Katherine Howard
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Catherine Howard ( – 13 February 1542), also spelled Katheryn Howard, was Queen of England from 1540 until 1542 as the fifth wife of Henry VIII. She was the daughter of
Lord Edmund Howard Lord Edmund Howard ( – 19 March 1539) was the third son of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, and his first wife, Elizabeth Tilney. His sister, Elizabeth, was the mother of Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn, and he was the father of th ...
and Joyce Culpeper, a cousin to
Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...
(the second wife of Henry VIII), and the niece of
Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, (1473 – 25 August 1554) was a prominent English politician and nobleman of the Tudor era. He was an uncle of two of the wives of King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, both of whom were beheade ...
. Thomas Howard was a prominent politician at Henry's court, and he secured her a place in the household of Henry's fourth wife,
Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (german: Anna von Kleve; 1515 – 16 July 1557) was Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII. Not much is known about Anne before 1527, when she became betrothed to Francis, Duke o ...
, where she caught the King's interest. She married him on 28 July 1540 at
Oatlands Palace Oatlands Palace is a former Tudor and Stuart royal palace which took the place of the former manor of the village of Oatlands near Weybridge, Surrey. Little remains of the original building, so excavations of the palace took place in 1964 to ...
in Surrey, just 19 days after the annulment of his marriage to Anne. He was 49, and she was between 15 and 21 years old. Catherine was stripped of her title as queen in November 1541 and was unable to use the title in a public capacity, but she was still married to the king until she was beheaded three months later on the grounds of treason for committing adultery with her distant cousin
Thomas Culpeper Thomas Culpeper ( – 10 December 1541) was an English courtier and close friend of Henry VIII, and related to two of his queens, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. He is known to have had many private meetings with Catherine after her mar ...
.


Ancestry

Catherine had an aristocratic ancestry as a granddaughter of
Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk (144321 May 1524), styled Earl of Surrey from 1483 to 1485 and again from 1489 to 1514, was an English nobleman, soldier and statesman who served four monarchs. He was the eldest son of John Howard, 1st Du ...
(1443 – 1524), but her father,
Lord Edmund Howard Lord Edmund Howard ( – 19 March 1539) was the third son of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, and his first wife, Elizabeth Tilney. His sister, Elizabeth, was the mother of Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn, and he was the father of th ...
was not wealthy, being the third son of his father – under the rules of primogeniture, the eldest son inherited all of the father's estate. Catherine's mother, Joyce Culpeper already had five children from her first husband, Ralph Leigh ( – 1509) when she married Lord Edmund Howard, and they had another six together, Catherine being about her mother's tenth child. With little to sustain the family, her father often had to beg for the help of his more affluent relatives. Her father's sister, Elizabeth Howard, was the mother of
Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...
. Therefore, Catherine Howard was the first cousin of Anne Boleyn, and the first cousin once removed of Lady Elizabeth (later
Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...
), Anne's daughter by Henry VIII. She also was the second cousin of
Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne ...
, as her grandmother Elizabeth Tilney was the sister of Seymour's grandmother Anne Say. After Catherine's mother died in 1528, her father married two more times. In 1531, he was appointed Controller of Calais. He was dismissed from his post in 1539, and died in March 1539. Catherine was the third of Henry VIII's wives to have been a member of the English
nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...
or
gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest c ...
; Catherine of Aragon and
Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (german: Anna von Kleve; 1515 – 16 July 1557) was Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII. Not much is known about Anne before 1527, when she became betrothed to Francis, Duke o ...
were royalty from continental Europe.


