Katherine Parr, best remembered as King Henry VIII's final wife, was
one of the smartest and most intelligent women of the Tudor era.
Unfortunately, there is very little information on her early years.  As the
daughter of Sir Thomas Parr of Kendal, she was an extraordinary character
for her time.
        In 1526, Katherine, who was about fourteen at the time, married Lord
Borough of Gainsborough, who was about fifty years her senior.  Three years
later, she became a widow, and for the first time in her life she became
independent.  Wealthy ladies like 
Katherine were expected to marry again after they were widowed and in about
1533 she wed John Neville, Lord Latimer of Snape Hall, who was closer to her
own age.  
        Lord Latimer, a staunch Catholic, helped lead a religious rebellion
dubbed the "Pilgrimage of Grace".  Many of the orthodox Catholic rebellion
leaders were killed, but Lord Latimer was pardoned by King Henry VIII and
Lord and Lady Latimer returned to the King's favor following the uprising in
the north. 
        During this time, Katherine began an interest in Protestantism.
Theology was a favorite subject of hers, and religious differences were
beginning to plague the British Isles.  Luckily, she kept these views to
herself; ironically, years later, she would almost lose her life over these
leanings.
        In March of 1543, Lord Latimer died.  King Henry VIII began sending
fabulous gifts to the twice-widowed, but still young and vivacious
Katherine.  Though by far the wealthiest of Katherine's suitors, the King of
England had competition for Katherine's hand in marriage in the form of
Thomas Seymour, brother of the King's third wife, Jane.  Seymour was rich,
attractive, and very ambitious; King Henry VIII noticed Seymour's
attractions and sent him away as an obscure diplomat!
        Sadly, Katherine had no choice but to marry the King.  In this stage
in his life, Henry VIII was very sick, very old, and very fat.  If that did
not make him unappealing enough, his infamous temper and the lingering fact
that he had previously beheaded two wives would surely suppress anyone's
desire to marry him!  Henry VIII and Katherine were wed on July 12, 1543.
        Katherine was a quite unconventional queen.  She brought her
stepchildren to Court and became close friends with all of three: the
Princess Mary, who was close in age to Katherine, the Princess Elizabeth,
whose intellect nearly matched Katherine's, and Prince Edward, the fragile
heir to the throne.  She nursed the King's bad leg and he made a habit of
propping his feet up on Katherine's lap.  Last of all, she wrote two books
on theology and distracted Henry VIII from his many illnesses by her lively
intellectual discussions.  It seemed there was nothing she could not do, nor
anyone to stand in the Queen Katherine's way.
        In 1544, King Henry VIII went to war with France and made the wise,
diplomatic Queen Katherine his Regent.  This act showed he thought she was a
trustworthy consort, something many of his previous wives had lacked.
        Katherine's Protestant views were becoming well-known.  In 1546, the
fanactical Catholics, Thomas Wriothesely and Stephan Gardiner plotted to
undermine Katherine's position and influence on King Henry VIII, starting
with imprisoning several close friends, namely Anne Askew.
        Mistress Askew was racked and eventually burned at the stake.  The
martrydom of Katherine's confidante aided Stephan Gardiner in his quest to
bring down the new Protestant religion.  King Henry VIII began to tire of
his very intellectual wife and Garniner took the opportunity to draw up a
warrant for Katherine's arrest for heresy, which the King signed.
        Luckily, one of the Privy Council dropped the warrant and, as fate
would have it, a loyal servant of Katherine's picked it up.  As soon as the
Queen saw the arrest warrant, she fell ill and began to sob hysterically.
King Henry VIII became aware of her plight and sent his own personal
physician to tend to her.  The kind doctor advised Katherine to feign
innocence to the charges.  That very night, she went to visit the King and
begged for mercy.  King Henry VIII graciously accepted her apology and
Katherine was back in the King's favor.
        A few days later, Thomas Wriothesely, complete with armed guards,
arrived to arrest Queen Katherine while she was with the King.  Henry VIII
exploded with anger and ordered Wriothesely out of his sight.
        The famous Henry VIII had suffered from a bad leg and other ailments
for years and on January 28, 1547, he died. His son, Edward, ascended the
throne.  After four years of nursing and placating the irritable King,
Katherine was now a widow again.
        Katherine still had her eye on Thomas Seymour.  Two months after the
King's death, she married Seymour, now Lord Sudley.  The marriage was kept a
secret because Seymour's elder brother, Edward, was the Regent for their
nephew, King Edward VI.  Additionally, Seymour, before marrying Katherine,
had proposed to the young Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth I), who
had become a member of Katherine's household.
        The union was not a secret for long, for Katherine, at about age
thirty-five, became pregnant for the first time.  She was very content and
happy until she found her womanizing husband trying to seduce the 14
year-old  Princess Elizabeth.  She ordered Elizabeth away, and attempted to
reconcile with Thomas Seymour.
        On August 30, 1548, Katherine gave birth to a daughter, Mary.  It is
not known if Mary survived for there is no record of her life or her death.
Katherine, however, was depressed about her husband's marital fidelity, and
soon lost the will to live.  Katherine Parr died on September 8, 1548 and
she was mourned by not only her husband, but the entire royal household.

Submitted by Mary Alexander