Elisabeth Parr, Marchioness of Northampton - Arrival at Court

Arrival At Court

Elisabeth Brooke was around fourteen years old when she arrived at court as a maid-of-honour to Queen Catherine Howard. Her aunt and namesake, Elizabeth Brooke, was notorious as her husband, Sir Thomas Wyatt, had left her after he discovered her adultery. The day after Catherine Howard was condemned to death for adultery, the Imperial ambassador wrote that Henry was paying particular attention to the elder Elizabeth Brooke, and that 'she had wit enough to do as badly as the others if she wished.' She was thought to be a possible candidate for wife number six. Elisabeth’s father was George Brooke, 9th Baron Cobham of Kent.

Her lover, William Parr, had been a close friend of Henry VIII’s illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond and was well liked at court. He was a married man, but he had already had an affair with another Maid of Honour, her maternal aunt, Dorothy Bray, Baroness Chandos, that had been widely gossiped about at court. Parr was to become the love of Elisabeth’s life but by choosing him she wrecked her chances of a good marriage.

Elisabeth fell in love with William Parr around the time that the King chose William’s sister, Catherine, to be his sixth wife, and the relationship quickly became common knowledge. As he was now the brother-in-law of the King, he was a favoured person at court and so would have been a good catch for Elisabeth – if he was free to marry. His marriage had been a disaster from the start and while his wife got pregnant by a church prior and set up home with him in 1541, William happily spent his time in the arms of a succession of Maids of Honour. Elisabeth doesn’t seem to have cared that she could have attained a respectable marriage if she had played her cards right. She stayed with William for another six years before they went through a ceremony of marriage and she does not seem to have regretted choosing love over advancement. In the end, she achieved both.

It is unsurprising that Elisabeth seems to have pursued the attractive, witty and charismatic William Parr. He was the consummate courtier and friends with many of the leading lights at court. Henry called Parr ‘My Integrity’ – before he fell for Parr’s sister – as he could trust him to tell the truth even if it was not what the King wanted to hear.

Despite Henry’s four annulments (Henry annulled his marriages not only to Catherine of Aragon and Anne of Cleves, but also to Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard days before they were executed), divorce was still not possible for the average courtier. The affair became well known and Lord Cobham was ensuring that people kept a close watch on his wayward daughter. The last thing he needed was another major scandal in the family after the infamous behaviour of his sister. Perhaps because he hoped to find a suitable husband for her or because of who the queen was, Cobham did not remove his daughter permanently from court. Henry does not seem to have offered his brother-in-law any support in obtaining an annulment as he believed strongly that marriage was a bond that could not be broken – unless it was he who wanted to rid himself of an unwanted wife.

Note: During Henry VIII's reign a man could divorce a wife if she was found to be adulteress, as William Parr's first wife Anne Bourchier was found, and he did legally cast her aside; however, the law prevented him from remarrying again, which he was allowed in Edward VI's reign (it was revoked during Mary's reign and again reversed where his marriage was legal to Elisabeth Brooke in Elizabeth I's reign).