Catherine Parr

* Current West End portrayal
* Current Broadway portrayal
* Historical

**Catherine Parr** was the sixth wife of Henry VIII and is known as the one who survived. Her solo in Six the Musical is *I Don't Need Your Love*, where she sings about having to leave her fiance to marry Henry.

## Appearance

### Main

Catherine usually wears her hair in a puffy sideways ponytail or bun, with a spiky crown worn low on her head. Her theme color is blue, and she wears a blue and black top with puffy sleeves and black pants with blue accents, making her the only queen to wear pants. Her shoes are black.

### Swing

When portrayed by a swing or alternate, Parr wears the costume of her respective actress with a spike crown and hair worn either down or to the side. They also wear pants when a swing costume is available with some.

### Historical

* *"of a lively and pleasing appearance and ... praised as a virtuous woman"*

## In History

Catherine was born sometime in 1512, to considerably wealthy parents. She grew up with a love for knowledge and began learning several languages. At 17, she married Sir Edward Burgh, and the two were married four years before Burgh died, leaving Catherine a widow for the first time. She possibly spent some time with Dowager Lady Strickland, before, in 1534, she married John Neville, her father's second cousin. John was threatened with violence by Catholic protesters who wanted him to support their efforts to reinstate the connection between England and Rome. He was dragged away by the rebels, and Catherine and her stepchildren lived alone for around seven months. In January of 1537, she and her stepchildren were held hostage in Yorkshire, and the rebels threatened to kill them if Catherine's husband didn't return soon. He managed to convince them to release his wife and children. For many years after, Catherine, John, and their children lived with tarnished reputation in the south, before moving to London in 1542. In 1543, John died.

Catherine became friends with Catherine of Aragon's daughter, Mary, earning herself a spot in Mary's household. King Henry VIII fell in love with her, and although she was romantically involved with Thomas Seymour, she felt it wise to accept Henry's marriage proposal over Thomas's, which she sings about in the musical in *I Don't Need Your Love*. She married Henry July 12, 1543, making her the queen of England *and* Ireland. July to September 1544, Henry went on a campaign to France, leaving Catherine as the ruler. She carried out many political and queenly duties, handling finances for Henry's campaign and signing royal decrees, among other things. Eventually some people tried to turn Henry against Catherine, suspicious that she was actually a Protestant Christian and not Catholic. Catherine managed to reconcile with the King, explaining she had only brought up her religion to distract him from other matters.

After Henry died, Catherine was still treated as the Queen, and moved to Old Manor in Chelsea. Thomas Seymour, her old lover, returned to court, and when he asked again to marry her, she was quick to accept. Because Henry had died so recently, Seymour believed the council wouldn't want Catherine to marry so soon, so the two married in secret. When the public found out about their marriage, there *was* a small controversy. In 1548, Catherine became pregnant, to everyone's surprise. However, Seymour took interest in Lady Elizabeth, and a one Katherine Ashley persuaded Elizabeth to return Seymour's pursuits, as she herself had a crush on Seymour and probably wanted to split him and Catherine up. August 30, 1548, Catherine gave birth to her daughter, Mary, but died due to childbirth complications. Thomas Seymour was arrested and killed for attempting to marry Elizabeth.

Even after death, Catherine was well-known for publishing books and empowering females in the country.

## In SIX

Catherine is portrayed as mature, caring, and a bit awkward, shown when she makes a joke no one really laughs at and is uncomfortable in the spotlight. When it is her turn to sing in the competition, she is hesitant and doesn't want to, claiming the contest to be unnecessary and that comparing them isn't good. She is pressured to sing, though, so she does, singing about how she had to leave Thomas Seymour to marry Henry, and how she doesn't want to be defined by her marriages. Her ideal happy ending in *Six* is starting a band with the other queens. She reprises *I Don't Need Your Love* in *Megasix*.

### Portrayal history

**Original Edinburgh and Cambridge production**

* Shimala de Silva

**Original Off-West End production**

* Izuka Hoyle

**West End productions**

* Maiya Quansah-Breed (First West End production)
* Danielle Steers (Second West End production)
* Meesha Turner (Third West End production)
* Roxanne Couch (Fourth West End production)

**UK tours**

* Maiya Quansah-Breed (First UK tour)
* Athena Collins (Second UK tour)
* Elèna Gyasi (Third UK tour)
* Alana Robinson (Fourth UK tour)

**Broadway productions**

* Anna Uzele (First Broadway production)
* Joy Woods (First Broadway production]]
* Brennyn Lark (First Broadway production)
* Taylor Jones (Second Broadway production)

**North American tours**

* Anna Uzele (First North American tour)
* Gabriella Carrillo (North American Aragon tour)
* Sydney Parra (North American Boleyn tour)

**Bliss Cruise productions**

* Viquichele Cross (First Bliss Cruise production)
* Megan Leung (Second Bliss Cruise production)
* Meghan Dawson (Third Bliss Cruise production)
* Aja Baitey (Fourth Bliss Cruise production)
* Jarynn Whitney (Fifth Bliss Cruise production)

**Breakaway Cruise productions**

* Amelia Walker (First and second Breakaway Cruise productions)
* Jarynn Whitney (Third Breakaway Cruise production)
* Elena Breschi (Fourth Breakaway Cruise production)

**Australia/New Zealand tours**

* Vidya Makan (First and second AUSNZ tours)

**South Korean productions**

* Yoo Ju-hye (First South Korean production)
* Hong Ji-hee (First South Korean production)
* Alana Robinson (First South Korean production)

## Trivia

* She was most married out of all of the six queens.
* In the musical, Catherine's "queenspirations" are Alicia Keys and Emeli Sandé.
* In an Instagram story, Toby Marlow stated that if Six were to be made into a movie, he would like either Beyoncé or Alicia Keys to play Catherine.
* Toby Marlow, the co-writer of Six the Musical, played Catherine once in an emergency cover, making her the only queen to ever be played by a male.
* She was Catherine of Aragon's goddaughter.
	+ She may have been named after her.