Early life

Catherine was probably born in Lambeth in about 1524; the exact date of her birth is unknown. Soon after the death of her mother (in about 1528), Catherine was sent with some of her siblings to live in the care of her father's stepmother, Agnes Howard, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk. The Dowager Duchess managed large households at
Chesworth House Chesworth House is a former Tudor manor house, located a mile south of Horsham, West Sussex, England. The original Manor house became a farmhouse and has been extended several times. Part of the building is constructed of brick-clad timber fra ...
in Horsham, Sussex, and at Norfolk House in Lambeth where dozens of attendants, along with her many wards—usually the children of aristocratic but poor relatives—resided. While sending young children to be educated and trained in aristocratic households was common among European nobles at the time, supervision at both Chesworth House and Lambeth was apparently lax. The Dowager Duchess was often at Court and seems to have had little direct involvement in the upbringing of her wards and young female attendants. In the Dowager Duchess's household, Catherine became influenced by some older girls who allowed men into the sleeping areas at night. The girls stole food, wine, and gifts from the kitchens for these occasions. Catherine was not as well educated as some of Henry's other wives, although, on its own, her ability to read and write was impressive enough at the time. Her character has often been described as vivacious, giggly and brisk, but never scholarly or devout. She displayed great interest in her dance lessons, but would often be distracted during them and make jokes. She also had a nurturing side for animals, particularly dogs. In the Duchess's household at Horsham, in around 1536, Catherine began music lessons with two teachers, one of whom was Henry Mannox, and they began a relationship. Mannox's exact age at the time is unknown. It has recently been stated that he was in his late thirties, perhaps 36, but this is not supported by Catherine's biographers. Evidence exists that Mannox was not yet married, and it would have been highly unusual for someone from his background at the time to not be married by his mid-thirties. He married sometime in the late 1530s, perhaps in 1539, and there is also some evidence that he was the same age as two other men serving in the household, including his cousin Edward Waldegrave, who was in his late teens or early twenties between 1536 and 1538. This evidence indicates that Mannox too was in his early to mid-twenties in 1536. The details and dates of this relationship are debated between modern historians. The most popular theory, first put forward in 2004 by Retha M. Warnicke, was that the relationship between them was abusive, with Mannox grooming and preying on Catherine in 1536–38, and this is expanded upon in detail by Conor Byrne. Other biographers, like Gareth Russell, believe that Mannox's interactions with Catherine took place over a much shorter time, that Mannox was roughly the same age as her, but that "their relationship was nonetheless inappropriate, on several levels." He believes Catherine was increasingly repulsed by Mannox's pressure to have sex with him and was angered by his gossiping with servants about the details of what had gone on between them. Mannox and Catherine both confessed during her adultery inquisitions as the wife of King Henry that they had engaged in sexual contact, but not actual
coitus Sexual intercourse (or coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion and thrusting of the penis into the vagina for sexual pleasure or reproduction.Sexual intercourse most commonly means penile–vaginal penetr ...
. When questioned, Catherine was quoted as saying, "At the flattering and fair persuasions of Mannox, being but a young girl, I suffered him at sundry times to handle and touch the secret parts of my body, which neither became me with honesty to permit nor him to require." Catherine severed contact with Mannox in 1538, most likely in the spring. It is not true, as is sometimes stated, that this was because she began to spend more time at the Dowager Duchess's mansion in Lambeth, as Lambeth was Mannox's home parish and he also married here, perhaps in 1538 or 1539. He was still living in Lambeth in 1541. Shortly afterward, Catherine was pursued by Francis Dereham, a secretary of the Dowager Duchess. They allegedly became lovers, addressing each other as "husband" and "wife". Dereham also entrusted Catherine with various wifely duties, such as keeping his money when he was away on business. Many of Catherine's roommates among the Dowager Duchess's maids of honour and attendants knew of the relationship, which apparently ended in 1539, when the Dowager Duchess found out. Despite this, Catherine and Dereham may have parted with intentions to marry upon his return from
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, agreeing to a precontract of marriage. If indeed they exchanged vows before having sexual intercourse, they would have been considered married in the eyes of the Church.


