William Parr, Marquess of Northampton, Earl of Essex, 1st Baron Parr, 1st Baron Hart (14 August 151328 October 1571), was the only brother of Queen

Katherine Parr Catherine Parr ( – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until Henry's death on 28 January 1547. Catherine was the final queen consort o ...

, the sixth and final wife of King

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

. He was a "sincere, plain, direct man, not crafty nor involved", whose "delight was music and poetry and his exercise war" who co-authored a treatise on

hare coursing Hare coursing is the pursuit of hares with greyhounds and other sighthounds, which chase the hare by sight, not by scent. In some countries, it is a legal, competitive activity in which dogs are tested on their ability to run, overtake and turn ...

. He was in favour with Henry VIII and his son

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...

, under whom he was the leader of the Protestant party, but having supported the desire of the latter to be succeeded by the Protestant

Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey (1536/1537 – 12 February 1554), also known as Lady Jane Dudley after her marriage, and nicknamed as the "Nine Days Queen", was an English noblewoman who was proclaimed Queen of England and Ireland on 10 July 1553 and reigned ...

, was attainted by Edward's Catholic half-sister, Queen

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous a ...

. He was restored by her Protestant half-sister, Queen

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

Origins

He was the only son and heir of the courtier

Sir Thomas Parr Sir Thomas Parr (1478 – 11 November 1517) of Kendal in Westmorland (now Cumbria), England, was a courtier and is best known as the father of Queen Catherine Parr, the sixth and final wife of King Henry VIII. Early life and family Thoma ...

(d. 1517) of

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness, England. It lies within the River Kent's dale, from which its name is derived, just outside the boundary of t ...

in Westmorland, by his wife

Maud Green Maud Green, Lady Parr (6 April 1490/92 – 1 December 1531) was an English courtier. She was the mother of Catherine Parr, the sixth wife of King Henry VIII of England. She was a close friend and lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon. She was ...

(d. 1531) a daughter and co-heiress of

Sir Thomas Green Sir Thomas Green (1461/2 – 9 November 1506) was a member of the English gentry who died in the Tower of London, where he had been imprisoned for treason. He is best known as the grandfather of Katherine Parr, last wife of King Henry VIII. Famil ...

of Boughton and

Greens Norton Greens Norton is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, just over north-west of Towcester. At the 2011 census the parish, including Caswell and Duncote, had a population of 1,526, a slight decrease since the 2001 censu ...

in Northamptonshire and his wife

Joan Fogge Joan (or Jane) Fogge, Lady Green (c.1469 – c.1490/94 bef. 1506) was an English noblewoman. She was the mother of Maud Green, and therefore the maternal grandmother of Katherine Parr the sixth wife of King Henry VIII of England. Birth and par ...

. His younger sister was Anne Parr (1515–1552) wife of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (c.1501–1570).

Career

His father died in 1517 when William was aged 4 and he became a

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

of King Henry VIII, from whom his mother re-purchased his marriage, at great expense. Parr took part in suppressing the rising in the North of England in 1537, when he attracted the favourable notice of

Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, (10 March 1473 – 25 August 1554) was an English politician and nobleman of the Tudor era. He was an uncle of two of the wives of King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, both of whom were beh ...

(uncle of both Queen

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...

and Queen

Katherine Howard Catherine Howard ( – 13 February 1542) was Queen of England from July 1540 until November 1541 as the fifth wife of King Henry VIII. She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper, a first cousin to Anne Boleyn (the second ...

), encouraging his uncle Sir William Parr (c.1483–1547) of Horton, Northamptonshire, to obtain a place for him as a courtier in the King's

Privy Chamber A privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber were noble-born servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King in private, as well as during various court activities, f ...

. After serving as a Member of Parliament for

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

he was created Baron Parr ("of Kendal") in 1539. On 23 April 1543, he became a Knight of the Garter. On 23 December 1543, just after his sister had married the king, he was created

Earl of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...

, a title held by his late father-in-law

Henry Bourchier, 2nd Earl of Essex Henry Bourchier, 2nd Earl of Essex, 6th Baron Bourchier, 3rd Count of Eu and 2nd Viscount Bourchier (died 13 March 1539) was an English soldier, peer and courtier at the courts of Henry VII of England, Henry VII and Henry VIII. He married Mary S ...

, who had died without male issue in March 1540. In 1544 he joined the Privy Council attending the first meeting on 5 February 1544. He was King

's "beloved uncle" (in fact step-uncle, being the brother of that king's step-mother) and one of the most important men at Edward's court, and the leader of the Protestant party, especially during the time of

John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland (1504Loades 2008 – 22 August 1553) was an English general, admiral, and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Jane ...

