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14 | <Metadata name="Content">Katharine Katherine Catherine Parr sixth wife of Henry VIII</Metadata>
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15 | <Metadata name="Page_topic">Katharine Katherine Catherine Parr sixth wife of Henry VIII</Metadata>
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16 | <Metadata name="Author">Marilee Mongello</Metadata>
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17 | <Metadata name="Title">Katharine / Catherine / Katherine Parr: Biography, Portraits, Primary Sources</Metadata>
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18 | <Metadata name="FileFormat">HTML</Metadata>
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21 | <Metadata name="dc.Subject">Tudor period|Monarchs</Metadata>
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34 | <table border="0" cellpadding="3" width="100%" height="588">
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35 | <tbody>
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36 | <tr>
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37 | <td width="25%" height="1"><br>
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38 | </td>
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39 | <td valign="top" width="50%" height="1"><p></td>
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40 | <td width="25%" height="1"><br>
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41 | </td>
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42 | </tr>
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43 | <tr>
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44 | <td width="25%" height="3"><br>
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45 | </td>
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46 | <td width="50%" height="3">
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47 | <p align="center"><font size="4">'They curse and ban my words
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48 | everyday, and all their thoughts be set to do me harm....&nbsp; I am so
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49 | vexed that I am utterly weary.' </font> <i><font size="4">&nbsp;</font><font
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50 | size="2"><br>
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51 | Katharine Parr in 1544, regarding Catholic attempts to discredit her</font></i></p>
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52 | </td>
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53 | <td width="25%" height="3"><br>
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54 | </td>
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55 | </tr>
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56 | <tr>
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57 | <td width="25%" height="610"><br>
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58 | </td>
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59 | <td valign="top" width="50%" height="610">
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60 | <p align="center">&nbsp;</p>
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61 | <p align="center">
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62 | <img border="0" src="_httpdocimg_/parrcardinal.gif" alt="Katharine Parr" width="355" height="97"></p>
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63 | <p align="center">
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64 | <img height="324"
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65 | alt="miniature portrait of Katharine Parr by Lucas Horenbout"
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66 | src="_httpdocimg_/parrhorenbout.jpg"
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67 | width="324"> </p>
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68 | <p align="center"> <i><font size="2">miniature portrait of Katharine Parr
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69 | by Lucas Horenbout</font></i></p>
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70 | <p align="left"> <b><br>Katharine Parr was the sixth and last
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71 | wife of King Henry VIII, destined to outlive the mercurial ruler.&nbsp;
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72 | She was already twice-widowed and childless when they wed in 1543; she
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73 | was also in love with Thomas Seymour, the brother of Henry's third
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74 | queen Jane.&nbsp; But the king's will was law and Katharine bowed to
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75 | his demands with grace.&nbsp; She was an admirable wife to Henry and a
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76 | loving stepmother to his two youngest children, Elizabeth and
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77 | Edward.&nbsp; She was also the most intellectual of Henry's wives,
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78 | caught up in the turbulent religious climate of the times.&nbsp; And it
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79 | was this passionate interest in theology which nearly ended her life,
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80 | for the king was old and sickly but still capable of destroying those
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81 | closest to him.&nbsp; Katharine saved herself and earned Henry's
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82 | respect enough to be appointed Regent of England during his military
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83 | campaign in Boulogne.&nbsp; Upon his death in 1547, she married Seymour
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84 | with indecent haste, the only one of four husbands she had chosen
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85 | herself.&nbsp; Her greatest achievement was the popularity of her
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86 | devotional works; they were 16th century bestsellers and capture
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87 | Katharine's complex and abiding piety.</b></p>
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88 | <blockquote>
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89 | <p align="left">&nbsp;</p>
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90 | <blockquote>
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91 | <p><a
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92 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fparr.html#Biography"> <font
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93 | size="4">Read the biography of Katharine Parr.</font></a></p>
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94 | <p><b><br>
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95 | Primary Sources</b> <br>
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96 | Read <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fletters.html">letters
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97 | written by Katharine</a>.</p>
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98 | </blockquote>
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99 | <blockquote>
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100 | <p>Visit <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.marileecody.com%2fimages.html">Tudor
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101 | England: Images</a> to view portraits of Katharine. </p>
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102 | <p>Test your knowledge of Katharine's life and times at <a
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103 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2ftudor1.html">Tudor Quizzes</a>.</p>
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104 | <p><font size="2"><b><br>