Arrival at court

Catherine's uncle, the
Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...
, found her a place at Court in the household of the King's fourth wife,
Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (german: Anna von Kleve; 1515 – 16 July 1557) was Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII. Not much is known about Anne before 1527, when she became betrothed to Francis, Duke o ...
. As a young and attractive lady-in-waiting, Catherine quickly caught Henry's eye. The King had displayed little interest in Anne from the beginning, but
Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false char ...
failed to find a new match, and Norfolk saw an opportunity. The Howards may have sought to recreate the influence gained during
Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...
's reign as queen consort. According to Nicholas Sander, the religiously conservative
Howard family The House of Howard is an English noble house founded by John Howard, who was created Duke of Norfolk (third creation) by King Richard III of England in 1483. However, John was also the eldest grandson (although maternal) of the 1st Duke of the ...
may have seen Catherine as a figurehead for their fight by expressed determination to restore Roman Catholicism to England. Catholic Bishop Stephen Gardiner entertained the couple at
Winchester Palace Winchester Palace was a 12th-century palace which served as the London townhouse of the Bishops of Winchester. It was located in the parish of Southwark in Surrey, on the south bank of the River Thames (opposite the City of London) on what i ...
with "feastings". As the King's interest in Catherine grew, so did the house of Norfolk's influence. Her youth, prettiness and vivacity were captivating for the middle-aged sovereign, who claimed he had never known "the like to any woman". Within months of her arrival at court, Henry bestowed gifts of land and expensive cloth upon Catherine. Henry called her his 'very jewel of womanhood' (that he called her his 'rose without a thorn' is likely a myth). The French ambassador, Charles de Marillac, thought her "delightful". Holbein's portrait showed a young auburn-haired girl with a characteristically hooked Howard nose; Catherine was said to have a "gentle, earnest face."


Marriage

King Henry and Catherine were married by Bishop Bonner of London at
Oatlands Palace Oatlands Palace is a former Tudor and Stuart royal palace which took the place of the former manor of the village of Oatlands near Weybridge, Surrey. Little remains of the original building, so excavations of the palace took place in 1964 to ...
on 28 July 1540, the same day Cromwell was executed. She was a teenager and he was 49. Catherine adopted the French motto ''"Non autre volonté que la sienne"'', meaning "No other will but his". The marriage was made public on 8 August, and prayers were said in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace. Henry "indulged her every whim" thanks to her "caprice". Catherine was young, joyous and carefree. She was too young to take part in administrative matters of State. Nevertheless, every night Sir Thomas Heneage, Groom of the Stool, came to her chamber to report on the King's well-being. No plans were made for a coronation, yet she still travelled downriver in the royal barge into the
City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
to a gun salute and some acclamation. She was settled by jointure at Baynard Castle. Little changed at court, other than the arrival of many Howards. Every day she dressed with new clothes in the French fashion bedecked with precious jewels, decorated in gold around her sleeves. The Queen escaped plague-ridden London in August 1540 when on
progress Progress is the movement towards a refined, improved, or otherwise desired state. In the context of progressivism, it refers to the proposition that advancements in technology, science, and social organization have resulted, and by extension w ...
. The royal couple's entourage travelled on honeymoon through
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...
and Buckingham. The King embarked on a lavish spending spree to celebrate his marriage, with extensive refurbishments and developments at the Palace of Whitehall. This was followed by more expensive gifts for Christmas at Hampton Court Palace. That winter the King's bad moods deepened and grew more furious, caused in part by the pain from his ulcerous legs. He accused councillors of being "lying time-servers", and began to regret executing Cromwell. After a dark and depressed March, his mood lifted at Easter. Preparations were in place for any signs of a royal pregnancy, reported by Marillac on 15 April as "if it be found true, to have her crowned at
Whitsun Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian High Holy Day of Pentecost. It is the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the ...
tide."


