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    <Metadata name="Content">Katharine Katherine Catherine Parr sixth wife of Henry VIII</Metadata>
    <Metadata name="Page_topic">Katharine Katherine Catherine Parr sixth wife of Henry VIII</Metadata>
    <Metadata name="Author">Marilee Mongello</Metadata>
    <Metadata name="Title">Katharine / Catherine / Katherine Parr: Biography, Portraits, Primary Sources</Metadata>
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    <Metadata name="URL">http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/parr.html</Metadata>
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    <Metadata name="dc.Subject">Tudor period|Monarchs</Metadata>
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    <Metadata name="lastmodified">1522032932</Metadata>
    <Metadata name="lastmodifieddate">20180326</Metadata>
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&lt;table border=&quot;0&quot; cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; width=&quot;100%&quot; height=&quot;588&quot;&gt;
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      &lt;td width=&quot;50%&quot; height=&quot;3&quot;&gt;
      &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'They curse and ban my words
everyday, and all their thoughts be set to do me harm....&amp;nbsp; I am so
vexed that I am utterly weary.' &lt;/font&gt; &lt;i&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font
 size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;
Katharine Parr in 1544, regarding Catholic attempts to discredit her&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
      &lt;/td&gt;
      &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;
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      &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;610&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;
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      &lt;td valign=&quot;top&quot; width=&quot;50%&quot; height=&quot;610&quot;&gt;
      &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
      &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt; 
      &lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/parrcardinal.gif&quot; alt=&quot;Katharine Parr&quot; width=&quot;355&quot; height=&quot;97&quot;&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
      &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt; 
      &lt;img height=&quot;324&quot;
 alt=&quot;miniature portrait of Katharine Parr by Lucas Horenbout&quot;
 src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/parrhorenbout.jpg&quot;
 width=&quot;324&quot;&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
      &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt; &lt;i&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;miniature portrait of Katharine Parr 
      by Lucas Horenbout&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
      &lt;p align=&quot;left&quot;&gt; &lt;b&gt;&lt;br&gt;Katharine Parr was the sixth and last
wife of King Henry VIII, destined to outlive the mercurial ruler.&amp;nbsp;
She was already twice-widowed and childless when they wed in 1543; she
was also in love with Thomas Seymour, the brother of Henry's third
queen Jane.&amp;nbsp; But the king's will was law and Katharine bowed to
his demands with grace.&amp;nbsp; She was an admirable wife to Henry and a
loving stepmother to his two youngest children, Elizabeth and
Edward.&amp;nbsp; She was also the most intellectual of Henry's wives,
caught up in the turbulent religious climate of the times.&amp;nbsp; And it
was this passionate interest in theology which nearly ended her life,
for the king was old and sickly but still capable of destroying those
closest to him.&amp;nbsp; Katharine saved herself and earned Henry's
respect enough to be appointed Regent of England during his military
campaign in Boulogne.&amp;nbsp; Upon his death in 1547, she married Seymour
with indecent haste, the only one of four husbands she had chosen
herself.&amp;nbsp; Her greatest achievement was the popularity of her
devotional works; they were 16th century bestsellers and capture
Katharine's complex and abiding piety.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
      &lt;blockquote&gt;
        &lt;p align=&quot;left&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;blockquote&gt;
          &lt;p&gt;&lt;a
 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fparr.html#Biography&quot;&gt; &lt;font
 size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;Read the biography of Katharine Parr.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
          &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;br&gt;
Primary Sources&lt;/b&gt; &lt;br&gt;
Read &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fletters.html&quot;&gt;letters
written by Katharine&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/blockquote&gt;
        &lt;blockquote&gt;
          &lt;p&gt;Visit &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.marileecody.com%2fimages.html&quot;&gt;Tudor
