Sir Edward Borough

Sir Edward Burgh
Justice of the Peace
Born	c. 1508
Died	b. April 1533 Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England
Buried	Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England
Spouse(s)	Catherine Parr (m. 1529–33; his death)
Father	Thomas Burgh, 1st Baron Burgh
Mother	Agnes Tyrwhitt

Sir Edward Burgh (pronounced as Borough) (d. before April 1533) was the eldest son and heir to Sir Thomas Burgh, 1st Baron Burgh and his wife Agnes Tyrwhit. He is known for being the first husband of Catherine Parr, later Queen consort to King Henry VIII. 18th-century historians have mistaken him for his grandfather, the elderly, Sir Edward Burgh, 2nd Baron Burgh of Gainsborough.

The Baron Boroughs of Gainsborough in Lincolnshire were an old and well-established gentry family. Sir Edward's great-grandfather, the 1st Baron had been an outstanding Yorkist in the reign of King Edward IV in the neighbourhood of fanatical Lancastrians. He was a tough-minded and hard-handed individual, who was given the Order of the Garter in 1496 by King Henry VII, proving his ability to change and adapt with the constant royal change. Sir Thomas' son, Sir Edward Borough, who in 1496 became the 2nd Baron in name only, was not so fortunate. In 1510, only a few years after succeeding to the barony, Sir Edward was declared a lunatic and was kept under restraint in his own home, Gainsborough Old Hall. After his incarceration, Sir Thomas, his eldest son, took over as head of the family. By August 1528, the 2nd Baron was dead.

For centuries, historians, such as Agnes Strickland, and antiquarians alike have confused the grandfather, Lord Borough, with the grandson, Sir Edward, throwing the Scrope-Parr marriage negotiations into the mix for good measure. The idea of twelve-year-old Catherine Parr being sent away to marry an aged lunatic was a wonderful story filled with drama – but nonetheless was a myth that can now be laid to rest.

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