Katherine Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk
Katherine Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk, ''
suo jure''
12th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby (
Willoughby; 22 March 1519 – 19 September 1580), was an English
noblewoman living at the courts of King
Henry VIII, King
Edward VI and Queen
Elizabeth I. She was the fourth wife of
Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, who acted as her legal guardian during his third marriage to Henry VIII's sister
Mary. Her second husband was
Richard Bertie, a member of her household. Following Charles Brandon's death in 1545, it was rumoured that King Henry had considered marrying Katherine as his seventh wife, while he was still married to his sixth wife,
Catherine Parr, who was Katherine's close friend.
An outspoken supporter of the
English Reformation, she fled abroad to
Wesel and later the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania during the reign of Queen
Mary I, to avoid persecution.
Provided by Wikipedia