Anne Herbert
Anne Herbert (Parr), 15 June 1515–20 February 1552, Countess of Pembroke, Baroness Herbert of Cardiff, was the younger sister of Catherine Parr, Henry VIII’s last wife. She also holds the memorable distinction of being a lady in waiting to all six of Henry’s wives. Anne was the youngest surviving of the five children born to Sir Thomas Parr and his wife Maud Green. When Anne was only two, her father died of the sweating sickness, leaving their pregnant mother with the difficult task of raising her children alone and guarding their inheritance. Maud was a lady-in-waiting to Katherine of Aragon and a close confidante; she was also responsible for the Royal School, where Anne and other children of the court nobility were educated. The Parr children had been well educated, and Maud followed the approach of Sir Thomas Moore, educating boys and girls in the same way together. In 1528, when Anne would have been about 13, Maud brought her to court as maid-of-honour to Queen Catherine of Aragon...