England: Images&lt;/a&gt; to view portraits of Katharine. &lt;/p&gt;
          &lt;p&gt;Test your knowledge of Katharine's life and times at &lt;a
 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2ftudor1.html&quot;&gt;Tudor Quizzes&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
          &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;br&gt;
          Interact&lt;br&gt;
          &lt;/b&gt; Meet other Six Wives enthusiasts at &lt;a
 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fladiesallfanlist.cjb.net&quot;&gt;Ladies All: A Fanlisting for
the Six Wives of Henry VIII&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br&gt;
          &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2ftudorhistory.org%2flists%2flist.html&quot;&gt; Tudor Talk
          &lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;This email discussion list is sponsored by
Tudorhistory.org.&lt;br&gt;
          &lt;a
 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fgroups.yahoo.com%2fgroup%2fReign%5fof%5fthe%5fTudors%5frpg&quot;&gt;Reign of
the Tudors&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; This is a role-playing game set in 16th century
England.&amp;nbsp; If you would like to 'play' Jane Grey or Anne Boleyn or
other Tudors, click the link to join.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
        &lt;/blockquote&gt;
      &lt;/blockquote&gt;
      &lt;/td&gt;
      &lt;td width=&quot;25%&quot; height=&quot;610&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;
      &lt;/td&gt;
    &lt;/tr&gt;
  &lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
  &lt;blockquote&gt;
    &lt;blockquote&gt;
      &lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
      &lt;p&gt;&lt;a name=&quot;Biography&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'Lord, hearken to my
words.&amp;nbsp; Consider the thought of mine heart.&amp;nbsp; Behold, how loud
I cry unto thee.&amp;nbsp; Let my just prayer enter into thine ears, which
unfeignedly cometh from mine heart.&amp;nbsp; Hear me, Lord, for I am poor
and destitute of man's help.&amp;nbsp; Take care for my soul.&amp;nbsp; Save
me, thy servant, which wholly trust in thee.&amp;nbsp; Have mercy upon me,
O Lord, for I will never cease crying to thee for help.'&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;font
 size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;a prayer written by Katharine Parr&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
      &lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Biography&lt;/b&gt; &lt;br&gt;
After the debacle of his fifth marriage to a girl thirty years his
junior, Henry VIII found himself in a novel position.&amp;nbsp; For the
first time in his tangled marital career, a future wife was not waiting
to be claimed.&amp;nbsp; The king turned fifty-one the year &lt;a
 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fhoward.html&quot;&gt;Catherine
Howard&lt;/a&gt; was executed; he was obese, often bedridden and in great
pain.&amp;nbsp; His moods grew dark and vengeful.&amp;nbsp; The Tudor court
vacillated between the opposing factions of Catholicism and the
reformed faith; they waited expectantly for Henry to choose his next
wife, knowing she would tip the balance in favor of one party.&amp;nbsp;
But which?&amp;nbsp; And was there a woman at court who would risk marrying
the elderly king? &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;The position of Queen was the greatest honor for an Englishwoman;
but in the last years of Henry's reign, it was also the most dangerous
honor.&amp;nbsp; After the humiliation of Catherine Howard's infidelity,
Henry was determined his next wife would not dare cuckold him.&amp;nbsp;
And so there was an interesting clause in the Act of Attainder which
had condemned Catherine to death.&amp;nbsp; It stated that 'to avoid doubts
for the future', anyone who knew anything 'incontinent' about the queen
must reveal it - or be condemned for treason.&amp;nbsp; And if the king
chose to marry a woman whom he 'took to be a pure and clean maid' and
she turned out to be otherwise, the charge of treason would apply to
both the woman and 'all who knew it and did not reveal it'.&amp;nbsp; In
other words, you must speak up - either before or after the royal
marriage - or die. &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;This new law was enough to frighten even the most seasoned
courtier.&amp;nbsp; Before, the chance to parade a young girl before the
king was a chance to make a family's fortune; now, it was merely a
chance to risk death.&amp;nbsp; For who could be completely certain of a
young woman's chastity?&amp;nbsp; Furthermore, who could trust the old
king's judgment on the matter?&amp;nbsp; Henry had declared he 'somewhat
suspected' the virginity of &lt;a
 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fcleves.html&quot;&gt;Anne of
Cleves&lt;/a&gt;, but he had believed Catherine Howard to be a virgin when
she was not.&amp;nbsp; If one was relying solely upon the king's word.....