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105 | Interact<br>
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106 | </b> Meet other Six Wives enthusiasts at <a
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107 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fladiesallfanlist.cjb.net">Ladies All: A Fanlisting for
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108 | the Six Wives of Henry VIII</a>.<br>
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109 | <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2ftudorhistory.org%2flists%2flist.html"> Tudor Talk
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110 | </a>&nbsp;This email discussion list is sponsored by
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111 | Tudorhistory.org.<br>
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112 | <a
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113 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fgroups.yahoo.com%2fgroup%2fReign%5fof%5fthe%5fTudors%5frpg">Reign of
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114 | the Tudors</a>&nbsp; This is a role-playing game set in 16th century
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115 | England.&nbsp; If you would like to 'play' Jane Grey or Anne Boleyn or
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116 | other Tudors, click the link to join.</font></p>
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117 | </blockquote>
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118 | </blockquote>
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119 | </td>
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120 | <td width="25%" height="610"><br>
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121 | </td>
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122 | </tr>
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123 | </tbody>
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124 | </table>
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125 | <blockquote>
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126 | <blockquote>
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127 | <blockquote>
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128 | <p>&nbsp;</p>
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129 | <p><a name="Biography"></a><font size="4">'Lord, hearken to my
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130 | words.&nbsp; Consider the thought of mine heart.&nbsp; Behold, how loud
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131 | I cry unto thee.&nbsp; Let my just prayer enter into thine ears, which
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132 | unfeignedly cometh from mine heart.&nbsp; Hear me, Lord, for I am poor
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133 | and destitute of man's help.&nbsp; Take care for my soul.&nbsp; Save
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134 | me, thy servant, which wholly trust in thee.&nbsp; Have mercy upon me,
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135 | O Lord, for I will never cease crying to thee for help.'&nbsp;&nbsp; </font><i><font
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136 | size="2">a prayer written by Katharine Parr</font></i></p>
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137 | <p>&nbsp;</p>
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138 | </blockquote>
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139 | </blockquote>
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140 | <p>&nbsp;</p>
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141 | <p><b>Biography</b> <br>
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142 | After the debacle of his fifth marriage to a girl thirty years his
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143 | junior, Henry VIII found himself in a novel position.&nbsp; For the
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144 | first time in his tangled marital career, a future wife was not waiting
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145 | to be claimed.&nbsp; The king turned fifty-one the year <a
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146 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fhoward.html">Catherine
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147 | Howard</a> was executed; he was obese, often bedridden and in great
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148 | pain.&nbsp; His moods grew dark and vengeful.&nbsp; The Tudor court
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149 | vacillated between the opposing factions of Catholicism and the
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150 | reformed faith; they waited expectantly for Henry to choose his next
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151 | wife, knowing she would tip the balance in favor of one party.&nbsp;
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152 | But which?&nbsp; And was there a woman at court who would risk marrying
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153 | the elderly king? </p>
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154 | <p>The position of Queen was the greatest honor for an Englishwoman;
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155 | but in the last years of Henry's reign, it was also the most dangerous
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156 | honor.&nbsp; After the humiliation of Catherine Howard's infidelity,
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157 | Henry was determined his next wife would not dare cuckold him.&nbsp;
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158 | And so there was an interesting clause in the Act of Attainder which
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159 | had condemned Catherine to death.&nbsp; It stated that 'to avoid doubts
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160 | for the future', anyone who knew anything 'incontinent' about the queen
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161 | must reveal it - or be condemned for treason.&nbsp; And if the king
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162 | chose to marry a woman whom he 'took to be a pure and clean maid' and
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163 | she turned out to be otherwise, the charge of treason would apply to
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164 | both the woman and 'all who knew it and did not reveal it'.&nbsp; In
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165 | other words, you must speak up - either before or after the royal
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166 | marriage - or die. </p>
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167 | <p>This new law was enough to frighten even the most seasoned
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168 | courtier.&nbsp; Before, the chance to parade a young girl before the
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169 | king was a chance to make a family's fortune; now, it was merely a
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170 | chance to risk death.&nbsp; For who could be completely certain of a
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171 | young woman's chastity?&nbsp; Furthermore, who could trust the old
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172 | king's judgment on the matter?&nbsp; Henry had declared he 'somewhat
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173 | suspected' the virginity of <a
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174 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fcleves.html">Anne of
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175 | Cleves</a>, but he had believed Catherine Howard to be a virgin when
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176 | she was not.&nbsp; If one was relying solely upon the king's word.....
