keith Michell's Henry. In this, Catherine's love of religion and intellectual capabilities were highlighted. Crutchley reprised her role as Catherine Parr in Part 1 of a 6-part series on the life of Elizabeth I in 1971, called Elizabeth R with Glenda Jackson in the title role.

In 1973, Barbara Leigh-Hunt played a matronly Catherine in Henry VIII and his Six Wives, with Keith Michell once again playing Henry. In 2000, Jennifer Wigmore played Catherine Parr in the American television drama aimed at teenagers, Elizabeth: Red Rose of the House of Tudor. A year later, Caroline Lintott played Catherine in Professor David Starkey's documentary series on Henry's queens.

In October 2003, in a two-part British television series on Henry VIII, Catherine was played by Clare Holman. The part was relatively small, given that the drama's second part focused more on the stories of Jane Seymour and Catherine Howard.

In The Simpsons episode "Margical History Tour," Catherine is portrayed by Agnes Skinner as an elderly widow during Marge's retelling of Henry's reign. Henry (portrayed by Homer) regrets his marriage to her because of her age.

In March 2007, Washington University in St. Louis performed the A.E. Hotchner Playwriting Competition winner "Highness" which documents the life of Catherine Parr and her relationships with King Henry and his daughter, the future Queen Elizabeth I, to whom she was a stepmother.^[36]

She has been the subject of several novels, including two entitled The Sixth Wife, and she is a supporting character in both the fourth and fifth Matthew Shardlake mystery, Revelation and Heartstone.

She was portrayed by actress Joely Richardson on the fourth and final season of Showtime's The Tudors, which was first broadcast in Spring 2010.^[37]

Catherine features in The Dark Rose, Volume 2 of The Morland Dynasty a series of historical novels by author Cynthia Harrod-Eagles. The lead female character, Nanette Morland, is educated alongside Catherine and is later re-acquainted with her when she becomes Queen.

Music[link]

• Rick Wakeman recorded the piece "Catherine Parr" for his 1973 album, The Six Wives of Henry VIII. On his 2009 live version of the album the track's spelling is changed to "Katherine Parr".

Historiography[link]

The popular myth that Catherine acted more as her husband's nurse than his wife was born in the 19th century from the work of Victorian moralist and proto-feminist, Agnes Strickland. This assumption has been challenged by David Starkey in his book Six Wives in which he points out that such a situation would have been vaguely obscene to the Tudors, given that Henry had a huge staff of physicians waiting on him hand and foot, and Catherine was a woman expected to live up to the heavy expectations of Queenly dignity. Parr is usually portrayed in cinema and television by actresses who are much older than the queen, who was in her early 30s when she was Henry's wife and was about 36 years old at the time of her death.

Catherine's good sense, moral rectitude, compassion, firm religious commitment, and strong sense of loyalty and devotion have earned her many admirers among historians. These include David Starkey, feminist activist Karen Lindsey, Lady Antonia Fraser, Alison Weir, Carolly Erickson, Alison Plowden and Susan James and Linda Porter. Biographers have described her as strong-willed and outspoken, physically desirable, susceptible (like Queen Elizabeth) to roguish charm, and even willing to resort to quite obscene language if the occasion suited.^[38]

Some of Catherine Parr's writings are available from the Women Writers Project.

Historical fiction[link]

• Catherine Parr's life as Henry VIII's queen is told in Jean Plaidy's novel The Sixth Wife (1953)
• Catherine Parr is the subject of Mary Luke's biographical novel The Ivy Crown published 1984
• Catherine Parr's life story is also told in The Last Wife of Henry VIII by Carolly Erickson
• Catherine Parr's life is also told in Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir
• Catherine Parr features in Revelation and Heartstone, historical crime novels by C.J.Sansom

Titles and styles[link]

• Mistress Catherine Parr (1512–1529)
• Lady Burgh (1529–1533)
• Dowager Lady Burgh (1533–1534)
• Lady Latimer (1534–1543)
• The Dowager Lady Latimer (1543)
• Her Majesty The Queen (1543–1547)
• Her Majesty Queen Catherine, The Lady Seymour of Sudeley (1547–1548)