What if a chaste young woman did marry Henry and he then mistakenly
declared she was 'incontinent'?&amp;nbsp; No one could impugn the word of
the king, nor escape his wrath. &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;Understandably enough, the mood at court was hesitant and
frightened.&amp;nbsp; And so when the king's eye turned favorably to one
Lady Latimer, thirty-one years old and twice-widowed, courtiers
breathed a sigh of relief and her family could safely encourage the
royal interest.&amp;nbsp; After all, a widow need not prove her nebulous
virginity to a credulous monarch. &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;Katharine Parr, Lady Latimer, had many other admirable qualities
which attracted the king.&amp;nbsp; She has the historical reputation of a
doting stepmother and devoted scholar, but she&lt;img height=&quot;381&quot;
 alt=&quot;portrait of Katharine Parr by William Scrots, c1546&quot;
 src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/parrbiography.jpg&quot; width=&quot;300&quot;
 border=&quot;2&quot; align=&quot;right&quot;&gt; was also a woman as dedicated to finery and
amusements as any of Henry's previous wives.&amp;nbsp; And though
twice-widowed, she was still twenty years younger than the king.&amp;nbsp;
She was tall, vivacious and witty, with a kindly and sensible
nature.&amp;nbsp; She was the daughter of Sir Thomas Parr of Kendal and
Maud Greene; Katharine was the eldest of three children, born probably
in 1512, followed the next year by her brother William and a year later
by her sister Anne.&amp;nbsp; Thomas and Maud were courtiers during the
early years of Henry VIII's reign.&amp;nbsp; Thomas was knighted at the
king's coronation in 1509 and Maud was a lady-in-waiting to his first
queen, &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2faragon.html&quot;&gt;Katharine
of Aragon&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp; But Thomas died unexpectedly in 1517, and
Katharine's mother dedicated herself to securing good marriages for her
children.&amp;nbsp; Katharine was raised in Northamptonshire in the
household of her uncle Sir William Parr.&amp;nbsp; Her education was good,
but not comprehensive.&amp;nbsp; Later in life, she would undertake the
difficult task of learning Greek and Latin; this was indicative of her
genuine love and respect for scholarship, particularly with regard to
women.&amp;nbsp; It was Katharine Parr who encouraged Elizabeth I's
education, thus creating the most learned monarch in English
history.&amp;nbsp; She also made John Cheke and Roger Ascham tutors to
young Prince Edward; the influence of these Cambridge 'reformers' upon
both Elizabeth and Edward was profound. &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;Katharine's first marriage was in 1529; her mother died two years
later.&amp;nbsp; Her first husband was young Edward Borough, son of a minor
lord in Lincolnshire.&amp;nbsp; The marriage was childless and Edward, who
had a history of lingering illness, died in 1532.&amp;nbsp; Katharine's
next husband, John Neville, Lord Latimer, was forty years old, twice
Katharine's age and with a son and daughter.&amp;nbsp; They wed in late
spring 1533; Katharine was his third wife.&amp;nbsp; Latimer was a wealthy
northern landowner and Katharine quickly adapted to her new lifestyle
as mistress of a large household.&amp;nbsp; She also became - at the young
age of twenty-one - the beloved stepmother of Latimer's daughter.&amp;nbsp;
The most trying time of their marriage was the infamous Pilgrimage of
Grace, which forced the conservative North against Henry VIII's
religious policies.&amp;nbsp; Poor Latimer was torn between the demands of
the rebels (who kidnapped him and, later, his wife and daughter) and
those of his angry king.&amp;nbsp; Called to London to explain himself,
Latimer was eventually cleared of complicity.&amp;nbsp; But his health was
broken from the stress and never recovered.&amp;nbsp; Katharine began to
spend more time in London, nursing her husband and visiting with her
younger sister Anne.&amp;nbsp; Anne Parr had married William Herbert, the
illegitimate grandson of the powerful earl of Pembroke, and was also a
lady-in-waiting to Henry VIII's fourth and fifth wives.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;Katharine was still a young woman, and this time at court opened
her eyes in many ways.&amp;nbsp; First, she was at last in the presence of
