annieb123's Review of The Mysterious Death of Katherine Parr

by June Woolerton

What killed Katherine Parr?

She was the ultimate Tudor survivor, the queen who managed to outwit and outlive Henry VIII. Yet just over eighteen months after his passing, Katherine Parr was dead. She had been one of the most powerful people in the country, even ruling England for her royal husband, yet she had died hundreds of miles from court and been quickly buried in a tiny chapel with few royal trappings. Her grave was lost for centuries only for her corpse to be mutilated after it was rediscovered during a tea party. The death of Katherine Parr is one of the strangest of any royals – and one of the most mysterious.

The final days of Henry VIII’s last queen included a faithless husband and rumours of a royal affair while the weeks after her funeral swirled with whispers of poison and murder. The Mysterious Death of Katherine Parr dives into the calamitous and tumultuous events leading up to the last hours of a once powerful queen and the bizarre happenings that followed her passing.

From the elaborate embalming of her body, that left it in a state of perfect preservation for almost three centuries despite a burial just yards from her place of death, to the still unexplained disappearance, without trace, of her baby, the many questions surrounding the death of Queen Katherine are examined in a new light.

This brand new book from royal author and historian June Woolerton brings together, for the first time, all the known accounts of the strange rediscovery of Katherine’s tomb and the even odder decision to leave it open to the elements and graverobbers for decades to ask – how did Katherine Parr really die?

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

The Mysterious Death of Katherine Parr is an engaging and layman accessible historical account of the death and aftermath of the last Queen of Henry VIII written by June Woolerton. Released 4th April 2024 by Pen & Sword on their History imprint, it's 224 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats. Due for release outside the UK 30th May 2024.

This is a very well written account of the mysteries and lack of documentation and records surrounding the late life, death, and burial of Queen Katherine Parr, the last queen of Henry VIII. The author has done an impressive job of collecting and presenting an astounding collection of snippets, historical talks, excerpts from letters, and extant records to reconstruct the later life of the queen.

Although it's a layman accessible text, and written in everyday language, it is meticulously annotated and the chapter notes are well written and provide another layer of detail and will provide the keen reader many hours of reference reading outside the main text. The author/publisher have also provided a number of facsimile documents and black and white photos and greyscale illustrations of the main characters (many of the known Holbein portraits are included, as well as the lands and gardens around Sudbury, and several B&W studies of the marble tomb figure erected in the 19th Century for the late queen by Queen Victoria when Queen Katherine's remains were moved to a new (more appropriate) location.

Five stars. Engaging and well written. It would be an excellent choice for public or school library acquisition, for gift giving, and for home library.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Reading updates

7 April, 2024: Started reading

7 April, 2024: Finished reading

7 April, 2024: Reviewed