Ancestry[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Martienssen, Anthony (1973). Queen Catherine Parr. London: Secker & Warburg. ISBN 0-436-27328-4. 
• Robin, Diana Maury, Larsen, Anne R. and Levin, Carole (2007). Encyclopedia of women in the Renaissance: Italy, France, and England. ABC-CLIO, Inc. 
• James, Susan (2009). Catherine Parr: Henry VIII's Last Love. Gloucestershire: The History Press. ISBN 0-7524-4591-X. 
• Norton, Elizabeth (2009) Catherine Parr (Amberley)
• Withrow, Brandon (2009). Katherine Parr: The Life and Thought of a Reformation Queen. Phillipsburg: NJ: P&R. ISBN 1-59638-117-5. 
• Porter, Linda (2010). Katherine the Queen: The Remarkable Life of Katherine Parr. London: Pan Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-74955-9. 
• Parr, Katherine (2011). Janel Mueller. ed. Katherine Parr: Complete Works and Correspondence. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-64724-2. 

External links[link]

• Luminarium Encyclopedia: Katherine Parr
• Letter to Queen Catherine from the Lady Elizabeth: 1544
• Letter to the Queen Dowager from King Edward VI
• Letter to the Queen Dowager from Lady Elizabeth: 31 July 1548
• Newly Identified Historical Portrait: Katherine Parr
• Sudeley Castle - One time home, and burial place of Catherine Parr.
• Snape Castle History - One time home of Catherine Parr and her second husband, Lord Latimer.

Henry VIII, in a portrait made c. 1520, during his nearly 24 year marriage to Catherine of Aragon.

The wives of Henry VIII were the six queens consort married to Henry VIII of England between 1509 and 1547.

The six women to hold the title 'queens consort' of King Henry VIII were, in order:

• Catherine of Aragon (divorced),
• Anne Boleyn (executed),
• Jane Seymour (died days after giving birth, widely believed to be following birth complications),
• Anne of Cleves (annulled)
• Catherine Howard (executed),
• Catherine Parr (survived).

A common device to remember the fates of his consorts is "annulled, beheaded, died, annulled, beheaded, survived" or “divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived”. It is often noted that Catherine Parr "survived him"; in fact Anne of Cleves also survived the king and was the last of his queens to die. Of the six queens, Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour each gave Henry one child who survived infancy—two daughters and one son, all three of whom would eventually ascend to the throne. They were Queen Mary I, Queen Elizabeth I, and King Edward VI, respectively.

Catherine Howard and Anne Boleyn, Henry's two queens who were beheaded, were first cousins. Several of his wives worked in at least one of his other wives' service [Ex ladies in waiting]. Anne Boleyn worked in Catherine of Aragon's service; Jane Seymour worked in Catherine of Aragon's and Anne Boleyn's service; and Catherine Howard worked in Anne of Cleves's.

Legally speaking, four of these marriages (Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Anne of Cleves, and Catherine Howard) never occurred as they were annulled, so under a legal interpretation, Henry VIII actually had only two wives (Jane Seymour and Catherine Parr) despite having six weddings.

Henry was distantly related to all six of his wives through their common ancestor, King Edward I of England.^[1]

There is a rhyme which also helps to remember his wives:

King Henry the Eighth, to six wives he was wedded. One died, one survived, two divorced, two beheaded.

However, this rhyme is somewhat invalid, because he didn't divorce two wives; he had the marriages annulled.

Henry and at least four of his wives (Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour and Catherine Parr) have been characters in opera (for details, see List of historical opera characters).