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177 | What if a chaste young woman did marry Henry and he then mistakenly
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178 | declared she was 'incontinent'?&nbsp; No one could impugn the word of
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179 | the king, nor escape his wrath. </p>
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180 | <p>Understandably enough, the mood at court was hesitant and
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181 | frightened.&nbsp; And so when the king's eye turned favorably to one
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182 | Lady Latimer, thirty-one years old and twice-widowed, courtiers
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183 | breathed a sigh of relief and her family could safely encourage the
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184 | royal interest.&nbsp; After all, a widow need not prove her nebulous
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185 | virginity to a credulous monarch. </p>
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186 | <p>Katharine Parr, Lady Latimer, had many other admirable qualities
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187 | which attracted the king.&nbsp; She has the historical reputation of a
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188 | doting stepmother and devoted scholar, but she<img height="381"
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189 | alt="portrait of Katharine Parr by William Scrots, c1546"
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190 | src="_httpdocimg_/parrbiography.jpg" width="300"
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191 | border="2" align="right"> was also a woman as dedicated to finery and
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192 | amusements as any of Henry's previous wives.&nbsp; And though
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193 | twice-widowed, she was still twenty years younger than the king.&nbsp;
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194 | She was tall, vivacious and witty, with a kindly and sensible
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195 | nature.&nbsp; She was the daughter of Sir Thomas Parr of Kendal and
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196 | Maud Greene; Katharine was the eldest of three children, born probably
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197 | in 1512, followed the next year by her brother William and a year later
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198 | by her sister Anne.&nbsp; Thomas and Maud were courtiers during the
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199 | early years of Henry VIII's reign.&nbsp; Thomas was knighted at the
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200 | king's coronation in 1509 and Maud was a lady-in-waiting to his first
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201 | queen, <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2faragon.html">Katharine
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202 | of Aragon</a>.&nbsp; But Thomas died unexpectedly in 1517, and
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203 | Katharine's mother dedicated herself to securing good marriages for her
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204 | children.&nbsp; Katharine was raised in Northamptonshire in the
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205 | household of her uncle Sir William Parr.&nbsp; Her education was good,
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206 | but not comprehensive.&nbsp; Later in life, she would undertake the
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207 | difficult task of learning Greek and Latin; this was indicative of her
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208 | genuine love and respect for scholarship, particularly with regard to
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209 | women.&nbsp; It was Katharine Parr who encouraged Elizabeth I's
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210 | education, thus creating the most learned monarch in English
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211 | history.&nbsp; She also made John Cheke and Roger Ascham tutors to
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212 | young Prince Edward; the influence of these Cambridge 'reformers' upon
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213 | both Elizabeth and Edward was profound. </p>
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214 | <p>Katharine's first marriage was in 1529; her mother died two years
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215 | later.&nbsp; Her first husband was young Edward Borough, son of a minor
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216 | lord in Lincolnshire.&nbsp; The marriage was childless and Edward, who
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217 | had a history of lingering illness, died in 1532.&nbsp; Katharine's
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218 | next husband, John Neville, Lord Latimer, was forty years old, twice
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219 | Katharine's age and with a son and daughter.&nbsp; They wed in late
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220 | spring 1533; Katharine was his third wife.&nbsp; Latimer was a wealthy
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221 | northern landowner and Katharine quickly adapted to her new lifestyle
