Anne Herbert, Countess of Pembroke

Anne Herbert, Countess of Pembroke, Baroness Herbert of Cardiff ( Parr; 15 June 1515 – 20 February 1552) was lady-in-waiting to each of Henry VIII's six wives. She was the younger sister of his sixth wife, Catherine Parr.

Early years Anne was born on 15 June 1515 to Sir Thomas Parr and Maud Green. She was the youngest surviving child of five, having an older sister Katherine and brother William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton. In 1517, when she was two years old, her father died of the sweating sickness leaving her mother a widow at twenty-five, pregnant, and with the grave responsibility of guarding the inheritance of the Parr children. Maud Green was a lady-in-waiting and confidant to Katherine of Aragon. She was also head of the Royal school at court where Anne was educated alongside her sister Catherine and other daughters of the nobility. They were taught by the brilliant Humanist scholar Joan Lluís Vives who was the principal tutor at the Royal school. Anne would have been taught French, Latin, philosophy, theology, and the Classics. Maud Green had already taught her children to read and write when they were small. Anne herself later said that her education at home was based on the approach used in the family of Sir Thomas More where boys and girls were educated together; as was the case with the Parrs until her brother left home in 1525 to join the household of Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset.

At court Sometime in 1528, Maud Green secured her 13-year-old daughter, Anne, a post at Court as maid-of-honour to Queen Katherine of Aragon. Anne was then made a ward of King Henry VIII. When Anne Boleyn was crowned queen in 1533, Anne Parr continued in the same capacity as maid-of-honour. She quickly succumbed to the spell of Queen Anne's charismatic personality and following the Queen's example, she became an ardent supporter of the New Faith. After Anne Boleyn's fall from power and subsequent execution, Anne remained at Court in the service of the new queen, Jane Seymour. Anne Parr served all of Henry VIII's queens from the mid-1530s, and is one of the few women to have been lady-in-waiting to all six. She was one of the few present at the baptism of Prince Edward on 15 October 1537 and was part of the funeral cortege of Jane Seymour.

Marriage

In February 1538, Anne married Sir William Herbert, Esquire of the King's Body. Herbert was the son of Sir Richard Herbert, the illegitimate son of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke. It is likely that Anne met her husband at court. It is not known whether or not the marriage was a love match, but both Anne and her sister Katherine had been attracted to dashing men of action who were slightly disreputable.

Anne died on 20 February 1552. At the time of her death, she was one of the ladies of the Lady Mary, the future Queen Mary I. William married as his second wife, Anne Talbot; however, the marriage produced no children. Through her sons, Anne has many descendants, including the present-day Earls of Pembroke, Montgomery, and Carnarvon. Lady Anne Herbert (1550–1592), married Francis, Lord Talbot, son of George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury. There is no known issue from this marriage. The Countess of Pembroke had owned a gold mounted zibellino described as a "sabelles heade" set with 21 diamonds and a ruby in its mouth, with four gold claws. Other jewels included a gold girdle set with pearls and counterfeited rubies and sapphires, a locket or "tablet" with a portrait of Philip II of Spain and his father Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, another tablet with the initial "P", and two "books of gold". A "unicorn bone sett in golde" with a turquoise, two rubies, and two diamonds, was a charm against poisoning.

Depictions in television and film Anne Parr (Lady Herbert) was depicted by Irish actress, Suzy Lawlor in the fourth and final season of The Tudors. In the programme she is a lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine Howard (Tamzin Merchant) and chief maid-of-honor to her sister, Queen Katherine Parr (Joely Richardson).