Tudor History: Lives of Henry's Final Wives – Catherine Howard and Parr with Dr. Elizabeth Norton

Henry VIII married the teenager, Catherine Howard, in the summer of 1540, crediting his young bride with rejuvenating him. It was to be a brief marriage, however, with it discovered late the following year that the queen had not been a virgin at the time of her marriage and that she was probably involved in an adulterous affair.

In February 1542, Catherine Howard became to second of Henry’s wives to lose her head. Just over a year later, the king married Catherine Parr, a woman in her thirties who had been widowed twice before. Credited with bringing Henry’s daughters back into the royal family, Catherine Parr also played an important political role, serving as regent during the king’s absence in France. She was not, however, safe from the king, coming close to an arrest for heresy thanks to her staunch Protestant religious beliefs.

Led by Dr. Elizabeth Norton, a British historian and expert on the Tudor period, this conversation will consider the lives and queenship of Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr. We will look, in particular, at the facts of Catherine Howard's fall, as well as the important religious and political role played by Catherine Parr, who was England's first Protestant queen. Designed to inform curiosity as well as future travels, participants will come away with an increased understanding of life in Tudor England at the end of Henry VIII's reign, as well as the lives and motivations of his final two queens.

Dr Elizabeth Norton is a British historian, specialising in the Tudor period. She has degrees from both Oxford and Cambridge universities and King's College London. She is the author of twelve books, including 'The Hidden Lives of Tudor Women', 'The Temptation of Elizabeth Tudor' and biographies of four of Henry VIII's wives. She regularly appears as an expert on television.

This conversation is suitable for all ages.

90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.