SIX Part 3: Katherine Howard and Catherine Parr
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| Original Broadway Cast Performing on Jimmy Fallon (2021) |
In the final part of this blog series, it’s now time to take a look into the lives of Katherine Howard, the “rose without a thorn”, and Catherine Parr, the one who survived. By now, for those reading these blogs, you’ve come to realize just how strange it is that these six wives have more in common besides marrying the same man. They’ve all grown through hardships and had connections that very few people would be aware of. With these last two queens, you’ll come to see how far back these connections go and how it affected their lives.
Katherine Howard, sometimes spelled as Catherine, is believed to have been around in 1524 and the first cousin to Henry VIII’s second wife, Anne Boleyn (Britannica, T.). As Anne’s own birthday has been a mystery, it’s unknown what the age difference is but Anne was most definitely older by almost 20 years. Sadly, Katherine would share the same fate as Anne at the age of 19, just 18 months into her marriage with Henry (Evans, E.). After the death of her mother, Katherine was sent to live with her step-grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk. While she was given a basic education, the Dowager Duchess put greater focus on household skills and Katherine’s skills as a dancer and musician.
At 13, Katherine was provided a musical tutor, Henry Manox, and the two seemingly began a relationship before the Dowager Duchess caught the two and forbade them from being alone together. Katherine then met Francis Dereham, her grandmother’s secretary, and had a sexual relationship with him. While Dereham was eager to make their marriage official, as they addressed each other as “husband” and “wife,” Katherine was unwilling to become a wife just yet, especially when Dereham gave her gifts such as wine and fruits. Out of jealousy, Manox reported it to the Dowager Duchess who ended their relationship (The History Press).
Now 17, Katherine’s uncle secured her a place at the palace where she became the lady-in-waiting to Anne of Cleves. There she met Thomas Culpeper, a cousin and gentleman of King Henry’s Privy Chamber. The two were rumored to be married but Henry fell in love with the young woman, spoiling her with gifts, love letters, and gave her family an increase of power and influence. The pair were married three weeks after his annulment to Anne and Katherine became the youngest queen Henry married at 17 while he was 49 (Evans, E.). Surprisingly, Anne and Katherine became close friends as Anne stayed in England for the remainder of her life and the two even shared a dance during Christmas (Historic Royal Palaces).
In her short time as Queen, Katherine struggled adjusting to her new responsibilities while also trying to prevent Henry from discovering her troubled past. As she was eight years younger than her new step-daughter, Mary, the two clashed on several occasions and out of anger, removed two of Mary’s attendants after feeling disrespected. As for the eight-year-old Elizabeth, also Katherine’s second cousin, the two got along well and acted more as playmates for the young girl. Not long after her marriage, she found herself drawn to Thomas once more and with the help of Jane Boleyn, the sister-in-law to her cousin Anne, they began an affair. Her former lover Francis returned and blackmailed Katherine in order to become her secretary or risk her new husband discovering her past and current affairs (Larson, R.). Rumors soon reached Henry and a trial began with Henry Manox, Francis Dereham, Jane Boleyn, and Thomas Culpeper arrested. For her previous and current sexual affair with her cousin, Katherine was charged with treason and sentence to behanding (Evans, E). Manox would be the only one to escape death as he and Katherine never had intercourse.
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| Portrait vs SIX adaption of Katherine Howard |
In 1543, just one year after Katherine Howard’s death, Henry remarried a twice widow, 30-year-old woman by the name of Catherine Parr, the Goddaughter of his first wife, Catherine of Aragon (Johnson, L.). Born in 1512, Catherine was born into a well-respected family and was said to be a descendent to King Edward III. Much like her Godmother, Catherine was academically inclined and went on to write and speak fluent Italian, Latin, French, and Spanish (Study.com.). Unlike Catherine of Aragon, she grew up witnessing Henry breaking away from the Catholic Church, turning Protestantism and became a Protestant herself (Stovall, J).
At the age of 17, she married Sir Edward Burgh, a Justice of the Peace who died just four years after marriage. Just one year later, she remarried John Neville, 3rd Baron Latimer, who provided Catherine with lands and wealth. Latimer was twice her age but the two were a well-matched couple and seemingly did love each other. With her new marriage, Catherine became the step-mother to Latimer’s young children from his previous marriage, the 14-year-old John and nine-year-old Margaret. Catherine was thrilled with her new family, going to great lengths to protect her family as evident when her family were held hostage by catholic rebels during the winter of 1537 unless she joined their cause (tudorqueen6).
In 1543, Catherine was once again a widow and soon rekindled her friendship with Catherine of Aragon's only child, Lady Mary, four years younger than herself. Although Mary was a Catholic and Catherine was a Protestant, the two remained good friends until Catherine’s death. Catherine met and fell in love with Thomas Seymour, the older brother to Jane Seymour, Henry’s third wife (Stovall, J.). Due to her mature and gentle nature, Henry, now becoming middle aged and sick, became fond of her and proposed. Seeing as he had beheaded two of his wives and she was still raising her step-daughter, Margaret, Catherine agreed. Thomas was appointed to a military position that kept him out of the country until Henry’s death (Mason, E.).
