Sir Thomas Parr Sir Thomas Parr ( c . 1483 – 11 November 1517 ) was an English knight , courtier and Lord of the Manor of Kendal in Westmorland ( now Cumbria ) during the Tudor period . He is best known as the father of Catherine Parr , queen consort of England and the sixth and final wife of King Henry VIII . Life . Thomas was the son of William Parr , 1st Baron Parr of Kendal and the Hon . Elizabeth FitzHugh . He descended from King Edward III of England through his mother , Elizabeth . Thomas ' forebears were members of a rough - and - ready northern landed gentry clan , the Parrs of Kendal . They had been , after the crown , the most influential presence in southern Westmoreland since 1381 . His mother and grandmother before him were royal ladies - in - waiting , and this enabled Thomas to acquire a polished upbringing at the English court . According to biographer Susan James , the young Thomas most likely studied under Maurice Westbury of Oxford , learning ( among other things ) classical Greek and Latin as well as modern languages . Westbury had been installed as a teacher by Lady Margaret Beaufort at her estate of Colyweston . It was at Colyweston that certain gentlemen , including the son of the Earl of Westmoreland , not only received an education but also gained political connections that would prove useful in their future careers . Thomas ' father , the first Baron Parr of Kendal , had once been Lady Margaret Beaufort ' s revisionary heir to her substantial lands in Westmoreland , known as the Richmond fee . Thomas ' mother ' s family by her second marriage to Sir Nicholas Vaux ( later 1st Baron Vaux of Harrowden ) , were also close to Margaret , enjoying a long - term relationship with her . In adulthood , Thomas found the educative tools that he had acquired as a young man to be of considerable practical use , and he would emphasise this aspect of household management when the time came to educate his own children . Sir Thomas More ' s first wife , Jane , was a niece of Parr by marriage , thereby making More an in - law of his . Parr was fond of More — the future but ill - fated Lord Chancellor of the kingdom — and respected his intellect . He was also an advocate of the teachings of his erudite cousin , Sir Cuthbert Tunstall . These teachings embraced the discipline of mathematics , which Thomas ' daughter Catherine would put to good use in her later capacity as the lady of a succession of important households . Under the rule of King Henry VIII , the Parr family flourished . Their influence , income , and titles increased as Thomas ' career advanced . He became a Master of the Wards and was appointed Master of the Guards and Comptroller to the King . He was knighted and made High Sheriff of Northamptonshire in 1509 , and of Lincolnshire in 1510 . His wife , Maud , became a lady - in - waiting to Queen Catherine of Aragon . Shortly before the birth of their first surviving child , Catherine , the couple had bought a house in Blackfriars , London . Sir Thomas was popular with Henry and , as we have seen , served at court with Sir Thomas More . Although he was rich in land and money , Sir Thomas never attained the aristocratic title of baron . He did , however , hold messuages , lands , woods , and rents in Parr , Wigan , and Sutton , as well as the manor of Thurnham . Marriage . Thomas Parr married Maud Green ( 6 April 1495 – 1 December 1531 ) , daughter of Sir Thomas Green and Joan Fogge in 1508 . Before the birth of their most famous offspring , Catherine ( also spelled Katherine ) , Maud gave birth to a son . This occurred not long after Maud and Thomas ' marriage . Their happiness at the birth proved short lived as the baby soon died and his name remains unknown . After the birth of their third child , Anne , Maud fell pregnant again — in circa 1517 , the year of her husband ' s death . The child , however , either miscarried or was stillborn , or succumbed in very early infancy to an illness . Whatever the cause of the tragic loss , it may have been somewhat of a relief on a practical level as the baby had arrived at a difficult juncture in Maud ' s life , with her husband dying and she being appointed executrix of his estate . The surviving children of Sir Thomas and Maud were : Death . Sir Thomas fell seriously ill in November of 1517 . He had compiled a will which made provision for his wife and children . The two female children were to receive dowries while the bulk of the estate was to be inherited by his only male child , William . Because Sir Thomas died before any of his children were of age , Maud — together with Sir Cuthbert Tunstall , the children ' s uncle Sir William Parr , and a Dr . Melton — were made executors . Sir Thomas died in his home at Blackfriars , London , on 11 November 1517 . He was interred in St . Anne ' s Church , Blackfriars , within an elaborate tomb . His widow would be buried beside him in due course .