Katherine Parr was the sixth wife of Henry VIII of England. Katherine was also his last wife, and nursed him in his declining health; Henry VIII died in on January 28, 1547. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/henryviii/whoswho/parr.html She was very close to all of Henry’s children and may have even helped bring about the Act of Succession in 1543, which restored Mary I and Elizabeth I to the line of succession by declaring them legitimate heirs. http://www.constitution.org/sech/sech_074.htm http://www.notablebiographies.com/supp/Supplement-Ca-Fi/Catharine-Parr-Queen-Consort-of-Henry-VIII-King.html http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/99718/Catherine-Parr She was a Protestant and published two books on prayer and meditation: Prayers and Meditations and Lamentation of a Sinner. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/henry-viii-the-mind-of-a-tyrant/articles/katherine-parr-1512-1548 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781444317213.ch18/summary;jsessionid=D9054ED009FA36C788CE719CDDEC3E60.d02t01?systemMessage=Due+to+scheduled+maintenance+access+to+the+Wiley+Online+Library+may+be+disrupted+as+follows%3A+Saturday%2C+2+October+-+New+York+0500+EDT+to+0700+EDT%3B+London+1000+BST+to+1200+BST%3B+Singapore+1700+SGT+to+1900+SGT.

Katherine was born around 1512; her father Sir Thomas Parr died of sweating sickness when Katherine was around five years of age. http://www.helium.com/items/1549202-biography-anne-parr At the age of 14 her marriage was arranged to Edward de Burgh, who was believed to be approximately 63 years old; her husband died two years later. http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/katherineparr.htm http://www.notablebiographies.com/supp/Supplement-Ca-Fi/Catharine-Parr-Queen-Consort-of-Henry-VIII-King.htmlShe then married John Neville, Lord Latimer. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/henryviii/whoswho/parr.html When Lord Latimer died in 1543, he bequeathed to Katherine a considerable fortune. http://www.notablebiographies.com/supp/Supplement-Ca-Fi/Catharine-Parr-Queen-Consort-of-Henry-VIII-King.html Katherine was received at court and engaged in a blossoming love affair with Sir Thomas Seymour, which ended when Seymour was dispatched to Brussels by Henry VIII. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/henry-viii-the-mind-of-a-tyrant/articles/katherine-parr-1512-1548 The King then asked for Katherine’s hand in marriage, and they were married on July 12, 1543 at Hampton Court in Surrey, England. http://www.royalist.info/execute/biog?person=212During their marriage, Katherine was charged with heresy for her Protestant beliefs, yet Henry would not allow charges to proceed against his Queen. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/henry-viii-the-mind-of-a-tyrant/articles/katherine-parr-1512-1548 http://www.nndb.com/people/606/000096318/

Henry died on January 28, 1547, and Edward VI claimed the English throne; Katherine thus departed from court. http://www.notablebiographies.com/supp/Supplement-Ca-Fi/Catharine-Parr-Queen-Consort-of-Henry-VIII-King.html Sir Thomas Seymour had returned from his absence and asked for Katherine’s hand in marriage; Katherine Parr and Thomas Seymour wed on March 3, 1547. http://www.notablebiographies.com/supp/Supplement-Ca-Fi/Catharine-Parr-Queen-Consort-of-Henry-VIII-King.html http://www.royalist.info/execute/biog?person=212 Both Lady Jane Grey and Lady Elizabeth stayed at Katherine’s manor house, studying under her tutelage. http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/katherineparr.htmKatherine was oblivious to a flirtatious relationship brewing between her husband and Lady Elizabeth. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/henry-viii-the-mind-of-a-tyrant/articles/katherine-parr-1512-1548http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/katherineparr.htm http://www.pbs.org/shakespeare/players/player21.html Katherine caught her husband and Elizabeth embracing, and Elizabeth was asked to leave. http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/katherineparr.htm http://www.history-timelines.org.uk/people-timelines/06-queen-elizabeth-i-timeline.htm

Katherine became pregnant and on August 30, 1548 she gave birth to a daughter; she named her daughter Mary, the namesake of Mary I, daughter of Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/sixwives/meet/cp_handbook_children.html http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/katherineparr.htm She died on September 7, 1548 from puerperal fever after childbirth. http://www.biographybase.com/biography/Parr_Catherine.htmlhttp://www.notablebiographies.com/supp/Supplement-Ca-Fi/Catharine-Parr-Queen-Consort-of-Henry-VIII-King.html