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222 | as mistress of a large household.&nbsp; She also became - at the young
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223 | age of twenty-one - the beloved stepmother of Latimer's daughter.&nbsp;
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224 | The most trying time of their marriage was the infamous Pilgrimage of
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225 | Grace, which forced the conservative North against Henry VIII's
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226 | religious policies.&nbsp; Poor Latimer was torn between the demands of
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227 | the rebels (who kidnapped him and, later, his wife and daughter) and
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228 | those of his angry king.&nbsp; Called to London to explain himself,
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229 | Latimer was eventually cleared of complicity.&nbsp; But his health was
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230 | broken from the stress and never recovered.&nbsp; Katharine began to
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231 | spend more time in London, nursing her husband and visiting with her
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232 | younger sister Anne.&nbsp; Anne Parr had married William Herbert, the
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233 | illegitimate grandson of the powerful earl of Pembroke, and was also a
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234 | lady-in-waiting to Henry VIII's fourth and fifth wives.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p>
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235 | <p>Katharine was still a young woman, and this time at court opened
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236 | her eyes in many ways.&nbsp; First, she was at last in the presence of
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237 | healthy, dynamic men her own age; unlike her invalid husbands, these
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238 | men were flirtatious and charming.&nbsp; There was never a hint of
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239 | impropriety in Katharine's actions, and she continued to nurse the
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240 | ailing Lord Latimer with notable care and compassion.&nbsp; But she
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241 | would have been less than human if she did not notice the contrast
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242 | between her life in northern England and the glittering, challenging
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243 | court of Henry VIII.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p>
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244 | <p>She became increasingly interested in the theological debates of
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245 | the court, but she also enjoyed its less intellectual pleasures -
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246 | dancing, music, banquets, grand costumes.&nbsp; When she became queen,
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247 | this love of clothes and jewels would be indulged on the grandest
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248 | scale.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p>
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249 | <p>While Lord Latimer lingered on his deathbed throughout 1541 and
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250 | 1542, Katharine realistically assessed her future.&nbsp; She would soon
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251 | be a very wealthy widow, finally free to make her own choices and with
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252 | the youth to enjoy them.&nbsp; Soon enough, she had fallen in love with
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253 | the charming Thomas Seymour, brother of the late Queen Jane and uncle
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254 | to Henry VIII's only male heir.&nbsp; But she had also caught Henry
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255 | VIII's jaded eye.&nbsp; His first gifts to Katharine were delivered on
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256 | 16 February 1543, a year after Catherine Howard's execution.&nbsp; On 2
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257 | March, her husband Lord Latimer at last passed away.&nbsp; Katharine
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258 | looked to Seymour as her future husband, to a life of passionate
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259 | fulfillment rather than one of duty.&nbsp; Seymour, meanwhile, took
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260 | note of the king's interest and wisely stepped back.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p>
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261 | <p>And so Katharine Parr once again followed a dutiful course,
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262 | entering into a third marriage with an older, sickly husband.&nbsp; But
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263 | though she followed her duty, it was not an easy choice.&nbsp; She
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264 | wrote to Seymour, 'As truly as God is God, my mind was fully bent....
