On 12th July 1543, in the Queen’s Closet of the Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace, King Henry VIII married his sixth and final wife, Catherine Parr, Lady Latimer.
The notorial attestation by Richard Watkins, the King’s prothonotary, can be found in Letters and Papers and gives details of the wedding, which was a small, private ceremony, including the names of guests and witnesses:
“Notarial instrument witnessing that, on 12 July 1543, 35 Hen. VIII., in an upper oratory called “the Quynes Pryevey closet” within the honor of Hampton Court, Westm. dioc., in presence of the noble and gentle persons named at the foot of this instrument and of me, Ric. Watkins, the King’s prothonotary, the King and lady Katharine Latymer alias Parr being met there for the purpose of solemnising matrimony between them, Stephen bp. of Winchester proclaimed in English (speech given in Latin) that they were met to join in marriage the said King and Lady Katharine, and if anyone knew any impediment thereto he should declare it. The licence for the marriage without publication of banns, sealed by Thos. abp. of Canterbury and dated 10 July 1543, being then brought in, and none opposing but all applauding the marriage, the said bp. of Winchester put the questions (recited) to which the King, hilari vultu, replied “Yea” and the lady Katharine also replied that it was her wish; and then the King taking her right hand, repeated after the Bishop the words, “I, Henry, take thee, Katharine, to my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death us depart, and thereto I plight thee my troth.” Then, releasing and again clasping hands, the lady Katharine likewise said “I, Katharine, take thee Henry to my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to be bonayr and buxome in bed and at board, till death us depart, and thereto I plight unto thee my troth.” The putting on of the wedding ring and proffer of gold and silver (described) followed; and the Bishop, after prayer, pronounced a benediction. The King then commanded the prothonotary to make a public instrument of the premises. Present : John lord Russell, K.G., keeper of the Privy Seal, Sir Ant. Browne, K.G., captain of the King’s pensioners, and Thos. Henage, Edw. Seymer, Hen. Knyvet, Ric. Long, Thos. Darcy, Edw. Beynton, and Thos. Speke, knights, and Ant. Denny and Wm. Herbert, esquires, also the ladies Mary and Elizabeth the King’s children, Margaret Douglas his niece, Katharine duchess of Suffolk, Anne countess of Hertford, and Joan lady Dudley, and Anne Herbert.”
As you can see, Henry VIII’s daughters, Mary and Elizabeth, were present.
The wedding was followed by a special wedding breakfast and a proclamation that Catherine was Queen. It was a marriage that was going to last until Henry’s death in January 1547.
- The Catherine Parr Bio page
- Catherine Parr – The Old Nursemaid?
- Catherine Parr in Danger, an article by Elizabeth Norton
- Last But Not Least: The Enduring Fascination of Catherine Parr, an article by Linda Porter
- Catherine Parr – The One Who Got Away
- The Death of Catherine Parr
- The Mystery of Mary Seymour Solved?
Also on this day in history…
- 1537 – Execution of Robert Aske, lawyer and rebel. He was hanged in chains outside Clifford’s Tower, the keep of York Castle. Aske was one of the leaders of the rebels in the 1536 northern uprising known as the Pilgrimage of Grace.
Notes and Sources
- LP xviii. i. 873