Catherine of Aragon[link]

Catherine of Aragon

Catherine of Aragon (16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536; Spanish: Catalina de Aragón) was Henry's first wife.^[2] After the death of Arthur, her first husband and Henry's brother, a papal dispensation was obtained to enable her to marry Henry, though the marriage did not take place until after he came to the throne in 1509. Prospects were looking good when Catherine became pregnant in 1510, just 4 months after their marriage, but the girl was stillborn. Catherine became pregnant again in 1511, and gave birth to a boy who died two months later. In 1512, Catherine gave birth to a stillborn boy, and then a stillborn girl in 1513. Finally, Catherine bore him a healthy daughter in 1516, Mary. It took her two years to conceive again. This pregnancy also ended with a stillborn girl. It is said that Henry truly loved Catherine of Aragon, he himself professed it many a time in song, letters, inscriptions, public declarations etc.

Henry, at the time a Roman Catholic, sought the Pope's approval for an annulment on the grounds that his marriage was invalid because Catherine had first been his brother's wife. Henry had begun an affair with Anne Boleyn, who is said to have refused to become his mistress (Henry had already consummated an affair with and then dismissed Anne's sister, Mary Boleyn, and most historians believe that Anne wanted to avoid the same treatment)^{[citation needed]}. Despite the pope's refusal, Henry separated from Catherine in 1531. In the face of the Pope's continuing refusal to annul his marriage to Catherine, Henry ordered the highest church official in England, Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, to convene a court to rule on the status of his marriage to Catherine. On 23 May 1533^[3] Cranmer ruled the marriage to Catherine null and void. On 28 May 1533 he pronounced the King legally married to Anne (with whom Henry had already secretly exchanged wedding vows, probably in late January 1533). This led to the break from the Roman Catholic Church and the later establishment of the Church of England.

Shakespeare called Catherine "The Queen of Earthly Queens".

Marriage to Henry VIII: 11 June 1509 – 23 May 1533 (23 years, 11 months, 11 days), Annulled

Anne Boleyn[link]

Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn (c.1501/1507–19 May 1536) was the second wife of Henry VIII of England and the mother of Elizabeth I of England. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the start of the English Reformation. The daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Boleyn (born Lady Elizabeth Howard), Anne was of nobler birth than Jane Seymour, Henry's later wife. She was dark-haired, with beautiful features and lively manners; she was educated in Europe, largely as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Claude of France.

Anne resisted the King's attempts to seduce her in 1526 and she refused to become his mistress, as her sister, Mary Boleyn, had been. It soon became the one absorbing object of the King's desires to secure a divorce from his wife, Catherine of Aragon, so he could marry Anne. When it became clear that Pope Clement VII was unlikely to give the king an annulment, the breaking of the power of the Roman Catholic Church in England began.

Henry had Thomas Wolsey dismissed from public office and later had the Boleyn family's chaplain, Thomas Cranmer, appointed Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1533, Henry and Anne went through a secret wedding service.^[4] She soon became pregnant and there was a second, public wedding service, which took place in London on 25 January 1533. On 23 May 1533, Cranmer declared the marriage of Henry and Catherine null and void. Five days later, Cranmer declared the marriage of Henry and Anne to be good and valid. Soon after, the Pope launched sentences of excommunication against the King and the Archbishop. As a result of Anne's marriage to the King, the Church of England was forced to break with Rome and was brought under the king's control.^[4] Anne was crowned Queen Consort of England on 1 June 1533. Later that year, on 7 September, Anne gave birth to another daughter, Elizabeth. When Anne failed to quickly produce a male heir, her only son being stillborn, the King grew tired of her and a plot was hatched by Thomas Cromwell to execute her.

Although the evidence against her was unconvincing, Anne was beheaded on charges of adultery, incest, and high treason on 19 May 1536. Following her daughter Elizabeth's coronation as queen, Anne was venerated as a martyr and heroine of the English Reformation, particularly through the works of John Foxe. Over the centuries, Anne has inspired or been mentioned in numerous artistic and cultural works. Due to this fact, she has remained in the popular memory and Anne has been called "the most influential and important queen consort England has ever had."^{[citation needed]}

Marriage to Henry VIII: 28 May 1533 – 19 May 1536 (2 years, 11 months, 21 days), annulled then beheaded^[5]

Jane Seymour[link]

