Podcast Fifteen - Catherine Parr

Catherine Parr, the sixth and last wife of Henry VIII, is popularly known as the wife who 'survived', but why did Henry choose her, and how did she feel about becoming his queen?

Although her story lacks the tragic romance of Anne Boleyn, the scandal of Catherine Howard, or the politics surrounding the life of Anne of Cleves, I hope to show that Catherine Parr was the cleverest of Henry VIII's six wives.

Historian Elizabeth Norton, in her book on Catherine Parr says, ‘the woman who would become the sixth and last queen of Henry VIII was born into a prominent, but not royal family, and during her childhood, Catherine can never have dreamt of the future that lay in store for her.’