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A castle celebrates the Queen’s 500th birthday
Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire is to celebrate the quincentenary of a remarkable English queen.
Katherine Parr was the last of Henry VIII’s six wives. Born in 1512, she married Henry in 1543 and after his death in 1547 she married Lord Seymour of Sudeley. She lived and died at Sudeley Castle, where she is buried in the chapel.
The 2012 Katherine Parr festival at Sudeley will centre round a Katherine Parr exhibition featuring items from the castle’s own collection and on loan from other national and historic collections. The exhibition will include a film about Katherine presented by historian and TV and radio presenter Dr David Starkey. The patron of the festival is HRH Duchess of Cornwall.
Special events during 2012 include The Pleasure of your Company afternoon teas with Lady Ashcombe and specially invited guests, family Tudor Fun Days, literary and historical talks and a Tudor themed banquet on 8 September. The following day there will be a re-enactment of Katherine Parr¹s funeral, following the original service and music.
Katherine Parr is considered to have been a remarkable Tudor woman: beautiful enough to marry the King of England; shrewd enough to remain his Queen despite court plots and an attempt on her life; and courageous enough to sustain the Protestant cause.
She was the first English Queen and the first 16th-century woman to publish a work of prose – her religious works Prayers and Meditations and Lamentations of a Sinner. She even served as Regent (ruler) of England during Henry’s invasion of France in 1544. Dr David Starkey says he is ‘pleased that she will finally get her due recognition as one of the most interesting figures in Tudor history’.
Sudeley Castle is now the home of Lord and Lady Ashcombe, Henry and Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst and their families. The castle is in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in the English Cotswolds.
The castle and grounds will be open daily 10.30am–5pm from 1 April to 28 October (closed 26 May). Current admission prices are £8.50 adults, £7.50 concessions, £5 children 5-15, £24 family ticket.
Sudeley Castle, Winchcombe, Gloucestershire GL54 5JD
Tel: +44 1242 602308
Website: www.sudeleycastle.co.uk
Facebook: Sudeley Castle
Twitter: @SudeleyCastle
Press contact: Alison Wood and Katie Blake
Tel: +44 020 7828 0118
Email: sudeleycastle@raincommunications.co.uk
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