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From the Emperor’s Desk: Catherine Parr was married twice before her marriage to the King. For sake of brevity I did not include them here.

Catherine Parr (August 1512 – September 5, 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on July 12, 1543 until Henry’s death on January 28, 1547. Catherine was the final queen consort of the House of Tudor, and outlived Henry by a year and eight months. With four husbands, she is the most-married English queen. She was the first woman to publish an original work under her own name in English in England.

Early life and adolescence

Catherine Parr was the eldest child of Sir Thomas Parr, Lord of the Manor of Kendal in Westmorland, (now Cumbria), and Maud Green, daughter and co-heiress of Sir Thomas Green, Lord of Greens Norton, Northamptonshire, and Joan Fogge.

Like Anne Boleyn, Catherine had been raised as a Catholic but at some point turned to Protestantism. Sir Thomas Parr was a descendant of King Edward III of England, and the Parrs were a substantial northern family which included many knights. Catherine had a younger brother, William, after much wrangling, later created first Marquess of Northampton, and younger sister, Anne, later Countess of Pembroke.

Sir Thomas was a close companion to King Henry VIII, and was rewarded as such with responsibilities and/or incomes from his positions as Sheriff of Northamptonshire, Master of the Wards, and Comptroller to the King, in addition to being the lord of Kendal. Catherine’s mother was a close friend and attendant of Catherine of Aragon, and Catherine Parr was probably named after Queen Catherine, who was her godmother.

She was born in 1512, probably in August. It was once thought that Catherine Parr had been born at Kendal Castle in Westmorland. However, at the time of her birth, Kendal Castle was already in very poor condition.

Catherine married Henry VIII on July 12, 1543 at Hampton Court Palace. She was the first Queen of England also to be Queen of Ireland following Henry’s adoption of the title King of Ireland. She was also the third of his wives to be named Catherine. Catherine and her new husband shared several common royal and noble ancestors, making them multiple cousins.

By Henry’s mother and Catherine’s father they were third cousins once removed sharing Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, and Lady Joan Beaufort (granddaughter of Edward III) and by their fathers they were double fourth cousins once removed, sharing Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent (son of Joan of Kent) and Lady Alice FitzAlan (granddaughter of Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster) and John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (son of Edward III) and Katherine Swynford.

On becoming queen, Catherine installed her former stepdaughter, Margaret Neville, as her lady-in-waiting, and gave her cousin Maud, Lady Lane and her stepson John’s wife, Lucy Somerset, positions in her household. Catherine was partially responsible for reconciling Henry with his daughters from his first two marriages, and also developed a good relationship with Henry’s son Edward. When she became queen, her uncle Lord Parr of Horton became her Lord Chamberlain.

Catherine enjoyed a close relationship with Henry’s three children, Mary, Elizabeth and Edward. She was personally involved in the education of Elizabeth and Edward. She was influential in Henry VIII’s passing of the Third Succession Act in 1543 that restored his daughters Mary and Elizabeth to the line of succession to the throne.

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. Following the king’s death, she assumed the role of guardian to her stepdaughter, Elizabeth.

On April 25, 1544, Catherine published her first book, Psalms or Prayers, anonymously. Her book Prayers or Meditations became the first book published by an English queen under her own name on June 2, 1545. She published a third book, The Lamentation of a Sinner, on November 5, 1547. On account of her Protestant sympathies, she provoked the enmity of anti-Protestant officials, who sought to turn the king against her; a warrant for her arrest was drawn up, probably in the spring of 1546. However, she and the king soon reconciled.

After Henry VIII’s death in 1547, Catherine was allowed to keep the queen’s jewels and dresses as queen dowager. About six months after Henry VIII’s death, she married her fourth and final husband, Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley. Seymour was the uncle of King Edward VI (Catherine’s stepson) and the younger brother of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset and Lord Protector of England.

Catherine’s fourth and final marriage was short-lived, as she died on Wednesday, September 5, 1548 due to complications of childbirth. Her funeral was held on September 7, 1548 and was the first Protestant funeral in England, Scotland or Ireland to be held in English.