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265 | to marry you before any man I know.'&nbsp; But the will of God was
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266 | different than her own, she continued, and after a great spiritual
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267 | struggle, she had no choice but obedience.&nbsp; She and Seymour parted
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268 | with some promises for the future (after all, the king was ill and
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269 | failing) and their feelings undiminished.&nbsp; The ascendancy of the
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270 | Parr family had now begun.</p>
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271 | <p>Events moved quickly.&nbsp; She and Henry were married by Stephen
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272 | Gardiner in the 'Queen's closet' at Hampton Court Palace on 12 July
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273 | 1543, with all the royal children present.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p>
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274 | <p> The marriage was an immediate success.&nbsp;
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275 | Katharine chose as her motto 'To be useful in all I do.'&nbsp; And she
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276 | had a truly endearing personality, as proven by the genuine affection
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277 | which a variety of people felt for her.&nbsp; To the king, she was the
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278 | perfect companion and nursemaid; to his children, she was a loving
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279 | stepmother.&nbsp; As queen, she attracted those courtiers sympathetic
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280 | to the reformed faith.&nbsp; Her rooms became famous for their
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281 | theological debates, a fact which soon incensed Stephen Gardiner and
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282 | other Catholics.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p>
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283 | <p>When the king left for France on yet another expensive military
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284 | campaign in July 1544, Katharine - his 'most dearly and most entirely
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285 | beloved wife' - was made Regent of England.&nbsp; The only other wife
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286 | accorded this honor had been Henry's first, Katharine of Aragon.&nbsp;
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287 | Henry returned in October to find his affairs in good order. </p>
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288 | <p>Their marriage had its physical side as well.&nbsp; Though
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289 | occasionally impotent, the king did consummate their marriage and
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290 | Katharine was fond of ordering black satin nightdresses.&nbsp; She
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291 | would often sit with the king's sore leg in her lap, or in his lap
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292 | herself.&nbsp; The king enjoyed her dancing and they both loved music;
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293 | they also exchanged rich gifts.&nbsp; It was only when Katharine waded
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294 | into the complicated morass of Tudor theology that she roused Henry's
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295 | temper. </p>
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296 | <p>The king's religious beliefs remain confusing centuries later; one
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297 | can only sympathize with his contemporaries who had to guess at them
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298 | and hope for the best.&nbsp; Raised a Catholic, Henry was forced to
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299 | repudiate the papacy in order to marry Anne Boleyn; for several years
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300 | afterwards, Protestants and Catholics alike were struck down by the
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301 | king.&nbsp; To lean too far one way or the other risked certain
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302 | death.&nbsp; As the king grew older, he came to appreciate the mess he
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303 | had created.&nbsp; Where did he stand?&nbsp; Was he an ally of the
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304 | Lutheran princes?&nbsp; Or did he miss the faith of his youth?&nbsp; It
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305 | is probable that even Henry did not know the answer.&nbsp; But even if
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306 | he didn't know what he believed, he did know heresy when he heard it -
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307 | or so he thought.&nbsp; Encouraged by Gardiner and other Catholic
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308 | councilors, he was soon persuaded that Katharine Parr was a heretic. </p>
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309 | <p>Katharine was coming dangerously attracted to evangelical
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310 | Protestantism.&nbsp; Her companions were of a younger generation than
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311 | the king, having grown up in the decades following Martin Luther's
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312 | triumph in Germany.&nbsp; Theology was no longer only the province of
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313 | churchmen; the laity - and women especially - could now question and
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314 | debate the most important issues for themselves.&nbsp; As an
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315 | intelligent woman with a deep love of scholarship, this new faith
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316 | appealed to Katharine.&nbsp; There was no room for her in Catholicism,
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317 | but she could be a guiding light for the reformers. </p>
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318 | <p>And so she was, attracting Mile Coverdale, John Parkhurst, Anthony
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319 | Cope and others.&nbsp; She had also become close friends with Thomas
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320 | Cranmer, the archbishop of Canterbury, and Catherine Willoughby, the
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321 | duchess of Suffolk, another young wife of an elderly husband.&nbsp;
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322 | Both she and Katharine used their youthful energy in defense of the new
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323 | faith. </p>
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324 | <p> <img height="343" alt="Katharine Parr or Lady Jane Grey?"
