THE POSSIBILITY

1545 THE SEVENTH WIFE?

While the evidence is slight and inconclusive, there are rumours that at one point Henry VIII became interested in making Catherine Willoughby his seventh wife. Willoughby was an English noblewoman born in 1519 and an outspoken supporter of the Reformation. However, Willoughby is said to have been just as driven by her staunch Protestant beliefs as Parr and so if this was considered a good enough reason to replace her, Willoughby may seem an odd choice. However Henry and Willoughby were certainly familiar, although Parr appears to have been good friends with her.

1553 EDWARD VI: THE LOST KING

Crowned at age nine, Edward VI ruled only until he was 15 when he died tragically. Given his young age, his reign was dominated by nobles seeking to strengthen their own positions in the court. However, he himself was fiercely Protestant (having been the first king raised as such) and so it was in this period that The Book Of Common Prayer was introduced. As he lay stricken with tuberculosis, he accepted Lady Jane Grey as his heir. If Edward had not died, it is impossible to say what the changes to the throne could have been.

1543-1547 PATRON OF THE ARTS

As well as being interested in the arts, Parr acted as patron to a number of key figures in the English Renaissance. As queen, she maintained her own companies of players and the playwright Nicholas Udall (author of Ralph Roister Doister) contributed works. During her reign, the acquisition of royal lands and manors doubled from what it had been in 1535. To this end, it is intriguing to wonder how the arts may have been impacted had she not been queen.