healthy, dynamic men her own age; unlike her invalid husbands, these
men were flirtatious and charming.&amp;nbsp; There was never a hint of
impropriety in Katharine's actions, and she continued to nurse the
ailing Lord Latimer with notable care and compassion.&amp;nbsp; But she
would have been less than human if she did not notice the contrast
between her life in northern England and the glittering, challenging
court of Henry VIII.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;She became increasingly interested in the theological debates of
the court, but she also enjoyed its less intellectual pleasures -
dancing, music, banquets, grand costumes.&amp;nbsp; When she became queen,
this love of clothes and jewels would be indulged on the grandest
scale.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;While Lord Latimer lingered on his deathbed throughout 1541 and
1542, Katharine realistically assessed her future.&amp;nbsp; She would soon
be a very wealthy widow, finally free to make her own choices and with
the youth to enjoy them.&amp;nbsp; Soon enough, she had fallen in love with
the charming Thomas Seymour, brother of the late Queen Jane and uncle
to Henry VIII's only male heir.&amp;nbsp; But she had also caught Henry
VIII's jaded eye.&amp;nbsp; His first gifts to Katharine were delivered on
16 February 1543, a year after Catherine Howard's execution.&amp;nbsp; On 2
March, her husband Lord Latimer at last passed away.&amp;nbsp; Katharine
looked to Seymour as her future husband, to a life of passionate
fulfillment rather than one of duty.&amp;nbsp; Seymour, meanwhile, took
note of the king's interest and wisely stepped back.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;And so Katharine Parr once again followed a dutiful course,
entering into a third marriage with an older, sickly husband.&amp;nbsp; But
though she followed her duty, it was not an easy choice.&amp;nbsp; She
wrote to Seymour, 'As truly as God is God, my mind was fully bent....
to marry you before any man I know.'&amp;nbsp; But the will of God was
different than her own, she continued, and after a great spiritual
struggle, she had no choice but obedience.&amp;nbsp; She and Seymour parted
with some promises for the future (after all, the king was ill and
failing) and their feelings undiminished.&amp;nbsp; The ascendancy of the
Parr family had now begun.&lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;Events moved quickly.&amp;nbsp; She and Henry were married by Stephen
Gardiner in the 'Queen's closet' at Hampton Court Palace on 12 July
1543, with all the royal children present.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt; The marriage was an immediate success.&amp;nbsp;
Katharine chose as her motto 'To be useful in all I do.'&amp;nbsp; And she
had a truly endearing personality, as proven by the genuine affection
which a variety of people felt for her.&amp;nbsp; To the king, she was the
perfect companion and nursemaid; to his children, she was a loving
stepmother.&amp;nbsp; As queen, she attracted those courtiers sympathetic
to the reformed faith.&amp;nbsp; Her rooms became famous for their
theological debates, a fact which soon incensed Stephen Gardiner and
other Catholics.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;When the king left for France on yet another expensive military
campaign in July 1544, Katharine - his 'most dearly and most entirely
beloved wife' - was made Regent of England.&amp;nbsp; The only other wife
accorded this honor had been Henry's first, Katharine of Aragon.&amp;nbsp;
Henry returned in October to find his affairs in good order. &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;Their marriage had its physical side as well.&amp;nbsp; Though
occasionally impotent, the king did consummate their marriage and
Katharine was fond of ordering black satin nightdresses.&amp;nbsp; She
would often sit with the king's sore leg in her lap, or in his lap
herself.&amp;nbsp; The king enjoyed her dancing and they both loved music;
they also exchanged rich gifts.&amp;nbsp; It was only when Katharine waded
into the complicated morass of Tudor theology that she roused Henry's
temper. &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;The king's religious beliefs remain confusing centuries later; one
can only sympathize with his contemporaries who had to guess at them
and hope for the best.&amp;nbsp; Raised a Catholic, Henry was forced to
