 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
To Be Useful in All I Do
|
|
| Catherine's badge: Maiden rising from Tudor rose |
|
 |
|
he idea of Catherine Parr as queen was met with near universal approval among Henry's court. (It wouldn't last - see King vs. Queen.)
Praised for her "certain virtue, wisdom and gentleness," Catherine provided the closest thing to a stable family life that Henry's three children had known. She proved an effective nurse to Henry VIII, now weakened by oozing leg ulcers. (Catherine kept the king supplied with comfits, pastiles and suppositories, reportedly also advising him to wear reading glasses. ) She could dance and make merry or speak intelligently with visiting ambassadors and scholars. In all this, she played the traditional queen.
But Catherine did not forget her religious leanings. She secured the release of reformers imprisoned for their views. She placed leading Protestant thinkers in her own household and that of the heir, Prince Edward. She conducted Bible studies among her ladies-in-waiting and talked religion with the king.
Page II 
|
|
|
 |
 |
