Catherine Parr - Early Life

Early Life

Catherine was born in 1512, probably in August, although the precise date is not known. She was the oldest surviving child of Sir Thomas Parr, Lord of the Manor of Kendal in Westmorland (now Cumbria), descendant of King Edward III, and the former Maud Green, daughter and co-heiress of Sir Thomas Green, Lord of Greens Norton, Northamptonshire. The Parrs were a substantial northern family which included many knighted members. She had a younger brother, William, later 1st Marquess of Northampton, and a sister, Anne, later Countess of Pembroke. Sir Thomas was Sheriff of Northamptonshire, Master of the Wards, and Comptroller to King Henry VIII. Sir Thomas Parr was also a close companion of King Henry VIII. Her mother, Lady Parr, was a close friend and attendant of Queen Catherine of Aragon. Catherine was presumably named after Queen Catherine, who was also her godmother.

Like the family of King Henry's second wife, the Boleyns, the Parr family had gone up in the world as a result of royal favour and successful marriages. Her father's ancestry was more distinguished than that of Thomas Boleyn and John Seymour and Catherine's lineage, unlike that of Henry's wife, Anne Boleyn, was better and more established at Court. Though not of the aristocracy at the time, the Parrs were in the service of the royal family, in the household of Catherine's ancestor, John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster. In 1383, Catherine’s great-great-great-grandfather, Sir William Parr (d.1405), married Elizabeth de Ros, daughter of Sir John de Ros and Katherine de Latimer, a daughter of Thomas, 1st Baron Latimer of Brayebrooke. Elizabeth was the granddaughter and heiress of Sir Thomas de Ros, Baron of Kendal and had livery of her inheritance. Their marriage alliance with the Ros (or Roos) family enhanced their standing. On the accession of the Duke of Lancaster as Henry IV of England, Sir William stood so high in the estimation of the new monarch that he was deputed with the bishop of St. Asaph to announce the revolution to the court of Spain. He died on 4 October 1405 being then seized of the fourth part of the manor of Kirby in Kendal, in right of the heiress of Ros and was succeeded by his eldest son, Sir John of Kendal (d.1408).

Catherine's grandfather, William, was part of King Edward IV's court. William held the office of comptroller of the household from 1471 to 1475 and again in 1481 till Edward's death in 1483. William was held in high favour with the King and was one of only two courtiers to become Knight of the Garter in the second reign of Edward IV. Sir William Parr could claim royal descent through King John of England, King William the Lion of Scotland, the Brus family from which came Robert the Bruce, and more. Most likely due to his position with the King, William was allowed to marry Edward's cousin, Elizabeth, daughter of Henry, 5th Lord FitzHugh of Ravensworth Castle and Lady Alice Neville. Alice was sister to "Warwick, the Kingmaker". Lady Alice's family, the Neville's, were already established at court being descendants of John of Gaunt's daughter Lady Joan Beaufort and her second husband, Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmoreland. Catherine Parr was the only wife of Henry VIII to descend from the Beaufort family. This connection made Catherine a fourth cousin through Henry's father and a second cousin once removed through his mother. Through Catherine's mother, Maud, she was also related to Henry by her ancestress Joan Wydville (or Woodville), sister of Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers, father of King Edward IV consort, Elizabeth Woodville. When the Duke of Gloucester became King in 1483, as Richard III, both Elizabeth and her mother Alice were appointed ladies-in-waiting to Alice's niece, queen consort Lady Anne Neville. The profession would span five generations down to Catherine's sister, Anne, who would serve all six of King Henry VIII's wives.

It was first thought that Catherine Parr was born at Kendal Castle in Westmorland, England. However, at the time of her birth, Kendal Castle was already in bad condition, and by 1572 it would be derelict. At the time of Maud Parr's pregnancy, she was at court attending the Queen, and by necessity the Parr family was living in their home at Blackfriars, London. Historians consider it unlikely that Catherine's father, Sir Thomas, would take his pregnant wife on an arduous two week journey north over execrable roads to give birth in a crumbling castle in which neither of them seemed to spend much time. Her father died when she was young and she was close to her mother as she grew up.

Catherine's initial education was similar to other well-born women, but she developed a passion for learning which would continue throughout her life. She was fluent in French, Latin, and Italian and began learning Spanish when she was Queen. According to David Starkey, Catherine was most likely better educated overall than Anne Boleyn. As a child, Catherine could not tolerate sewing and often ironically said to her mother "my hands are ordained to touch crowns and scepters, not spindles and needles".

Until recently, many sources stated that Catherine married the elderly Edward Burgh, 2nd Baron Burgh in 1529, at the age of seventeen. However since the release of Antonia Fraser The Wives of Henry VIII in 1994, and David Starkey's 2004 book on the six wives, Catherine's first husband has been identified as Sir Edward Borough. Some blame for this mistake could be attributed to 19th century historian Agnes Strickland's book on the wives of King Henry VIII. Research of documents (including Maud Parr's Will) conducted by Susan James and Linda Porter for their biographies on Catherine confirm that she married the 2nd Baron's grandson, also called Edward. Sir Edward Borough was the eldest son of the 2nd Baron's eldest son, Sir Thomas Borough, who would become the 1st Baron Burgh in December 1529 after his father was declared insane. In her will, dated May 1529, Maud Parr says she is 'indebted to Sir Thomas Borough, knight, for the marriage of my daughter'. At the time of his son's marriage, Thomas was thirty-five which would have made Edward around Catherine's age. Edward was in his twenties and may have been in poor health. He served as a feoffee for Thomas Kiddell and as a justice of the peace. His father, Sir Thomas, Anne Boleyn's chamberlain, also secured a joint patent in survivorship with his son for the office of steward of the manor of the soke of Kirton in Lindsey. The younger Sir Edward Borough died in the spring of 1533, never fulfilling the title of Lord (Baron) Borough.