repudiate the papacy in order to marry Anne Boleyn; for several years
afterwards, Protestants and Catholics alike were struck down by the
king.&amp;nbsp; To lean too far one way or the other risked certain
death.&amp;nbsp; As the king grew older, he came to appreciate the mess he
had created.&amp;nbsp; Where did he stand?&amp;nbsp; Was he an ally of the
Lutheran princes?&amp;nbsp; Or did he miss the faith of his youth?&amp;nbsp; It
is probable that even Henry did not know the answer.&amp;nbsp; But even if
he didn't know what he believed, he did know heresy when he heard it -
or so he thought.&amp;nbsp; Encouraged by Gardiner and other Catholic
councilors, he was soon persuaded that Katharine Parr was a heretic. &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;Katharine was coming dangerously attracted to evangelical
Protestantism.&amp;nbsp; Her companions were of a younger generation than
the king, having grown up in the decades following Martin Luther's
triumph in Germany.&amp;nbsp; Theology was no longer only the province of
churchmen; the laity - and women especially - could now question and
debate the most important issues for themselves.&amp;nbsp; As an
intelligent woman with a deep love of scholarship, this new faith
appealed to Katharine.&amp;nbsp; There was no room for her in Catholicism,
but she could be a guiding light for the reformers. &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;And so she was, attracting Mile Coverdale, John Parkhurst, Anthony
Cope and others.&amp;nbsp; She had also become close friends with Thomas
Cranmer, the archbishop of Canterbury, and Catherine Willoughby, the
duchess of Suffolk, another young wife of an elderly husband.&amp;nbsp;
Both she and Katharine used their youthful energy in defense of the new
faith. &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt; &lt;img height=&quot;343&quot; alt=&quot;Katharine Parr or Lady Jane Grey?&quot;
 src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/grey3.jpg&quot; width=&quot;170&quot;
 border=&quot;2&quot; align=&quot;left&quot;&gt;Perhaps the central belief of this new faith was the need for
everyone to personally study the Bible.&amp;nbsp; This was a truly
revolutionary idea; it also lessened the power of Henry VIII as Supreme
Head of the Church of England since it encouraged his subjects to think
for themselves.&amp;nbsp; Conservatives argued that reading the Bible only
encouraged heresy.&amp;nbsp; But as Katharine wrote angrily, 'Is it not
extreme wickedness to charge the holy sanctified word of God with the
offenses of man?&amp;nbsp; To allege the Scriptures to be perilous learning
because certain readers thereof fall into heresies?'&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;In May 1543, the king's council felt sufficiently alarmed by this
permissive climate to pass the Act for the Advancement of the True
Religion.&amp;nbsp; It was directed against the 'lower sort' who wished to
study the Bible in English, either alone or in public.&amp;nbsp; It was
later amended to allow noblewomen the right to read the Bible but they
must do so alone and not engage in religious debate.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;Katharine, however, seemed content to ignore this warning.&amp;nbsp;
The king was openly affectionate; foreign ambassadors wrote home in
praise of her kindness; her stepchildren loved her.&amp;nbsp; She was
secure in her position and unaware of any danger.&amp;nbsp; As patroness,
she favored the reformers and also sought to protect those who fell
from favor. &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;But in 1546, Baron Thomas Wriothesley was made Lord Chancellor; he
was a conservative especially interested in stamping out heresy.&amp;nbsp;
On 24 May 1546, the reformist Anne Askew was arrested and horribly
tortured.&amp;nbsp; She had ties to court, particularly to the duchess of
Suffolk.&amp;nbsp; But she refused to implicate the queen despite repeated
questioning; Wriothesley and his secretary Richard Rich were personally
involved in her torture.&amp;nbsp; On 16 July she was burnt at the stake
for heresy.&amp;nbsp; Only a few days before, the Privy Council had ordered
Katharine's estate books seized, presumably because she would soon be
arrested and her property confiscated.&amp;nbsp; This indicates that her
Catholic enemies felt confident the king would follow their lead in
