Henry VIII married Katherine Parr at Hampton Court Palace on 12 July 1543. The private ceremony took place in the Queen’s Closet. It was attended by members of the royal family, including Henry’s daughters Mary and Elizabeth.

Parr was Henry’s sixth wife. She was also a twice-widowed woman in her early thirties with experience of running households and managing property. Marriage to the king gave her political as well as domestic duties.

She formed close relationships with Henry’s three children and helped bring Mary and Elizabeth back into the royal household. Parliament restored both daughters to the succession in 1544, behind their younger half-brother Edward.

Henry travelled to France that year for another military campaign and appointed Parr as regent-general during his absence. She worked with a regency council, signed royal proclamations and dealt with finances, military supplies and the defence of the northern border.

Parr also became a published religious writer. She supported further reform of the English Church, placing her against conservative figures at court. Her religious discussions with Henry became dangerous when her opponents tried to present her views as heresy.

An arrest warrant was prepared in 1546. Parr learnt of the danger and reconciled with Henry. She told him that she had discussed religion to learn from him and to distract him from his illness. When officials later arrived intending to arrest her, Henry sent them away.

The marriage lasted for three and a half years. Henry died on 28 January 1547. Parr had served as regent, published under her own name and survived an attempt to remove her through a charge of heresy.