's time as leader of the government. Parr served as

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ov ...

in 1549 of five of the eastern counties (Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Norfolk), of Surrey in 1551, of Berkshire and Oxfordshire in 1552 and of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire in 1553. He served as

Lord Great Chamberlain The Lord Great Chamberlain of England is the sixth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Privy Seal but above the Lord High Constable of England, Lord High Constable. The office of Lo ...

from 1550 to 1553, in which role in 1551 he welcomed

Mary of Guise Mary of Guise (; 22 November 1515 – 11 June 1560), also called Mary of Lorraine, was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from 1538 until 1542, as the second wife of King James V. She was a French people, French noblewoman of the ...

, Regent of Scotland, to

Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...

on behalf of the King. Parr, and especially his wife, were leaders in the attempt to put the Protestant

(daughter-in-law of Northumberland) on the throne after Edward's death (as that king had desired) in place of the other contender his half-sister the Roman Catholic Queen Mary. However his attempt failed and after the accession of

in 1553 he was convicted of

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...

, was

attainted In English criminal law, attainder was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditary titles, but ...

and sentenced to death on 18 August 1553. However he was released within a few months and following the accession of the Protestant Queen

, his titles were restored in 1559. He became a Knight of the Garter again on 24 April 1559.

Marriages

He married thrice: *Firstly, on 9 February 1527 (aged 13) at the chapel of the manor of Stanstead in Essex, to Anne Bourchier, ''suo jure'' 7th Baroness Bourchier (d. 26 January 1571), only child and heiress of

(d. 1540). Parr's mother had expended great sums to arrange the marriage, as she noted in her will. In 1542, she eloped from him, stating that "she would live as she lusted". On 17 April 1543, their marriage was

annulled Annulment is a legal procedure within secular and religious legal systems for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almo ...

by an Act of Parliament and any of her children "born during esposels between Lord and Lady Parr" were declared bastards. Parr also obtained his ex-wife's lands and was he was created

on 23 December 1543. She predeceased Parr by only 9 months, having been awarded after her divorce a few of her father's former estates by Queen Mary. *Secondly, in 1548, he married Elisabeth Brooke (1526–1565), a daughter of George Brooke, 9th Baron Cobham of

Cobham Hall Cobham Hall is an English country house in the county of Kent, England. The grade I listed building is one of the largest and most important houses in Kent, re-built as an Elizabethan prodigy house by William Brooke, 10th Baron Cobham (1527� ...

in Kent, by his wife Anne Bray. Their marriage was declared valid in 1548, invalid in 1553, and valid again in 1558. *Thirdly, in May 1571 (five months before his death), he married

Helena Snakenborg Elin Ulfsdotter Snakenborg, Marchioness of Northampton, also known as Helena, and Helena the Red for her red hair, (1548/1549 – 10 April 1635) was a Swedish-born noblewoman, Maid of Honour of Queen Elizabeth I of England, and Marchiones ...

(d. 1635), First Lady of the Privy Chamber to Queen Elizabeth I, who had come to England from Sweden in 1565 in the train of Cecilia, Margravine of Baden. In 1580, she remarried to Sir

Thomas Gorges Sir Thomas Gorges (1536 – 30 March 1610) of Longford Castle in Wiltshire, was a courtier and Groom of the Chamber to Queen Elizabeth I. Via his great-grandmother Lady Anne Howard, a daughter of John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk, he was a ...

(1536–1610) of

Longford Castle Longford Castle is a Grade I listed country house on the banks of the River Avon south of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It is the seat of the Earl of Radnor and an example of the Elizabethan prodigy house. History In 1573 Thomas Gorges ...

in Wiltshire, by whom she had issue, and was buried with her husband in

Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Salisbury, England. The cathedral is regarded as one of the leading examples of Early English architecture, ...

, Wiltshire, where survives their impressive monument with recumbent effigies.

Death and burial

He died on 28 October 1571 at Warwick Priory, without issue, when his only surviving title of Marquess of Northampton became extinct. He was buried in the chancel of the Collegiate Church of St. Mary, Warwick.'Warter – Warwick-Bridge', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 475–482. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51379&strquery=william+parr Date. Retrieved 28 May 2011. Queen

paid for his funeral and burial. His surviving

ledger stone A ledger stone or ledgerstone is an inscribed stone slab usually laid into the floor of a church to commemorate or mark the place of the burial of an important deceased person. The term "ledger" derives from the Middle English words ''lygger'', '' ...

is inscribed: ''William Parr, Marquis of Northampton; Died in Warwick 28 October 1571. uriedwith the ceremonial due f aKnight of the Garter to the Order of Queen Elizabeth who bore the expense of the funeral, 2 December 1571.''

References

External links

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...