disposing of his sixth wife, much as he had destroyed &lt;a
 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fcitizens%2fcromwell.html&quot;&gt;Thomas
Cromwell&lt;/a&gt; four years before.&amp;nbsp; And since the king possessed the
disturbing quality of acting well to those he was about to destroy, his
continued affection for Katharine did not worry them.&amp;nbsp; Katharine,
however, was still lulled into a feeling of safety.&amp;nbsp; In response
to Anne Askew's execution, she hurriedly threw out her most evangelical
books - but that was all. &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;Around this time, Henry VIII was in a more irritable mood than
usual.&amp;nbsp; His ulcerated leg had grown worse, as had the recurrent
headaches.&amp;nbsp; Katharine made the mistake of engaging the king in
theological discourse while he was physically unwell and under the
influence of his conservative courtiers.&amp;nbsp; It nearly cost her her
life. &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;Shortly after Anne Askew's execution, the royal couple were
sitting in their usual position - the king's sore leg resting upon his
wife's lap.&amp;nbsp; As she nursed him, Katharine began to lecture her
husband on religion.&amp;nbsp; The king was in no mood for what he
considered heresy, nor to be lectured by his wife.&amp;nbsp; It seemed
Katharine's enemies had won.&amp;nbsp; But then the old king threw all into
confusion, possibly on purpose.&amp;nbsp; He told his doctor, Thomas Wendy,
that Katharine was about to be arrested and soon enough an anonymous
courtier dropped a copy of the warrant outside Katharine's rooms.&amp;nbsp;
The queen was devastated and immediately in fear for her
life.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;Katharine went to the king's rooms and there he immediately began
to discuss religion with her, in particular contradicting many of her
reformist beliefs.&amp;nbsp; Recognizing the test, Katharine agreed with it
all, telling Henry that 'women by their first creation were made
subject to men' and that 'men out to instruct their wives, who would do
all their learning from them'.&amp;nbsp; The king was 'a prince of such
excellent learning and wisdom' that she would gladly follow his
counsel.&amp;nbsp; But this appeal to Henry's vanity was not enough.&amp;nbsp;
'You are become a doctor able to instruct us and not to be instructed
by us,' the king said, referring to her earlier lecture.&amp;nbsp; But
Katharine replied that he had 'much mistaken the freedom she had taken
to argue with him', for she had only done it to learn from him and
distract him from his illness.&amp;nbsp; 'And is it even so?' asked Henry,
with a smile. 'Then Kate, we are friends again.'&amp;nbsp; Katharine Parr
had escaped. &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;But no one had told the king's council.&amp;nbsp; When Wriothesley and
forty guards arrived to arrest Katharine the next day, the king himself
beat them about the heads and shoulders, calling them foul names.&amp;nbsp;
Katharine was thus saved in a most public and spectacular fashion, and
was soon gifted with more jewels and plate than before.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;Her appeal to Henry's vanity saved her life and it also allowed
the king to remind everyone who was the real master.&amp;nbsp; Wriothesley
had sought to recreate the destruction of &lt;a
 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fcitizens%2fwolsey.html&quot;&gt;Wolsey&lt;/a&gt;
and Cromwell, using the king's temper to destroy his personal
enemies.&amp;nbsp; But Henry VIII was of a mind to do otherwise.&amp;nbsp; He
had long lamented the loss of Cromwell and he disliked any manipulation
by his councilors.&amp;nbsp; By saving Katharine in such a public manner,
he forced his courtiers to recognize his omnipotence and mutability. &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;But he was not indestructible.&amp;nbsp; The king's health began a
decline in the spring of 1546 from which he only sporadically
recovered.&amp;nbsp; By the winter, he was dangerously ill.&amp;nbsp;
Katharine's own position gained new prominence since upon Henry's death
she would be the dowager queen.&amp;nbsp; She already had great influence
over her stepson &lt;a
 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fedward6.html&quot;&gt;Prince
Edward&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp; She continued to nurse Henry