Catherine was quick to make a name for herself as Queen. She gave her step-daughter and step-son’s wife positions at the palace (Johnson, L.) Became first Queen of England and Ireland and first woman to ever publish a book under her own name and published three before her death, all of which were wildly popular (GeneratePress). She became involved with her new step-children education and was named regent in Henry’s absence. She was also instrumental in passing the Third Succession Act, restating Mary and Elizabeth back into the line of succession following their brother. She managed to escape arrest when she became a target of Catholic sympathies and Henry put a warrant for her arrest. Once she was warned by her allies, she went to her husband and apologized for any disagreements they had over religion, claiming she only participated in them for his own enjoyment. Her quick thinking saved her life as the warrant for her arrest was forgotten; the two spent the next three and a half years together until Henry’s death in 1547 at the age of 55 (Stovall, J.).
A widow for the third time at 35, Catherine witnessed her nine-year-old step-son become king before she retired to her home in Chelsea (GeneratePress). Elizabeth, now 14 years old, joined Catherine as she was essentially the only mother the teenager had come to know as her previous step-mothers, excluding Anne of Cleves, had all died when she was under the age of 10. The two were close but it did not change how furious Elizabeth and her siblings were when they discovered Catherine had remarried six months after Henry’s death to Thomas Seymour, who had returned once Henry passed. Unknown to Catherine, he had proposed to Elizabeth months prior. Despite this, Elizabeth remained with Catherine and the siblings all came to forgive Catherine, especially when she soon became pregnant for the first time in her life.
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| Portrait vs SIX adaption of Catherine Parr |
Catherine was in domestic bliss for a few months until she soon discovered her new husband going to Elizabeth’s bedroom in his nightshirt and joined her in bed, an experience that Mary believed scarred her sister and played a role in her vow to never marry (Johnson, L.). Heartbroken by the discovery, Catherine sent Elizabeth away as her due date approached. Letters between the two show Elizabeth understood why Catherine sent her away and was ultimately grateful. Tragically, the two never met again as Catherine gave birth to a girl, Mary, named after her step-daughter and close friend, only to die eight days after, just as her sister-in-law, Jane Seymour, had. There is no evidence of what happened to her daughter after her death or how Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward reacted but it was assumed they all mourned greatly, especially Elizabeth (Tudor Times)
When comparing these real-life women to their SIX’s counterparts, the audience misses so much information but gets enough to understand their pain and sadness. For Katherine Howard, going as Kate, she represents what too many young girls have gone through and has become one of the breakout characters of the show. Katherine was solely valued for her looks and preyed upon by much older men who took advantage of her with no one looking out to protect her. It’s what makes her solo more devastating as she screams and breaks down crying when she sings and the other queens are acting as the men who leave their mark on her body. For Catherine Parr, she has had enough of the fighting and getting the women to see the fight over who had it worse is ridiculous. When talking about her marriage to Henry, she explains how her story does not simply end with her marriage but was just a chapter in her life. She lists off her accomplishments that she completed without Henry but is heartbroken over the fact that she, and the women, are merely forgotten and overshadowed by Henry. Inspired by her words, the women come together and realize they are more than just Henry’s wife and don’t need his love to be validated. They close their show by rewriting their own stories and accomplishments and realize that their new found sisterhood is all they need. The real-life women never got to actually achieve this but it is inspired for these women, who have all been hurt in some way by the same man, to come together and no longer wish to be known as just some wife but rather as a Queen.
References
Anne of Cleves. Historic Royal Palaces. (n.d.).
Retrieved April 4, 2022, from
https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/history-and-stories/anne-of-
cleves/#gs.vr4iuf
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2022,
February 9). Catherine Howard. Encyclopedia
Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Catherine-Howard
Catherine Parr: Facts, Children &
Death. Study.com. (2013, October 29). Retrieved from
https://study.com/academy/lesson/catherine-parr-facts-children-death.html.
Evans, E. (2022, July 20). 11 Facts about Catherine
Howard. Retrieved April 8, 2022, from
GeneratePress. (2022, March 29). Catherine Parr
Facts and Information: 6th wife of Henry VIII.
History for Kids.
Retrieved April 8, 2022, from https://historyforkids.org/catherine-parr-
facts-and-information/
Johnson, L. (2021, February 3). 10 Facts about
Catherine Parr. History Hit. Retrieved April 8,
2022, from https://www.historyhit.com/facts-about-catherine-parr/
Katherine Howard: Vixen or Victim?
The History Press. (n.d.). Retrieved April 8, 2022, from
https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/katherine-howard-vixen-or-victim/
Katherine Parr: Step-mother (family
troubles). Tudor Times. (2014, October 20). Retrieved
April 8, 2022,
from https://tudortimes.co.uk/people/stepmother-to-the-nevilles/family-
troubles
Larson, R. (2016, July 31). The Manipulation of
Catherine Howard. Tudors Dynasty. Retrieved
April 8, 2022, from https://tudorsdynasty.com/the-manipulation-of-catherine-howard/
Mason, E. (2019, July 10). Katherine Parr: The
truth about the wife who 'survived'. Katherine
Parr: The Wife of Henry
VIII Who 'Survived'. Retrieved April 8, 2022, from
Stovall, J. (2022, March 5). Catherine Parr: The
first named published author in English who
was female. JPROFcom.
Retrieved April 8, 2022, from
https://www.jprof.com/2022/03/05/catherine-parr-the-first-named-published-author-in-
english-who-was-female/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=
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tudorqueen6. (2012, October 1). Step-Children of
Katherine Parr. tudorqueen6. Retrieved April
8, 2022, from https://tudorqueen6.com/tag/step-children-of-katherine-parr/
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