Written by Meg McGath

On 17 FEBRUARY 1544, Sir William Parr, Earl of Essex and Sir Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey dined with the Spanish envoy to Charles V of Spain, Don Juan Esteban, Manriquez de Lara, the Duke of Najera, at his Palace lodgings and afterwards they took the Duke to Westminster to introduce him to King Henry VIII who received him graciously.

Juan Esteban Manrique de Lara y Cardona, 3rd Duke of Najera (1504-1558) was a Spanish diplomat from the court of Charles V, King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor, who was cousin to Lady Mary.

On the occasion of the visit of the Duke of Najera, the Queen was called to entertain as the King was indisposed. The Queen and her ladies were dressed in different silks, with splendid headdresses. The Queen was sumptuously clothed and adorned by jewels. Kateryn was praised as having “a lively and pleasing appearance,” and for being “a virtuous woman.” (Armbruster) The Lady Mary, future Queen, was also there to entertain as well as Henry’s niece, Lady Margaret Douglas.

In Season 4 of “The Tudors”, we see the actress Joely Richardson as Queen Kateryn (Catherine) Parr along with Lady Mary played by Sarah Bolger. In the show, the Duke of Najera is sent to the court of King Henry VIII of England in London, and he is entertained by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. There is no mention of the Queen’s brother, William, the Earl of Essex, in the show. The Duke of Najera talks about seeing the Tower of London and the swans along the River Thames before being brought to meet with the King. He speaks of the marvels of the River Thames and the circus show that Surrey brought him to.

Later on he attends festivities at court led by Queen Kateryn and Lady Mary. The Queen introduces herself and Mary who speaks to the Duke in almost perfect Spanish, to his surprise, to which she responds, “Am I not my mother’s daughter?”.

He is introduced to the Queen and kisses her hand, and the Queen immediately introduces him to Princess Mary, who intends to reduce this handsome Iberian to dust with a charm and awe offensive. She starts, as she was reported actually historically doing, by giving the Duke the good old “English Gentlewoman’s Formal Hello”, an often surprising kiss right on the lips.

Before the poor, young, worldly general has time to recover, The Tudors‘ Mary follows it up with dropping into what (to my uneducated and unpractised ear) sounds like maybe not completely fluent but pretty good Spanish that gets more confident as she goes on. 

During the visit of the Duke of Najera, Kateryn is recorded historically as wearing her favorite colour, crimson — sadly, not the lovely shade of green shown in “The Tudors”! The color name “jade green” was first used in Spanish in the form “piedra de ijada” in 1569. The first recorded use of “jade green” as a color name in English was in 1892.

The song used in “The Tudors” scene where the Queen and Duke dance together is “Dansereye: Rondes I & VII”. The song was also used in the movie “Elizabeth” in 1998 during the scene where Robert Dudley proposes and there is attempt on the Queen’s life.

Sources

• “Catherine Parr: Henry VIII’s Last Love” by Susan James
• “A woman for many imperfections intolerable”: Anne Stanhope, the Seymour family, and the Tudor Court” by Caroline Elizabeth Armbruster
• “THE TUDORS RECAP – SEASON 4 EPISODE 7: SIXTH AND FINAL WIFE (PART 1” by Lara of the “Autocrat on a Sofa”

© 2025 Meg McGath. All research and original commentary belong to the author.