assiduously, but was sent away to Greenwich Palace with Mary and
Elizabeth for Christmas celebrations.&amp;nbsp; She returned to London on
10 January but never saw the king again.&amp;nbsp; Henry VIII died in the
early morning hours of 28 January 1547. &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;After Henry's death, Thomas Seymour's elder brother Edward assumed
the title Protector of the Kingdom, ruling in the name of his nine year
old nephew.&amp;nbsp; Katharine, meanwhile, married Thomas with what others
(including her royal stepchildren) felt was indecent haste.&amp;nbsp; The
actual date is not known but Seymour referred to himself as her husband
in a letter of 17 May.&amp;nbsp; The wedding took place in the moonlit
gardens of Chelsea Manor.&amp;nbsp; Letters indicate that the ambitious
Seymour pressed for a quick union.&amp;nbsp; As a dowager queen, Katharine
was expected to behave perfectly; also, it was theoretically possible
she was pregnant by Henry VIII. &amp;nbsp;For once, the always dutiful
Katharine had acted impulsively. &amp;nbsp;She had given up Thomas Seymour
once and would not do so again. &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;For the new king's councilors, the marriage was a disaster.&amp;nbsp;
They recognized Seymour's ambition even as Katharine fell even more
deeply in love.&amp;nbsp; Edward Seymour's wife Anne Stanhope, now the
duchess of Somerset, engaged in a petty battle of precedence with
Katharine.&amp;nbsp; Also, there were arguments over Katharine's
possessions, particularly jewelry which Henry VIII had given her.&amp;nbsp;
Still, there was far happier news to distract her.&amp;nbsp; In late
November 1547, thirty-five years old and childless through three
previous marriages, Katharine Parr became pregnant. &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;However, her pregnancy was not the happy triumph she had
expected.&amp;nbsp; Her husband proved too forward with the young Princess
Elizabeth and Katharine was forced to send her step-daughter
away.&amp;nbsp; This breach hurt them both deeply.&amp;nbsp; The young &lt;a
 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fjanegrey.html&quot;&gt;Lady
Jane Grey&lt;/a&gt; remained with the household, however, for Seymour had
'bought' her from her ambitious parents, hoping to marry her to Prince
Edward. &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;Katharine gave birth to a girl named Mary at Sudeley Castle in
Gloucestershire on 30 August.&amp;nbsp; Jane Grey stood as godmother to the
infant, but the happy occasion took a quick turn for the worse.&amp;nbsp;
Katharine Parr soon fell victim to puerperal sepsis, or 'childbed
fever', which had also killed Queen Jane Seymour.&amp;nbsp; She suffered
painful delusions before sinking into calm, able to dictate her will
and final wishes.&amp;nbsp; She died on 5 September, and Jane Grey acted as
chief mourner at the funeral.&amp;nbsp; She was buried at Sudeley in St
Mary's Church.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;Katharine's Parr life was always one of duty and kindness.&amp;nbsp;
She left behind a formidable tradition of scholarship and religious
devotion, as evidenced by her own books.&amp;nbsp; The great tragedy of her
life was that, when finally able to marry for love, her happiness was
all too brief. &lt;br&gt;
&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;
&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;
  &lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;blockquote&gt;
    &lt;center&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;-1&quot;&gt;&lt;a
 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fwives.html&quot;&gt;to the Six
Wives main page&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt; &lt;br&gt;
    &lt;font size=&quot;-1&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor.html&quot;&gt;to
Tudor England&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;-1&quot;&gt;Susan E. James wrote &lt;a
 href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;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&quot;&gt;
a wonderful biography&lt;/a&gt; of Katharine in 1999.&lt;br&gt;
It includes extensive selections from her letters to Thomas Seymour.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;/center&gt;
  &lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;

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