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325 | src="_httpdocimg_/grey3.jpg" width="170"
|
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326 | border="2" align="left">Perhaps the central belief of this new faith was the need for
|
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327 | everyone to personally study the Bible.&nbsp; This was a truly
|
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328 | revolutionary idea; it also lessened the power of Henry VIII as Supreme
|
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329 | Head of the Church of England since it encouraged his subjects to think
|
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330 | for themselves.&nbsp; Conservatives argued that reading the Bible only
|
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331 | encouraged heresy.&nbsp; But as Katharine wrote angrily, 'Is it not
|
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332 | extreme wickedness to charge the holy sanctified word of God with the
|
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333 | offenses of man?&nbsp; To allege the Scriptures to be perilous learning
|
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334 | because certain readers thereof fall into heresies?'&nbsp;&nbsp; </p>
|
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335 | <p>In May 1543, the king's council felt sufficiently alarmed by this
|
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336 | permissive climate to pass the Act for the Advancement of the True
|
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337 | Religion.&nbsp; It was directed against the 'lower sort' who wished to
|
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338 | study the Bible in English, either alone or in public.&nbsp; It was
|
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339 | later amended to allow noblewomen the right to read the Bible but they
|
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340 | must do so alone and not engage in religious debate.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p>
|
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341 | <p>Katharine, however, seemed content to ignore this warning.&nbsp;
|
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342 | The king was openly affectionate; foreign ambassadors wrote home in
|
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343 | praise of her kindness; her stepchildren loved her.&nbsp; She was
|
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344 | secure in her position and unaware of any danger.&nbsp; As patroness,
|
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345 | she favored the reformers and also sought to protect those who fell
|
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346 | from favor. </p>
|
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347 | <p>But in 1546, Baron Thomas Wriothesley was made Lord Chancellor; he
|
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348 | was a conservative especially interested in stamping out heresy.&nbsp;
|
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349 | On 24 May 1546, the reformist Anne Askew was arrested and horribly
|
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350 | tortured.&nbsp; She had ties to court, particularly to the duchess of
|
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351 | Suffolk.&nbsp; But she refused to implicate the queen despite repeated
|
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352 | questioning; Wriothesley and his secretary Richard Rich were personally
|
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353 | involved in her torture.&nbsp; On 16 July she was burnt at the stake
|
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354 | for heresy.&nbsp; Only a few days before, the Privy Council had ordered
|
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355 | Katharine's estate books seized, presumably because she would soon be
|
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356 | arrested and her property confiscated.&nbsp; This indicates that her
|
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357 | Catholic enemies felt confident the king would follow their lead in
|
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358 | disposing of his sixth wife, much as he had destroyed <a
|
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359 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fcitizens%2fcromwell.html">Thomas
|
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360 | Cromwell</a> four years before.&nbsp; And since the king possessed the
|
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361 | disturbing quality of acting well to those he was about to destroy, his
|
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362 | continued affection for Katharine did not worry them.&nbsp; Katharine,
|
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363 | however, was still lulled into a feeling of safety.&nbsp; In response
|
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364 | to Anne Askew's execution, she hurriedly threw out her most evangelical
|
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365 | books - but that was all. </p>
|
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366 | <p>Around this time, Henry VIII was in a more irritable mood than
|
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367 | usual.&nbsp; His ulcerated leg had grown worse, as had the recurrent
|
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368 | headaches.&nbsp; Katharine made the mistake of engaging the king in
|
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369 | theological discourse while he was physically unwell and under the
|
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370 | influence of his conservative courtiers.&nbsp; It nearly cost her her
|
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371 | life. </p>
|
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372 | <p>Shortly after Anne Askew's execution, the royal couple were
|
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373 | sitting in their usual position - the king's sore leg resting upon his
|
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374 | wife's lap.&nbsp; As she nursed him, Katharine began to lecture her
