William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton
William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton , KG (born August 14, 1513 either in Blackfriars , London or in Kendal , Westmorland ; † October 28, 1571 in Warwick , England ) was the son of Sir Thomas Parr and Maud Green. He was the brother of Catherine Parr , the sixth wife of King Henry VIII .
Life
William Parr was born on August 14, 1513, to Sir Thomas Parr, landlord of Kendal , and Maud Green, and had two sisters, Catherine and Anne .
He took part in the crackdown on the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1537 and became a Member of the House of Commons for Northamptonshire . In 1539 he was made Baron Parr , of Kendal, and rose to the House of Lords .
He had married on February 9, 1527 Anne Bourchier, 7th Baroness Bourchier , the daughter of Henry Bourchier, 2nd Earl of Essex († 1540). The marriage was annulled on April 17, 1543 by an Act of Parliament and the children (whom Anne presumably had from a lover) were declared bastards. Parr also received his ex-wife's lands. After his sister Catherine married King Henry VIII in July 1543, he arranged for his brother-in-law to give him the title of Earl of Essex on December 23, 1543 .
In April 1543 he was accepted as a Knight Companion in the Order of the Garter .
In his second marriage he married Elisabeth Brooke, daughter of George Brooke, 9th Baron Cobham . The marriage was declared valid in 1548, invalid in 1553, and validated again in 1558.
Through the position of his sister, William Parr also gained influence at court. As the step-uncle of King Edward VI. Parr was raised to Marquess of Northampton on February 16, 1547 and he was one of the most influential men at King Edward's court, especially during the time when John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland was in charge of government. When he tried after Edward's death to appoint Lady Jane Gray queen, Parr and his wife Elisabeth took his side. However, after Queen Maria I ascended the throne and had Jane imprisoned, Parr was ostracized by parliament on August 18, 1553 for high treason , lost all titles and lands and was sentenced to death. However, he was released in the fall, his titles and possessions were restored by Elizabeth I on January 13, 1559 .
After his second wife Elisabeth died childless in 1565, William Parr married just five months before his death Helena Snakenborg (1549-1635), a Swedish court lady of Elizabeth I. With his death on October 27, 1571 in Warwick, all his titles lapsed because he had no offspring. Parr was buried in St. Mary's Church in Warwick.
Literature and web links
- Northampton, Earls and Marquesses of . In: Encyclopaedia Britannica . Volume 19, London 1911, pp. 765 ff.
- William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton on thepeerage.com
Individual evidence
- ^ William Arthur Shaw: The Knights of England. Volume 1, Sherratt and Hughes, London 1906, p. 23.
- ^ William Parr, Marquess Northampton. In: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Accessed April 14, 2018 .
- ^ Warter - Warwick Bridge. A Topographical Dictionary of England. In: British History Online. Accessed April 14, 2018 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Parr, William, 1st Marquess of Northampton |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Parr, William, 1st Earl of Essex |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English nobleman |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 14, 1513 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | unsure: Blackfriars , London or Kendal , Westmorland |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 28, 1571 |
| Place of death | Warwick , England |