5th September 2015
Today is the day that Kateryn Parr died 467 years ago in 1548 at just 36 years old, nineteen months after her third husband, Henry VIII. After Henry's death she had rapidly married Thomas Seymour, and their short marriage may have been loving and happy. It was certainly eventful – with quarrels between the couple and Thomas's brother the Lord Protector, the departure of the future Elizabeth I from their household after sexual play with Thomas, and Kateryn's first (to our knowledge) pregnancy. Kateryn and Thomas went to Sudeley Castle for her confinement, with Lady Jane Grey as chief attendant rather than Elizabeth. On 30th August Kateryn gave birth to a healthy daughter, naming her Mary after her eldest stepdaughter. All seemed to be going well, but Kateryn developed puerperal fever, the same complication which had killed Thomas's sister Queen Jane. She became disorientated, and was reported to have reproached Thomas for his behaviour. She made her will, leaving everything to her husband, and died six days after giving birth. Thomas Seymour outlived his wife by just six months – possibly unbalanced by her death, he became increasingly imprudent, and was executed for treason after supposedly trying to kidnap the king. Within a few years their daughter Mary, sadly, disappears from the records, presumably dying as a toddler.
Kateryn's new family may have ended in tragedy, but her legacy can be seen in the reigns of her Protestant stepchildren Edward VI and Elizabeth I. She was the first person to have a Protestant funeral service conducted entirely in English, an important turning point in the history of the Church of England to which she was so devoted.
Images: The Jersey portrait, believed to be of Queen Kateryn, and St Mary's Church at Sudeley Castle where she is buried (image from Sudeley Castle & Gardens)
