Katherine Parr was the sixth and last of the wives of Henry VIII, King of England and Lord of Ireland, and the only one, together with Anne of Cleves (the fourth wife), to survive him.

Born in 1512, Katherine is the daughter of Sir Thomas Parr (c. 1483-1517) lord of the manor of Kendal, Westmoreland: gentleman, courtier at the court of Henry VIII, his family dating back to the time of Edward III (1313-77).

Her father marries her at the age of fifteen to the aged Lord Borough of Gainsborough. Soon left a widow, she is then obliged to marry John Neville Lord Latimer of Snape Castle, Yorkshire. He is in frail health, she takes care of him until his death. From him she inherits a fortune.

Towards the end of 1542 Katherine, now Lady Latimer, meets Henry VIII at a court reception – in February of that year the fifth wife of the sovereign, Kathryn Howard, has been beheaded for high treason and adultery. Lady Latimer is not a young beauty like Kathryn, some lines around the eyes reveal that she is already over thirty, moreover she is small, and not slim. But she is elegant, earnest and highly cultured. The king, by now over fifty, is struck by her, asks to know who she is. And when he is rendered immobile by an aggravation to the old sore on his calf, he requests her company. The two pass whole days together: they talk, read books, make music, discuss theology, play at cards and dice, happily tricking each other. He loads her with gifts, she seeks to withdraw – she is in love with Thomas Seymour first Baron Sudeley, whom she will marry in five years’ time, after the sovereign’s death.

Eventually, when the king asks her to become his sixth wife she cannot but agree. Katherine and Henry marry in July 1543 at Hampton Court. It is a private ceremony, in the presence of few witnesses. At the prescribed words – "Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? Will you love her, comfort and honour her, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, and be faithful to her until death do you part?" – Henry responds for the sixth time "I do". In front of that altar, Katherine perhaps hesitates, but, as the King silently awaits her reply, in the end she answers: “I do”.

The newlyweds go to Windsor, for the hot season has not yet left: she fills the castle with flowers, with joie de vivre, takes an interest in the sick – the diseases of the time are numerous: dysentery, smallpox, leprosy, malaria: she has them treated at her own expense. With thoughtful tact she establishes a good relationship with the sovereign’s children: the young Edward VI, raised without the care of the mother who died in giving him birth; Mary, close to her in age – they become friends; the little Elizabeth, orphan of Anne Boleyn whom the king sent to the scaffold when the child was not yet three years of age.

In December, for Christmas, Elizabeth gives her as a gift her own translation of a text by Margherita of Navarre, in graceful handwriting, on parchment, bound in green cloth. The dedication is touching: "To the noble and virtuous Queen Katherine, Elizabeth, her humble daughter, wishes perpetual joy and happiness".

However, the peace of that period is soon disturbed by a squalid episode: at the death of Lord Chancellor Sir Thomas Audley, his place has been taken by Sir Thomas Wriothesley, first Earl of Southampton. Envious, devious, he is one of the few people who don’t like Katherine. Taking advantage of the king’s illness, while having him sign the order condemning the heretic Anne Askew to torture and the stake, whispers to him that his queen is reading heretical books that he himself has outlawed, and requests a warrant to search her rooms. Half asleep Henry signs, Wriothesley is exultant and intends to have Katherine arrested and taken to the Tower. But in a freezing, windy corridor of the palace the paper falls to the floor. Will Somers, the royal fool, retrieves it and hurries to the queen’s rooms. She reads it and has him return it to the corridor where it was found, so that Wriothesley suspects nothing. Then she bolts the entrance to her rooms, stirs up the fire in the hearth, into which her ladies throw compromising notes, letters and books, while Somers rakes the embers with a poker.

Afterwards she goes to the sovereign, tenderly wakes him – Henry remembers nothing of the document he has signed. Together they plan a walk for the following morning.

That next morning, as the two are walking in the palace gardens – he leaning on an ebony stick with an arm around her shoulders – a group of guards led by Wriothesley comes to meet them. The Chancellor orders the guards to arrest Katherine, by order of the king, he says. Henry, astounded, takes a look at the warrant, tears it into four and threatens that he will send Wriothelsey himself to the Tower.

This sordid episode serves as a warning to Katherine: there is something unpredictable in the king’s mind, she might become the next victim of his rages, and for the act of heresy the penalty is the stake.

The king’s condition worsened, on 3 December he makes his last will and testament. In the room, where there is an odour of illness – grains of incense burn on the brazier to hide the smell – Henry counsels his children and gives instructions regarding the succession.

Some days later he has a sudden seizure, Katherine holds her face close to his, catches his laborious words, their meaning, wipes away the tears that stream from his eyes. At two in the morning of 28 January 1547 the king dies, after fifty-five years of life, six wives, three legitimate offspring and almost thirty-eight years of rule.

Contrary to custom Katherine wishes to attend the funeral. And while the Archbishop of Canterbury censes the casket a sound is heard: the casket splits open, blood runs out, two black dogs rush to lick it up – as a woman had prophesied when she cursed him from the stake.

After the sovereign’s death Katherine leaves court and moves to Chelsea House, a magnificent country house with large windows and splendid gardens, a gift of Henry’s. She now enjoys an enviable situation: rich, respected, no further plots and intrigues against her. Thomas Seymour renews his courtship and the two marry in secret shortly after. For the first time, at her fourth marriage, Katherine is happy. And she is soon expecting a child. Her great joy is the Princess Elizabeth of whom she has become guardian, and who has come to live with her. But Sir Thomas Seymour takes liberties with the girl, becoming a threat. To protect her from further indiscretions she sends her on a long visit to Lady Jane Denny, Katherine Ashley’s sister and Elizabeth’s good governess from that moment on.

At the end of August 1548 Katherine gives birth to a baby girl, on 5 February she dies of puerperal fever. In her last hours she exhorts Archbishop Cranmer to care for her newborn, and for “her other children: Edward, Mary, Elizabeth.” She also entrusts him with a bundle to give to Elizabeth. It is the manuscript that the princess gave her for Christmas. Inside there is a sheet of paper, few words written in a feeble hand: “Thank you, Elizabeth. Thank you, my child”.


Translated by Colin Sowden.