After a two month siege against Boulogne, Henry VIII entered the town in triumph on this day in 1544. He had personally travelled to France in July to oversee the siege in what was to be his final military campaign. Perhaps this procession into Boulogne reminded the sick and ageing king of the glory days of his youth – in 1513 when he was twenty-two years old he had besieged and captured the towns of Thérouanne and Tournai.

As he left England, Henry had named his wife Kateryn Parr as regent. This was an honour that had only been granted to one of Henry’s previous queens, Katherine of Aragon, who had to defend England when the Scots took advantage of the king's absence and invaded.

Katherine of Aragon was the daughter of two great royals – Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. But Kateryn Parr was an Englishwoman – a commoner queen. By naming her regent, even surrounded by advisors, it showed how much Henry trusted her. Kateryn did not end up having to deal with an invasion, but the situation in Scotland was still unstable and an issue she had to face as regent. She also took care of details for Henry’s campaign in France, such as the provisions and finances, as well as the day-to-day handling of court life. In her time as regent, Kateryn signed five royal proclamations.

Her regency is something I wrote about in The Taming of the Queen. I imagine the influence that seeing a woman rule, even temporarily, would have had on Henry’s daughters Mary and Elizabeth, both of whom were considered unsuitable for the throne based solely on their gender.

‘This is an extraordinary step to greatness for me. I feel the eyes of the two princesses on me when they learn the news. They will see a woman rule a country, they will see that it is possible. It is one thing to tell them that a woman is capable of judgement and holding power, it is another for them to see their stepmother, a woman of thirty-two years, actually running the kingdom. I fear that I cannot do it, and yet I know that I can.’

Images: Katherine Parr, attributed to Master John, c.1545, NPG 4451 © National Portrait Gallery, London. ‘Kateryn the Quene KP’ – Katheryn Parr’s signature, via Wikimedia Commons.