30/08/2025
477 years ago today, Sudeley Castle witnessed both joy and sorrow in the life of Queen Katherine Parr, Henry VIII’s last wife.
On 30th August 1548, Katherine gave birth to her long-awaited daughter, Mary Seymour, within the walls of Sudeley. It would have been a moment of immense happiness to finally have a child of her own, after serving as stepmother to Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I.
Unfortunately this joy was heartbreakingly short-lived. Within days, Katherine fell gravely ill with puerperal fever (childbed fever), a common but deadly infection in Tudor times. Despite the efforts of those around her, she passed away on 5th September 1548, just six days after Mary’s birth, at only 36 years old.
Katherine’s funeral at Sudeley Castle was the first Protestant funeral for an English Queen, and young Lady Jane Grey, who lived at Sudeley at the time, acted as chief mourner. Her tomb remains in St Mary’s Chapel, making Sudeley the only private castle in England to be the resting place of a Queen.
Less than a year after Katherine’s death, tragedy struck again as her husband, Thomas Seymour, was beheaded for treason, and their daughter Mary was left an orphan.
Though initially cared for by Katherine’s close circle, Mary’s story remains largely unknown. She never inherited Sudeley, and all records of her cease after 1550. Many historians believe she sadly died in infancy.
We celebrate Katherine Parr Week at Sudeley from 1st - 7th September, which is the perfect time to come along and learn more about one of England's most learned queen.
