Henry VIII Marries Katherine Parr

On this day in 1543, Henry VIII and Katherine Parr were married in a private ceremony, in the Queen’s Closet (a private chapel), above the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court.

According to Linda Porter, twenty guests crowded into a room that measured about 10 by 14 metres, including William Herbert; Edward Seymour, the earl of Hertford; Sir Thomas Darcy; Anne Herbert (Katherine’s sister); Jane Dudley, the duchess of Northumberland; Katherine Brandon, the duchess of Suffolk and Anne Seymour, wife of the earl of Hertford.

Margaret Douglas, the king’s niece and the king’s daughters, Mary and Elizabeth also witnessed the ceremony conducted by Stephen Gardiner, bishop of Winchester.

Once can only imagine what Mary and Elizabeth were thinking, as their father took the right hand of his sixth wife and ‘promised to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death us do part, and thereto I plight thee my troth.’

The urge to make some amendments is almost overwhelming – for better for worse, if you give me a son…

Not much is known about the celebrations that followed and so it’s assumed that, like the ceremony, it was a quiet, family affair.

Katherine was proclaimed queen of England later this same day, however there is no record of a public entry into London, and unlike Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn, there was no talk of a coronation.

So quietly and discreetly – without fanfare, Katherine Parr became Henry VIII’s sixth and final wife.