Jane Seymour

Jane Seymour (c.roughly 1508– 24 October 1537) was Henry's third wife. She served Catherine of Aragon and was one of Anne Boleyn's ladies-in-waiting.^[6] It is strongly believed that she is the mistress that disposed of Anne, who was executed just 10–11 days before Jane's marriage to the king. She was of lower birth than most of Henry's wives, as the daughter of a knight. Finally, a year later, Jane gave birth to a healthy, legitimate male heir, Edward, but Seymour died twelve days later, seemingly because of post-natal complications. This apparently caused her husband genuine grief, as she was the only queen to receive a proper Queen's burial; when the King died in 1547, he was buried next to her.

Marriage to Henry VIII: 30 May 1536 – 24 October 1537 (1 year, 4 months, 24 days), death from complications of childbirth.

Anne of Cleves[link]

Anne of Cleves

Anne of Cleves (22 September 1515 – 16 July 1557) was Henry's fourth wife, for only six months in 1540, from 6 January to 9 July. Anne of Cleves was a German princess.^[7] It has been incorrectly stated that Henry referred to her as "A Flanders Mare" The label has stuck with Anne.^[8] Her pre-contract of marriage with Francis I, Duke of Lorraine, was cited as grounds for an annulment. Anne agreed to this, claiming that the marriage had not been consummated, and because she hadn't resisted the annulment, was given a generous settlement, including Hever Castle, former home of Henry's former in-laws, the Boleyns. She was given the name "The King's Sister", and became a friend to him and his children until his death. She outlived both the King and his last two wives, making her the last of the six wives to die.

Marriage to Henry VIII: 6 January 1540 – 9 July 1540 (6 months, 3 days), Annulled.

Catherine Howard[link]

Catherine Howard

Catherine Howard (c.1521 – 13 February 1542) was Henry's fifth wife between 1540–1542, sometimes known as "the rose without a thorn". Henry was informed of her alleged adultery with Thomas Culpepper on 1 November 1541.^[9]

Marriage to Henry VIII: 28 July 1540 – 13 February 1542 (1 year, 6 months, 18 days), Beheaded.

Catherine Parr[link]

Catherine Parr

Catherine Parr (1512 – 7 September 1548), also spelled Kateryn, was the sixth and last wife of Henry VIII 1543–1547. She was the daughter of Sir Thomas Parr of Kendal and his wife Maud Green. Through her father, Catherine was a direct descendant of King Edward III of England (House of Plantagenet) and Philippa of Hainault, Queen Consort of England through their son Prince John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster Plantagenet and his mistress, later wife, Katherine Swynford née Roët. Through John of Gaunt's daughter Lady Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmoreland (the maternal great-great grandmother of Henry) Catherine was a 3rd cousin, once removed, of her husband, Henry VIII. By Henry's paternal descent from John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, another child of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford, the two were also fourth cousins, once removed.^[10]

Catherine showed herself to be the restorer of Henry's court as a family home for his children. Catherine was determined to present the royal household as a close-knit one in order to demonstrate strength through unity to Henry's opposers.^{[citation needed]} Perhaps Catherine's most significant achievement was Henry's passing of an act that confirmed both Mary's and Elizabeth's line in succession for the throne, despite the fact that they had both been made illegitimate by divorce or remarriage. Such was Henry's trust in Catherine that he chose her to rule as Regent while he was attending to the War in France and in the unlikely event of the loss of his life, she was to rule as Regent until six year old Edward came of age.

Catherine also has a special place in history as she was the most married queen of England, having had four husbands in all; Henry was her third. She had been widowed twice before marrying Henry. After Henry's death, she married Thomas Seymour, uncle of Edward VI, to whom she had formed an attachment prior to her marriage with Henry. She had one child by Seymour, Mary, and died shortly after childbirth. Mary's history is unknown, but she is believed to have died as a toddler.

Marriage to Henry VIII: 12 July 1543 – 28 January 1547 (3 years, 6 months, 16 days), His death

References[link]