Queen Catherine Parr Woman Activist early 16th century

 

Queen Catherine Parr Woman Rights Activist

In England the very first battle to establish the rights of women was started by Catherine Parr the sixth wife of Henry VIII. Catherine Parr  (1512) (1548-09-08)was the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII and the final Queen consort of the House of Tudor. She married him on July 12, 1543 and outlived him by one year. She was also the most married English queen consort, she had four husbands. Henry VIII was her third husband.

Catherine's initial education was similar to other well-born women. She was fluent in French, Latin and Italian. She began to learn Spanish after becoming queen consort. Catherine was an ambitious woman and always aimed high, she felt that she was ordained to touch crowns and scepters. She developed a passion for learning which would continue throughout her life. She built a warm relationship with Henry's first wife or Queen Catherine of Aragon. Catherine also took the opportunity to renew her own friendship with the Queen's daughter, Lady Mary. By February 1543, Catherine had established herself as part of Mary's household. It was at this household that Catherine caught the attention of the King Henry VIII and accepted Henry’s marriage offer.

Catherine was well informed about Henry VIII’s attitude towards women. Catherine provoked the enmity of palace bureaucrats with her maturity and cunning. The officials despised her and they turned the King against her. They influenced the King to issue a warrant for her arrest and it was drawn up in 1545. However, she was able to use her strength of character, dignity and religious convictions to reconcile the enmity Henry VIII had felt towards her. The warrant was removed. This terrifying experience gave Catherine Parr the foresight to seek the protection of future Queens. Catherine built a close relationship with Henry's three children and was personally involved in the education of Elizabeth and Edward.

Knowing that a relationship was not sufficient protection for the royal women she sought to have a stronger form of security. She was influential in the forming of the Third Succession Act in 1542. The Third Succession Act was drafted to ensure that Mary and Elizabeth were in the line of succession to the English throne. Catherine influenced Henry VIII to approve The Third Succession Act and this he did. The Act was passed by the Parliament of England in July, 1543. The Act ensured that both Mary and Elizabeth were in the line of succession to the throne of England, behind their half-brother Edward. Mary and Elizabeth would no longer hold the title of queen consort but now the title queen regnant.

A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's social rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles, but historically, she does not share the king's political and military powers. However, a queen regnant is a queen in her own right with all the powers of a monarch. The regnant usually becomes queen by inheriting the throne upon the death of the previous monarch. Congratulations to a woman who followed her dream for the rights of women in a violent misogyny era.