|
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375 | husband on religion.&nbsp; The king was in no mood for what he
|
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376 | considered heresy, nor to be lectured by his wife.&nbsp; It seemed
|
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377 | Katharine's enemies had won.&nbsp; But then the old king threw all into
|
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378 | confusion, possibly on purpose.&nbsp; He told his doctor, Thomas Wendy,
|
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379 | that Katharine was about to be arrested and soon enough an anonymous
|
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380 | courtier dropped a copy of the warrant outside Katharine's rooms.&nbsp;
|
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381 | The queen was devastated and immediately in fear for her
|
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382 | life.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p>
|
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383 | <p>Katharine went to the king's rooms and there he immediately began
|
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384 | to discuss religion with her, in particular contradicting many of her
|
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385 | reformist beliefs.&nbsp; Recognizing the test, Katharine agreed with it
|
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386 | all, telling Henry that 'women by their first creation were made
|
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387 | subject to men' and that 'men out to instruct their wives, who would do
|
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388 | all their learning from them'.&nbsp; The king was 'a prince of such
|
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389 | excellent learning and wisdom' that she would gladly follow his
|
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390 | counsel.&nbsp; But this appeal to Henry's vanity was not enough.&nbsp;
|
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391 | 'You are become a doctor able to instruct us and not to be instructed
|
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392 | by us,' the king said, referring to her earlier lecture.&nbsp; But
|
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393 | Katharine replied that he had 'much mistaken the freedom she had taken
|
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394 | to argue with him', for she had only done it to learn from him and
|
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395 | distract him from his illness.&nbsp; 'And is it even so?' asked Henry,
|
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396 | with a smile. 'Then Kate, we are friends again.'&nbsp; Katharine Parr
|
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397 | had escaped. </p>
|
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398 | <p>But no one had told the king's council.&nbsp; When Wriothesley and
|
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399 | forty guards arrived to arrest Katharine the next day, the king himself
|
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400 | beat them about the heads and shoulders, calling them foul names.&nbsp;
|
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401 | Katharine was thus saved in a most public and spectacular fashion, and
|
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402 | was soon gifted with more jewels and plate than before.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p>
|
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403 | <p>Her appeal to Henry's vanity saved her life and it also allowed
|
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404 | the king to remind everyone who was the real master.&nbsp; Wriothesley
|
---|
405 | had sought to recreate the destruction of <a
|
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406 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fcitizens%2fwolsey.html">Wolsey</a>
|
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407 | and Cromwell, using the king's temper to destroy his personal
|
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408 | enemies.&nbsp; But Henry VIII was of a mind to do otherwise.&nbsp; He
|
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409 | had long lamented the loss of Cromwell and he disliked any manipulation
|
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410 | by his councilors.&nbsp; By saving Katharine in such a public manner,
|
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411 | he forced his courtiers to recognize his omnipotence and mutability. </p>
|
---|
412 | <p>But he was not indestructible.&nbsp; The king's health began a
|
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413 | decline in the spring of 1546 from which he only sporadically
|
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414 | recovered.&nbsp; By the winter, he was dangerously ill.&nbsp;
|
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415 | Katharine's own position gained new prominence since upon Henry's death
|
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416 | she would be the dowager queen.&nbsp; She already had great influence
|
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417 | over her stepson <a
|
---|
418 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fedward6.html">Prince
|
---|
419 | Edward</a>.&nbsp; She continued to nurse Henry
|
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420 | assiduously, but was sent away to Greenwich Palace with Mary and
|
---|
421 | Elizabeth for Christmas celebrations.&nbsp; She returned to London on
|
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422 | 10 January but never saw the king again.&nbsp; Henry VIII died in the
|
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423 | early morning hours of 28 January 1547. </p>
|
---|
424 | <p>After Henry's death, Thomas Seymour's elder brother Edward assumed
|
---|
425 | the title Protector of the Kingdom, ruling in the name of his nine year
|
---|
426 | old nephew.&nbsp; Katharine, meanwhile, married Thomas with what others
|
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427 | (including her royal stepchildren) felt was indecent haste.&nbsp; The
