Monarchy

Answer

Catherine Parr was the sixth, and last, wife of King Henry VIII of England.

She was born about the year 1512, the daughter of Sir Thomas Parr, a nobleman from Kendall in the North West of England, and his wife, Maud Green.

It had been thought Catherine Parr married the 2nd Baron Borough of Gainsborough, in 1529, when she was age seventeen, but the 2nd Baron died in August of 1528.[1][5] It is now generally accepted through recent research of documents and the will of Catherine Parr's mother by biographers Susan James and Linda Porter that she married the 2nd Baron's grandson, who shared his first name. Edward Borough was the eldest son of the 2nd Baron's eldest son, Sir Thomas Borough, who would become the Baron in 1529. In her will, dated May 1529, Maud Parr, mentioned Sir Thomas, father of Edward, saying 'I am 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.[5] Edward was in his twenties and may have been in poor health. The younger Edward died in the spring of 1533.

In 1534, she married John Neville, 3rd Baron Latymer of Snape Castle in North Yorkshire. He died in 1543, aged about 50.

On the death of John, Catherine was now a rich widow and began a relationship with Thomas Seymour, the brother of Henry VIII's third wife, Jane Seymour.

However when the King became interested in her, she felt she could not refuse his attentions and she married Henry VIII on 12th July 1543.

She took an active part in governing the country and the running of the Royal household and is thought to have had a strong influence on her step-daughter Elizabeth who later became Queen Elizabeth I.

She was a good stepmother to all of King Henry's Children - Lady Elizabeth, Lady Mary who became Queen Mary I, and Prince Edward who became King Edward VI. Henry had become estranged from his daughters Mary, daughter of Katherine of Aragon, and Elizabeth, daughter of Anne Boleyn, and Catherine Parr helped to reconcile Henry with his daughters and re-instate them into the line of succession.

For three months, from July to September 1544, Catherine was appointed regent by Henry as he went on his last, unsuccessful, campaign in France. Thanks to her uncle having been appointed as member of her regency council, and to the sympathies of fellow appointed councillors Thomas Cranmer (the Archbishop of Canterbury) and Lord Hertford, Catherine obtained effective control and was able to rule as she saw fit. She handled provision, finances and musters for Henry's French campaign, signed five Royal proclamations, and maintained constant contact with her lieutenant in the northern Marches, Lord Shrewsbury, over the complex and unstable situation with Scotland. It is thought that her actions as regent, together with her strength of character and noted dignity, and later religious convictions, greatly influenced her stepdaughter Lady Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth I).

Henry VIII died on 28th January 1547, leaving Catherine free to marry her first love Thomas Seymour who was now Baron Seymour of Sudeley.

Catherine became pregnant at the age of thirty-five and gave birth to a daughter, Mary Seymour, on 30th August 1548. Catherine had complications of the pregnancy and she died a few days later, on 5th September 1548.

Baron Seymour was executed for treason in 1549. Their daughter, Mary was sent to live with Catherine's close friend, the Dowager Duchess of Suffolk, Katherine Willoughby; there seems to be no record of her life beyond her second birthday and many historians believe she died while still a child.

Lieutenant governors represent Her Majesty the Queen of Canada.

(Note that at the outset of Confederation, Lieutenant Governors represent the Government of Canada through the Governor General. Constitutional developments have led to the evolution of the role of the Lieutenant Governor to be an outright representative of the Sovereign, not beholden to the advice of the federal viceroy or vicereign, or his or her federal ministers.)