Alice Wilkes (also spelt Welkes, married name Alice Restwold) was an English servant to

Catherine Howard Catherine Howard ( – 13 February 1542) was Queen of England from July 1540 until November 1541 as the fifth wife of King Henry VIII. She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper, a first cousin to Anne Boleyn (the second ...

, the fifth wife of

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

and was a significant witness in Queen Catherine's trial for treason and adultery.

Biography

Wilkes was member of the household of

Agnes Howard, Duchess of Norfolk Agnes Howard (née Tilney) (c. 1477 – May 1545) was the second wife of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk. Two of King Henry VIII's queens were her step-granddaughters, Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard. Katherine Howard was placed in the Do ...

, with Catherine Howard. When Catherine became queen, Wilkes was appointed as one of her

chamberer A chamberer was a female attendant of an English queen regnant, queen consort, or princess. There were similar positions in aristocratic households. Chamberers at court At court, the position was similar to a male groom of the privy chamber. The n ...

s. Catherine Howard gave Wilkes "upper and nether habiliments of goldsmith's work for the

French hood French hood is the English name for a type of elite woman's headgear that was popular in Western Europe in roughly the first half of the 16th century. The French hood is characterized by a rounded shape, contrasted with the angular "English" or ...

and a tablet of gold". Wilkes was a significant witness in Queen Catherine's trial for treason and adultery. She was first questioned about her former mistress on 5 November 1541 and by 22 December had "pleaded guilty to misprision of treason as having concealed the facts of the Queen’s behaviour." After questioning, Wilkes informed that

Francis Dereham Francis Dereham (c. 1506/09 – executed ) was a Tudor courtier whose involvement with Henry VIII's fifth Queen, Catherine Howard, in her youth, prior to engagement with the king, was eventually found out and led to his arrest. The information ...

had spent his nights in Catherine’s bed whilst in the household of Agnes Howard 1538, prior to her marriage to the King. Wilkes also slept in this bed and was allegedly "so irritated by the couples puffing and blowing" as they had sex that she asked to switch beds. Alice's husband was Anthony Restwold, the son of Edward Restwold and Agnes Restwold (, later Waterton). He was a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

(MP) of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the Great Council of England, great council of Lords Spi ...

for

New Woodstock New Woodstock is a hamlet in the town of Cazenovia, Madison County, New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located ...

in November 1554 and for

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery and the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Waterside Theatre. It is located in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wycombe and Milt ...

in 1555.

References

Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 16th-century English women Women of the Tudor period Household of Catherine Howard Chamberers at court {{Authority control