Katherine Parr

  
          Many people know off all the scandals that King Henry VII caused during his reign. From his 6 wives, to their beheading, to this constant battle for a son, everything he did it considered fairly common knowledge to this time. But many people do not know about the scandals within his wives.While some wives wee accused of adultery and incest, evidence says now most of these accusations were for King Henry to have a reason for ridding the old wife and finding a new, younger "better" one. After doing some research on his wives, I found some risque acts involving King Henry's last wife, Katherine Parr. 
          Katherine Parr was born in 1512, thought the exact day of her birth is unknown. She was named after King Henrys first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Parrs mother, Maud Green, was along with Catherine of Aragon during the Kings courting process in his early reign. (King Henry's last wife was named after his first, which is kind of silly to me.) Prior to her marriage with King Henry VII, she was married 3 times before. At the age of 17 she married a man named Edward Borough, though he died some years after. Her second marriage was to John Neville, third Baron Latimer of Snape Castle in Yorkshire. She was 22 and he was 41. Neville died in 1543, leaving Katherine widowed once again, now at the age of 31. It was at this time that she was noticed by the King and a man named Thomas Seymour, who was the brother of King Henrys 3rd wife, Jane Seymour. Even though Katherine had expressed feelings to marry Thomas Seymour, she felt King Henrys request was an offer she could not refuse.  
          Katherine Parr and King Henry VII had a seemingly decent marriage. She was close to all three of her step children and helped in the education of the younger 2. King Henry fell ill and died in January of 1547. 
          Only a few short months after the death of the King, Katherine secretly married Thomas Seymour-the man she originally  was seeking interest in before her prior marriage. While there is no actual evidence that she had any type of affair with Seymour, one can imagine why they hastily married in secret. When their marriage arose to the public, it created a scandal during this time. 


Do you think Katherine Parr was unloyal to King Henry VII during their marriage?



Sources:
http://www.elizabethfiles.com/catherine-parr-and-thomas-seymour-part-one/3641/
http://tudorhistory.org/parr/