|
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428 | actual date is not known but Seymour referred to himself as her husband
|
---|
429 | in a letter of 17 May.&nbsp; The wedding took place in the moonlit
|
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430 | gardens of Chelsea Manor.&nbsp; Letters indicate that the ambitious
|
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431 | Seymour pressed for a quick union.&nbsp; As a dowager queen, Katharine
|
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432 | was expected to behave perfectly; also, it was theoretically possible
|
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433 | she was pregnant by Henry VIII. &nbsp;For once, the always dutiful
|
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434 | Katharine had acted impulsively. &nbsp;She had given up Thomas Seymour
|
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435 | once and would not do so again. </p>
|
---|
436 | <p>For the new king's councilors, the marriage was a disaster.&nbsp;
|
---|
437 | They recognized Seymour's ambition even as Katharine fell even more
|
---|
438 | deeply in love.&nbsp; Edward Seymour's wife Anne Stanhope, now the
|
---|
439 | duchess of Somerset, engaged in a petty battle of precedence with
|
---|
440 | Katharine.&nbsp; Also, there were arguments over Katharine's
|
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441 | possessions, particularly jewelry which Henry VIII had given her.&nbsp;
|
---|
442 | Still, there was far happier news to distract her.&nbsp; In late
|
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443 | November 1547, thirty-five years old and childless through three
|
---|
444 | previous marriages, Katharine Parr became pregnant. </p>
|
---|
445 | <p>However, her pregnancy was not the happy triumph she had
|
---|
446 | expected.&nbsp; Her husband proved too forward with the young Princess
|
---|
447 | Elizabeth and Katharine was forced to send her step-daughter
|
---|
448 | away.&nbsp; This breach hurt them both deeply.&nbsp; The young <a
|
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449 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fjanegrey.html">Lady
|
---|
450 | Jane Grey</a> remained with the household, however, for Seymour had
|
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451 | 'bought' her from her ambitious parents, hoping to marry her to Prince
|
---|
452 | Edward. </p>
|
---|
453 | <p>Katharine gave birth to a girl named Mary at Sudeley Castle in
|
---|
454 | Gloucestershire on 30 August.&nbsp; Jane Grey stood as godmother to the
|
---|
455 | infant, but the happy occasion took a quick turn for the worse.&nbsp;
|
---|
456 | Katharine Parr soon fell victim to puerperal sepsis, or 'childbed
|
---|
457 | fever', which had also killed Queen Jane Seymour.&nbsp; She suffered
|
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458 | painful delusions before sinking into calm, able to dictate her will
|
---|
459 | and final wishes.&nbsp; She died on 5 September, and Jane Grey acted as
|
---|
460 | chief mourner at the funeral.&nbsp; She was buried at Sudeley in St
|
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461 | Mary's Church.&nbsp; </p>
|
---|
462 | <p>Katharine's Parr life was always one of duty and kindness.&nbsp;
|
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463 | She left behind a formidable tradition of scholarship and religious
|
---|
464 | devotion, as evidenced by her own books.&nbsp; The great tragedy of her
|
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465 | life was that, when finally able to marry for love, her happiness was
|
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466 | all too brief. <br>
|
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467 | &nbsp; <br>
|
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468 | &nbsp; <br>
|
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469 | </p>
|
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470 | <blockquote>
|
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471 | <center>
|
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472 | <p><font size="-1"><a
|
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473 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fwives.html">to the Six
|
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474 | Wives main page</a></font> <br>
|
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475 | <font size="-1"><a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor.html">to
|
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476 | Tudor England</a></font></p>
|
---|
477 | <p><font size="-1">Susan E. James wrote <a
|
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478 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.amazon.com%2fexec%2fobidos%2ftg%2fdetail%2f-%2f1840146834%2fqid%3d1068483380%2fsr%3d1-1%2fref%3dsr%5f1%5f1%2f103-9144463-8095031%3fv%3dglance%26amp;s%3dbooks">
|
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479 | a wonderful biography</a> of Katharine in 1999.<br>
|
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480 | It includes extensive selections from her letters to Thomas Seymour.</font></p>
|
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481 | </center>
|
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482 | </blockquote>
|
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483 | </blockquote>
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484 |
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485 | <!-- text below generated by server. PLEASE REMOVE --><!-- Counter/Statistics data collection code --><script language="JavaScript" src="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fhostingprod.com%2fjs%5fsource%2fgeov2.js"></script><script language="javascript">geovisit();</script><noscript><img src="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;el=direct&amp;href=http://visit.webhosting.yahoo.com/visit.gif?us1108082571" alt="setstats" border="0" width="1" height="1"></noscript>
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487 | </Content>
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488 | </Section>
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489 | </Archive>
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