Kingless Progresses: Locating Authority in the Regencies of Katherine of Aragon and Katherine Parr

During Henry VIII’s French campaigns in 1513 and 1544 he appointed his wife, first Katherine of Aragon and later Katherine Parr, regent in his absence. Both queens were empowered to rule in the king’s stead, and both queens made use of their temporary powers. They issued orders, travelled between royal properties, and met with their councils. Yet, there has been little sustained comparison of the two regencies and where they have been compared, historians have sometimes anachronistically pitted the two queens against each other. This article uses the concept of “kingless progresses” to explore how both queens exercised monarchical authority through travel, governance, and performance in the king’s absence. Drawing together letters, state papers, financial accounts, and literary material, the article situates their regencies within the broader institutional framework of Tudor government and the gendered expectations of queenship. It argues that progress remained a tool of personal monarchy even in the king’s absence. By reconstructing their itineraries, the article reveals how each queen adapted the tools of queenship to distinct circumstances, and it reframes regency as an active extension of royal power.