Downfall

Catherine may have been involved during her marriage to the King with Henry's favourite male courtier,
Thomas Culpeper Thomas Culpeper ( – 10 December 1541) was an English courtier and close friend of Henry VIII, and related to two of his queens, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. He is known to have had many private meetings with Catherine after her mar ...
, a young man who "had succeeded imin the Queen's affections", according to Dereham's later testimony. She had considered marrying Culpeper during her time as a maid-of-honour to
Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (german: Anna von Kleve; 1515 – 16 July 1557) was Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII. Not much is known about Anne before 1527, when she became betrothed to Francis, Duke o ...
. Culpeper called Catherine "my little, sweet fool" in a love letter. It has been alleged that in Spring 1541 the pair were meeting secretly. Their meetings were allegedly arranged by one of Catherine's older ladies-in-waiting,
Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford (''née'' Jane Parker; c. 1505 – 13 February 1542), was an English noblewoman. Her husband, George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford, was the brother of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII. Jane had been ...
(Lady Rochford), the widow of Catherine's executed cousin, George Boleyn,
Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...
's brother. People who claimed to have witnessed her earlier sexual behaviour while she lived at Lambeth reportedly contacted her for favours in return for their silence, and some of these blackmailers may have been appointed to her royal household. John Lassels, a supporter of Cromwell, approached the Archbishop of Canterbury,
Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry ...
, telling him that his sister Mary refused to become a part of Queen Catherine's household, stating that she had witnessed the "light" ways of Queen Catherine while they were living together at Lambeth. Cranmer then interrogated Mary Lassels, who alleged that Catherine had had sexual relations while under the Duchess's care, before her relationship with the King. Cranmer immediately took up the case to topple his rivals, the Roman Catholic Norfolk family. Lady Rochford was interrogated and as she feared that she would be tortured, she agreed to talk. She told how she had watched for Catherine backstairs as Culpeper had made his escapes from the Queen's room. During the investigation a love letter written in the Queen's distinctive handwriting was found in Culpeper's chambers. This is the only letter of hers that has survived (other than her later "confession"). On
All Saints' Day All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are kn ...
, 1 November 1541, the King arranged to be found praying in the Chapel Royal. There he received a letter describing the allegations against Catherine. On 7 November 1541 Archbishop Cranmer led a delegation of councillors to
Winchester Palace Winchester Palace was a 12th-century palace which served as the London townhouse of the Bishops of Winchester. It was located in the parish of Southwark in Surrey, on the south bank of the River Thames (opposite the City of London) on what i ...
in Southwark, to question her. Even the staunch Cranmer found the teenaged Catherine's frantic, incoherent state pitiable, saying, "I found her in such lamentation and heaviness as I never saw no creature, so that it would have pitied any man's heart to have looked upon her." He ordered the guards to remove any objects that she might use to commit suicide.


