Tudor History / Women's History

Katherine Parr, Queen of England

Susan Abernethy33 Comments

After the disastrous marriage to Catherine Howard, Henry probably just wanted a wife who could nurse him through his various ailments and not cause him any trouble. Henry did not actively seek a wife at this time but soon found the perfect match in Katherine Parr.

Katherine Parr was born in 1512 to Thomas Parr, a northern nobleman and his wife Maud Green. Her parents were close to Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Katherine Parr may have been named after Queen Catherine. Her father died when she was young so she was very close to her mother. A well educated woman, her mother made sure her children had a solid education. Katherine had a passion for learning and spoke French, Latin and Italian. She also was an advocate of the Evangelical reform movement of the church. But she never did like embroidery.

In 1529, Katherine married Sir Edward Borough. They were both about the same age but her husband was in poor health and he died in 1533. Katherine lived with her Neville relatives in Cumbria and this is where she probably met her second husband, John Neville, 3rd Baron Latimer. They married in the summer of 1534. Latimer was forty years old and had two children from a previous marriage so Katherine now had a husband, a home, two step-children and a title. It is said she had affection for her husband.

Latimer supported the old religion (Catholicism) and during some rebellions in the north of England, the rebels held Katherine hostage in her family home. She struggled to survive while her husband was off fighting. Latimer was in and out of trouble with Henry’s chief minister, Thomas Cromwell until Cromwell’s fall in 1540. Following Latimer’s election to Parliament, the family moved to London where she was in contact with the court and the latest fashions, as well as the new religion.

Latimer fell ill in 1542, and Katherine nursed him until his death in 1543. Through her earlier family connections with Catherine of Aragon, Katherine renewed her friendship with the Lady Mary, Henry VIII’s eldest daughter. While in Mary’s household, Katherine began a relationship with Thomas Seymour, the brother of Henry VIII’s third wife, Jane Seymour. But by now, Katherine had caught the eye of the King and she felt it was her duty to serve the King and become his wife.

Katherine and Henry were married at Hampton Court on July 12, 1543. Katherine immediately began to reconcile Henry with his daughters Mary and Elizabeth. Due to the divorces and annulments of his marriages to Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, the girls had been declared bastards and were not treated well by their father. Katherine convinced Henry to let the girls live with them as a family along with their brother Edward. She supervised the children’s education and was instrumental in restoring the girls to the right of succession to the throne.

From July to September 1544, Henry went to war in France and left Katherine as Regent in England. During this period, she was an extremely competent ruler. She handled the provisions and finances for the French campaign and remained in close contact with the commander in the North where the situation with Scotland grew unstable. If something were to happen to Henry, Katherine was to be Regent to Prince Edward until he became of age. Henry clearly trusted her.

In 1546, Katherine’s religious beliefs came under suspicion by the pro-Catholic faction at court. Convinced that Katherine would influence the king in religious matters, they drew up and executed an arrest warrant. Katherine got wind of the plot to bring her down and went to Henry on bended knee, declaring she was only discussing religion with Henry to distract him while nursing his ulcerous legs. Henry, in no mood to execute another Queen, kissed his “Kate” and told her she was forgiven. Someone actually came to arrest Katherine because they had not heard about the reconciliation. Henry dismissed the arrestor and Katherine became more circumspect and cautious from then until Henry’s death.

In early December of 1546, Henry parted from Katherine and told her urgent business must be attended to. Katherine may not have realized just how ill Henry was. Henry’s ministers kept him in isolation until his death on January 28, 1547. Katherine sent many requests to see the King but she never received permisson. She had high hopes he would name her Regent to his young son, King Edward VI but the ministers had control of the King and refused to let this happen. However, they did designate her as guardian of the Princess Elizabeth. The King also provided a generous monetary settlement for Katherine and insisted she be treated as the Queen, even after his death.

Katherine was a widow once more. After a decorous period of mourning, she and Thomas Seymour were a couple once again and married in secret in May of 1547. The council would not have approved of her marriage to Thomas and he had to go directly to the young King to get approval. After this the council lost all respect for Katherine and did not treat her well from then on. In November of 1547, Katherine published a book, “Lamentations of a Sinner” which proved to be very popular.

Katherine became pregnant in March 1548, much to her surprise. Her daughter, Mary Seymour, was born on August 30, 1548. Katherine died 6 days later, possibly of puerpual fever. She was buried in the chapel at Sudeley Castle. Records of her daughter lasted about two years and then she disappeared from history.

Tomb of Katherine Parr in the chapel of Sudeley Castle (Photo copyright: The Freelance History Writer)

Further reading: “Katherine the Queen: The Remarkable Life of the Last Wife of Henry VIII” by Linda Porter, “The Six Wives of Henry VIII” by Alison Weir

33 thoughts on “Katherine Parr, Queen of England”

    • Hi Janice, There is historical evidence that Catherine’s daughter Mary Seymour lived for about two years in the care of various noble ladies. After that the record goes cold. It is safe to assume the child died.

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  21. I read somewhere that Thomas Seymour tried to seduce Princess Elizabeth while married to Katherine Parr. I hope that information is unfounded but 21st century values are not applicable to those of the 16th century. Men openly had mistresses although I find it stretching it a bit with a Princess of England. . .

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    • He wanted to marry her. Katherine being 35 and PG with her first child in a time period where there was a high death rate for women giving birth,meant it was expected that she could possibly die. So he was grooming Elizabeth in the event of Kathrine’s death.

      Now many believe not all of what was reported to happen actually happened, some of it may have been exaggerated. After all Kat Ashley was taken to the tower and some of it she may have said in fear. Because really? would she not have reported his coming to Elizabeth’s bedroom to Katherine? She would have protected her ward I do believe.

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  22. Visited Sudeley two summers ago and heard the story of her last days and original burial. I believe she rests gracefully now on that beautiful estate. The little printed prayer book is comforting to read. She had to be just amazing.

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  23. Parr is my favorite among Henry’s wives. She was able to keep her head above water throughout her life. She was a pawn to her family, her King and, in my opinion, to her own heart. Yet, she was good to Mary, Elizabeth and Edward as well as Henry even though he was a nasty soul by this point in his life. Thanks for this enjoyable read.

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  27. i suppose her and Anne Boleyn are my favorite of Henry’s wives, both because of the special link with Elizabeth and the first due to the fact she outlived her man, unlike so many other Katherines in his bedroom

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    • She was very refined and elegant. And very smart too to outwit her opponents. However, I find her ending to be quite tragic. She married the man she loved but he didn’t treat her very well and then she died in childbirth. Poor Katherine!

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  28. “But she never did like embroidery.” LOL Nice to hear how competent she was. I guess England owes a debt to her regarding the reconciliation between Henry and Elizabeth especially. Great read!

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