(This image shows Catherine Parr as a younger woman, and was chosen because it is much more flattering than the later paintings done in her lifetime.)
Catherine Parr married King Henry VIII in 1543, the sixth
and final wife to receive such favor (Zophy 236). Already being widowed twice
before, left Catherine in a position to marry the old king, she cared for him
dutifully in the last years of his life (Zophy 236). As his last wife,
Catherine held a level of security the previous wives did not because he
already had a male heir, and was slowing with his age. She also functioned as
his personal nurse, which gave him a more happy last few years of his life,
instead of being surrounded by anonymous doctors and nurses.
Yet the most interesting thing she did focus on was her
attention to his children from previous marriages. She cared for them as her
own. Finally, Mary, Edward and Elizabeth received a sense of normalcy in their
newest mother. Instead of the revolving door of women in and out of their lives
she stayed, even after Henry’s death in 1547 (Zophy 236). One specific incident
that proves Catherine cared for the children concerned Elizabeth and the
predatory Thomas Seymour’s desire for power and influence (Zophy 237). It is
interesting because Thomas Seymour was already married to Catherine, yet he
apparently saw better prospects for power in attracting her young
step-daughter.
The fact that the children had so many different mother figures in their childhood must have been hard for them. It is really interesting to me that Catherine would have truly been in love with Henry to take care his kids that way.
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