Imprisonment and death

Establishing the existence of a precontract between Catherine and Dereham would have had the effect of terminating Catherine's marriage to Henry, but it would also have allowed Henry to annul their marriage and banish her from court to live in poverty and disgrace instead of executing her, though there is no indication that Henry would have chosen that alternative. Yet Catherine steadfastly denied any precontract, maintaining that Dereham had raped her. Catherine was stripped of her title as queen on 23 November 1541 and imprisoned in the new
Syon Abbey Syon Abbey , also called simply Syon, was a dual monastery of men and women of the Bridgettine Order, although it only ever had abbesses during its existence. It was founded in 1415 and stood, until its demolition in the 16th century, on the l ...
,
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
, formerly a convent, where she remained throughout the winter of 1541. She was obliged by a Privy Councillor to return the ring previously owned by Anne of Cleves, which the King had given her; it was a symbol of removal of her regal and lawful rights. The King would be at Hampton Court, but she would not see him again. Despite these actions, her marriage to Henry was never formally annulled. Culpeper and Dereham were arraigned at Guildhall on 1 December 1541 for
high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
. They were executed at
Tyburn Tyburn was a manor (estate) in the county of Middlesex, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone. The parish, probably therefore also the manor, was bounded by Roman roads to the west (modern Edgware Road) and south (modern O ...
on 10 December 1541, Culpeper being beheaded and Dereham being hanged, drawn and quartered. According to custom, their heads were placed on spikes on London Bridge. Many of Catherine's relatives were also detained in the Tower, tried, found guilty of concealing treason and sentenced to life imprisonment and forfeiture of goods. Her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk distanced himself from the scandal by retreating to
Kenninghall Kenninghall is a village and civil parish in Norfolk, England, with an area of and a population of 950 at the 2011 census. It falls within the local government district of Breckland. Home to the kings of East Anglia, after the Norman invasion ...
to write a letter of apology, laying all the blame on his niece and stepmother. His son
Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (1516/1517 – 19 January 1547), KG, was an English nobleman, politician and poet. He was one of the founders of English Renaissance poetry and was the last known person executed at the instance of King Henry VII ...
, a poet, remained a favourite of the King. Meanwhile, the King sank further into morbidity and indulged his appetite for food and women. Catherine remained in limbo until
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
introduced on 29 January 1542 a
bill of attainder A bill of attainder (also known as an act of attainder or writ of attainder or bill of penalties) is an act of a legislature declaring a person, or a group of people, guilty of some crime, and punishing them, often without a trial. As with attai ...
, which was passed on 7 February 1542. The
Royal Assent by Commission Act 1541 The Royal Assent by Commission Act 1541 (33 Hen 8 c 21) was an Act of the Parliament of England, passed in 1542, which attained Queen Catherine Howard for adultery, thereby authorising her execution. It also provided that all of Queen Catherine' ...
made it treason, and punishable by death, for a queen consort to fail to disclose her sexual history to the king within 20 days of their marriage, or to incite someone to commit adultery with her. This measure retroactively solved the matter of Catherine's supposed precontract and made her unequivocally guilty. No formal trial was held. When the Lords of the Council came for her she allegedly panicked and screamed as they manhandled her into the barge that would escort her to the Tower on Friday 10 February 1542, her flotilla passing under London Bridge where the heads of Culpeper and Dereham were impaled (and where they remained until 1546). Entering through the
Traitors' Gate The Traitors' Gate is an entrance through which many prisoners of the Tudors arrived at the Tower of London. The gate was built by Edward I, to provide a water gate entrance to the Tower, part of St. Thomas' Tower, which was designed to prov ...
she was led to her prison cell. The next day the bill of attainder received
Royal Assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...
and her execution was scheduled for 7:00 am on Monday 13 February 1542. Arrangements for the execution were supervised by Sir John Gage in his role as
Constable of the Tower The Constable of the Tower is the most senior appointment at the Tower of London. In the Middle Ages a constable was the person in charge of a castle when the owner—the king or a nobleman—was not in residence. The Constable of the Tower had a ...
. The night before her execution Catherine is believed to have spent many hours practising how to lay her head upon the block, which had been brought to her at her request. She died with relative composure but looked pale and terrified; she required assistance to climb the
scaffold Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all other man-made structures. Scaffolds are widely used ...
. According to popular folklore her
last words Last words are the final utterances before death. The meaning is sometimes expanded to somewhat earlier utterances. Last words of famous or infamous people are sometimes recorded (although not always accurately) which became a historical and liter ...
were, "I die a Queen, but I would rather have died the wife of Culpeper", but no eyewitness accounts support this, instead reporting that she stuck to traditional final words, asking for forgiveness for her sins and acknowledging that she deserved to die "a thousand deaths" for betraying the king, who had always treated her so graciously. She described her punishment as "worthy and just" and asked for mercy for her family and prayers for her soul. This was typical of the speeches given by people executed during that period, most likely in an effort to protect their families, since the condemned's last words would be relayed to the King. Catherine was then beheaded with the executioner's axe. Francis I, when told by
Sir William Paget William Paget, 1st Baron Paget of Beaudesert (15069 June 1563), was an English statesman and accountant who held prominent positions in the service of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I. Early life He was the son of John Pachett or Paget, ...
how the queen had "wonderfully abused the king", he laid his hand on his heart and announced by his faith as a gentleman that "She hath done wonderous naughtly". Upon hearing news of Catherine's execution King Francis wrote a letter to Henry regretting the "lewd and naughty vilbehaviour of the Queen" and advising him that "the lightness of women cannot bend the honour of men". Lady Rochford was executed immediately thereafter on Tower Green. Both bodies were buried in an unmarked grave in the nearby chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula, where the bodies of Catherine's cousins
Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
and George Boleyn also lay. Other cousins were also in the crowd, including the Earl of Surrey. King Henry did not attend. Catherine's body was not one of those identified during restorations of the chapel during
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
's reign. She is commemorated on a plaque on the west wall dedicated to all those who died in the Tower.


Historiography

Catherine has been the subject of contention for modern biographies, ''A Tudor Tragedy'' by Lacey Baldwin Smith (1967), ''Katherine Howard: A Tudor Conspiracy'' by Joanna Denny (2006), ''Katherine Howard: Henry VIII's Slandered Queen'' by Conor Byrne (2019), and ''Young and Damned and Fair'' by Gareth Russell (2017). Each is more or less sympathetic, though they disagree on various important points involving Catherine's motivations, date of birth and overall character. Her life has also been described in the five collective studies of Henry's queens that have appeared since the publication of
Alison Weir Alison Weir ( Matthews; born 1951) is a British author and public historian. She primarily writes about the history of English royal women and families, in the form of biographies that explore their historical setting. She has also written nu ...
's '' The Six Wives of Henry VIII'' (1991)—such as
David Starkey David Robert Starkey (born 3 January 1945) is an English historian and radio and television presenter, with views that he describes as conservative. The only child of Quaker parents, he attended Kendal Grammar School before studying at Cambr ...
's ''The Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII'' (2003). Several of these writers have been highly critical of Catherine's conduct, if sympathetic to her eventual fate. Baldwin Smith described Catherine's life as one of hedonism and characterized her as a "
juvenile delinquent Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior as a minor or individual younger than the statutory age of majority. In the United States of America, a juvenile delinquent is a person ...
", as did Francis Hackett in his 1929 biography of Henry. Weir had much the same judgement, describing her as an "empty-headed wanton". Other writers, especially those studying historical trends larger than Catherine's life, have been much more critical towards her. In his book ''Tudor Queens of England'', which profiles 14 consorts and sovereigns,
David Loades David Michael Loades (19 January 1934 – 21 April 2016)Debretts.com
described Catherine as a "stupid and oversexed adolescent" who "certainly behaved like a whore", and wrote that her denial of a precontract was "a measure of her stupidity"; however, he also said that she died when she was "just 20 years old, a mere child". In her book ''Elizabeth's Women'', profiling the rise of
Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...
(Catherine's stepdaughter), Tracy Borman wrote that Catherine was "as much a sexual predator as rancisDereham" and blamed Catherine almost entirely for her own fate. Loades's and Borman's characterizations are unusually harsh, however. The general trend has been more fair to Catherine, particularly in the works of
Antonia Fraser Lady Antonia Margaret Caroline Fraser, (' Pakenham; born 27 August 1932) is a British author of history, novels, biographies and detective fiction. She is the widow of the 2005 Nobel Laureate in Literature, Harold Pinter (1930–2008), and p ...
, Karen Lindsey, Joanna Denny, Conor Byrne, Josephine Wilkinson, and Gareth Russell. Lucy Worsley also takes a kinder, modern view of the accusations against Catherine and their relation to the men who took advantage of her in her youth. In her BBC miniseries ''Six Wives'' she states that today, instead of the "good-time girl" some historians accuse her of having been, we would call her an "abused child."


Portraits

Painters continued to include
Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne ...
in pictures of King Henry VIII long after she died, mainly because Henry continued to look back on her with favour as the only wife who gave him a son. Most of the artists copied the portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger because it was the only full-sized picture available. There is no documentary evidence that Catherine Howard ever had her portrait painted and "there is a good chance that any image of Catherine would have been destroyed" after her execution, or "ignored, until their identity became a subject of debate to later generations." There is no authenticated contemporary likeness of Catherine Howard. Debate continues about the identity of the sitter(s) for potential portraits.


Miniatures

Two portrait miniatures by Hans Holbein the Younger, one in the Royal Collection and another in the Buccleuch Collection, may be the only surviving depictions of Catherine painted from life (in the case of the Royal Collection version at
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). The historian David Starkey dated it (from details of her dress and the technique of the miniature) to the short period when Catherine was queen. In it, she wears a pendant jewel that is similar to that shown in Holbein's portrait of Jane Seymour at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, and identical to that shown in the portrait of Henry VIII's third queen, in the Mauritshuis,
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. Her necklace of pearls and rubies set in gold closely resembles those seen in portraits of Henry VIII's other wives, including Jane Seymour (Kunsthistorisches Museum) and is identical to that of Catherine Parr in the Hastings portrait. The necklace and pendant may have been given to Catherine by Henry VIII on their marriage in 1540, and she is the only queen to fit the dating whose appearance is not already known. For female sitters, duplicate versions of miniatures only exist for queens at this period. There are no other plausible likenesses of her to compare to. Both versions have long been documented as of Catherine Howard, since 1736 for the Buccleuch version and 1739 (or at least the 1840s) for the Windsor version. Art historian
Franny Moyle Franny Moyle (born 1964) is a British television producer and author. Her first book ''Desperate Romantics: The Private Lives of the Pre-Raphaelites'' (2009) was adapted into the BBC drama serial ''Desperate Romantics'' by screenwriter Peter Bowk ...
, in ''The King's Painter: The Life and Times of Hans Holbein'' (2021), argues that the Royal Collection miniature is not a likeness of Catherine Howard, but instead depicts Henry VIII's fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, whom the king married in the same year. The miniature has been linked to Catherine because it dates from 1540, the year in which she married the king, and because the sitter is "adorned with jewels that are comparable to items in her inventory." Moyle was "struck by the sitter's uncanny likeness" to Holbein's 1539 miniature of Anne, now in the
Victoria & Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
. She also discovered that Holbein, who was noted for his subtle symbolism, mounted the miniature on a playing card depicting the four of diamonds and speculated that this could refer to Anne as Henry's fourth queen. Moyle also noted that, though the portrait's subject wears jewels that were in Catherine's collection, jewelry was often passed between queens, and so could very well have been a part of Anne's as well.


Other portraits

A Holbein drawing (below) is also traditionally identified as being of Catherine Howard, but this appears to be without foundation.

File:Hans Holbein the Younger - Unknown woman formerly known as Catherine Howard RL 12218.jpg, ''An unidentified woman'' c.1532–43, Hans Holbein the Younger File:Catherinehoward3.jpg, ''Unknown woman engraved as Catherine Howard'', 1797,
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after Hans Holbein
A contemporary portrait of a lady in black, by Hans Holbein the Younger, was identified by art historian, Sir Lionel Cust, in 1909, as Catherine Howard. "The painting belonged to the Cromwells for centuries, so she was probably a member of that prominent family. It has been suggested that she may be Elizabeth Seymour, daughter-in-law of Henry's powerful government minister Thomas Cromwell and sister of Henry's third wife, Jane Seymour." The portrait (below), dated circa 1535–1540, is exhibited at the
Toledo Museum of Art The Toledo Museum of Art is an internationally known art museum located in the Old West End neighborhood of Toledo, Ohio. It houses a collection of more than 30,000 objects. With 45 galleries, it covers 280,000 square feet and is currently in th ...
as ''Portrait of a Lady, probably a Member of the Cromwell Family'' (1926.57). Two copies are extant: a 16th-century version at
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is exhibited as ''Portrait of a Lady, thought to be Catherine Howard''; the National Portrait Gallery exhibits a similar painting, ''Unknown woman, formerly known as Catherine Howard'' (NPG 1119), dating from the late 17th century. "This portrait was previously identified as Catherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII. The sitter is now thought to be a member of the Cromwell family, perhaps Elizabeth Seymour (c.1518–1568), sister of Henry VIII's third wife, Jane Seymour, and wife of Thomas Cromwell's son Gregory." Inscribed ''ETATIS SVÆ 21'', indicating that the lady was depicted at the age of twenty-one, the portrait has long been associated with Henry VIII's young queen, but she is now thought to be a member of the
Cromwell family The Cromwell family is an English aristocratic family. Its most famous members are: Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex, and Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector. The line of Oliver Cromwell descends from Richard Williams (alias Cromwell), son of T ...
. File:Holbein, Hans (II) - Portrait of a lady, probably of the Cromwell Family formerly known as Catherine Howard - WGA11565.jpg, ''Portrait of a Lady, probably a Member of the Cromwell Family'' c. 1535–1540
(Toledo Museum of Art) File:Hans Holbein-the-Younger-Portrait-of-a-Lady-thought-to-be-Catherine-Howard.jpg, ''Portrait of a Lady, thought to be Catherine Howard'', 16th century, follower of Hans Holbein the Younger (Hever Castle) File:Unknown woman, formerly known as Catherine Howard by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg, ''Unknown woman, formerly known as Catherine Howard, late 17th century, after Hans Holbein the Younger'' File:Unknown woman, formerly known as Catherine Howard, engraving.jpg, ''Unknown woman, formerly known as Catherine Howard, 1902, after Hans Holbein the Younger''
In 1967 art historian Sir Roy Strong noted that both the Toledo portrait and the National Portrait Gallery version appear in the context of a series of portraits of members of the family of the
Protector Protector(s) or The Protector(s) may refer to: Roles and titles * Protector (title), a title or part of various historical titles of heads of state and others in authority ** Lord Protector, a title that has been used in British constitutional l ...
's uncle, Sir Oliver Cromwell (–1655), and have provenances linking them with the Cromwell family. He argued that the portrait in the Toledo Museum of Art, "should by rights depict a lady of the Cromwell family aged 21 c.1535–40" and suggested that the lady might be Elizabeth Seymour, wife of Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell, son of Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex. He stated that a "dated parallel for costume, notably the distinctive cut of the sleeves, is Holbein's ''Christina of Denmark'' of 1538." Herbert Norris claimed that the sitter is wearing a sleeve that follows a style set by Anne of Cleves, which would date the portrait to after 6 January 1540, when Anne's marriage to Henry VIII took place. Anne of Cleves was queen consort from 6 January – 9 July 1540. Until 1752, the year commenced on ''
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'', 25 March.
The original Holbein is dated to 1535–1540, but the National Portrait Gallery dates their copy to the late 1600s. This would seem to indicate a sitter who was still a connection to be commemorated over a century later (unlike Catherine). Historians
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and Derek Wilson believe that the portrait is likely to depict Elizabeth Seymour. Antonia Fraser has argued that the sitter is Jane Seymour's sister, Elizabeth, the widow of Sir Anthony Ughtred, on the grounds that the lady bears a resemblance to Jane, especially around the nose and chin, and wears widow's black. The lady's sumptuous black clothing, an indication of wealth and status, did not necessarily signify mourning; her jewellery suggests otherwise. Derek Wilson observed that "In August 1537 Cromwell succeeded in marrying his son, Gregory, to Elizabeth Seymour", the queen's younger sister. He was therefore related by marriage to the king, "an event worth recording for posterity, by a portrait of his romwell'sdaughter-in-law." The painting was in the possession of the Cromwell family for centuries. File:Workshop of Hans Holbein the Younger portrait of a Lady.jpg, ''Portrait of a Young Woman'', ca. 1540–45, Workshop of Hans Holbein the Younger File:Miniatureenlarged.jpg, ''Portrait of an Unknown Lady'', c. 1535,
Lucas Horenbout Lucas Horenbout, often called Hornebolte in England ( 1490/1495–1544), was a Flemish artist who moved to England in the mid-1520s and worked there as "King's Painter" and court miniaturist to King Henry VIII from 1525 until his death. He ...
(1490/95–1544)
Most recently Susan James, Jamie Franco, and Conor Byrne have identified a ''Portrait of a Young Woman'', attributed to the workshop of Hans Holbein, at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, as a portrait of the queen. Brett Dolman has noted that the hypothesis is "seductive but inconclusive" and "not supported by the assembled evidence."


Footnotes


References


Bibliography

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External links


Letter from Catherine Howard to Thomas Culpeper


* ttps://queenanneboleyn.com/2019/08/18/all-that-glitters-hans-holbeins-lady-of-the-cromwell-family-by-teri-fitzgerald/ Teri Fitzgerald, ''All that Glitters: Hans Holbein's Lady of the Cromwell Family''
Teri Fitzgerald, ''Catherine Howard and the Cromwells''
*
Original images of the Act concerning the Attainder of the late Queen Katharine and her Complices
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Catherine 1520s births 1542 deaths 16th-century English women Burials at the Church of St Peter ad Vincula Culpeper family English Anglicans English Roman Catholics Executed English women Executed royalty People convicted under a bill of attainder Executions at the Tower of London
Catherine Howard Catherine Howard ( – 13 February 1542), also spelled Katheryn Howard, was Queen of England from 1540 until 1542 as the fifth wife of Henry VIII. She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper, a cousin to Anne Boleyn (the se ...
Ladies of the Privy Chamber People executed by Tudor England by decapitation People executed under Henry VIII People executed under the Tudors for treason against England People from the London Borough of Lambeth Executed people from London Prisoners in the Tower of London Wives of Henry VIII 16th-century Roman Catholics 16th-century Anglicans Child sexual abuse in England Converts to Anglicanism from Roman Catholicism Household of Anne of Cleves