It is thought that when the court returned from progress, Cranmer left the letter in Henrys pew in the Chapel Royal for him to find. What was Anne Boleyn really like. In his book Tudor Queens of England, which profiles 14 consorts and sovereigns, David Loades 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". Culpeper tried to exonerate himself by blaming Catherine and Jane Lady Rochford, her chief lady in waiting. Queen Catherine Howard went to the scaffold because it was thought she had intended to commit adultery with Francis Dereham and Thomas Culpeper. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. They were executed at Tyburn on 10 December 1541, Culpeper being beheaded and Dereham being hanged, drawn and quartered. Catherine had a longer, sexual relationship with a young noble, Francis Dereham, who was a secretary in her grandmothers household, between 1537 and 1539. Dereham was hung, drawn and quartered, while Culpeper was beheaded. Catherine had been married to Henry for just 18 months. What were Catherine Howards childhood and upbringing like? [51] 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, The Hague. Historical novelist Susan Higginbotham explains: "The story that Katherine Howard said the words above comes from the anonymous Chronicle of King Henry VIII, better known to us as the Spanish Chronicle, which was translated from Spanish and edited by Martin Hume. For female sitters, duplicate versions of miniatures only exist for queens at this period. WebKatharine came to public attention at the same time that her sister was supposedly being considered as a new wife for King Henry VIII, and was arrested and briefly imprisoned on suspicion of having made treasonable utterances. Catherine steadfastly denied any precontract, maintaining that Dereham had raped her. Cranmer was told that Catherines music teacher, Henry Mannock, had boasted that he knew Catherines privates from all others by a privy mark, while Francis Dereham was so familiar with Catherine afore her marriage to the king that he did lie with her a hundred nights in the year in his doublet and hose abed between the sheets.. Cranmer then interrogated Mary Lassels, who alleged that Catherine had had sexual relations while under the Duchess of Norfolk's care, before her relationship with the King. The disease weakens muscles, causes dementia-like cognitive impairment and typically sets in between the ages of 30 and 40. Catherine steadfastly denied any pre-contract, maintaining that Dereham had raped her. On the evening of Sunday 12 February 1542, Catherine Howard, queen of England, was told to prepare her soul, for she was to be put to death the following morning. After an extended honeymoon they settled into married life and Catherine showed every sign of becoming a good queen.. I now entrust my soul to God and pray for his mercy. Not once did she refer to the specific offencesneither did she have anything but praise for Henry.6. Catherine Howard was the fifth wife of King Henry VIII of England. Biographer, Agnes Howard, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, "Katherine [Catalina, Catherine, Katherine of Aragon]", "Anne [Anne of Cleves] (15151557), queen of England, fourth consort of Henry VIII", "The Marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine Howard", "Letter of Queen Catherine Howard to Master Thomas Culpeper, Spring 1541", "How Holbein Left Clever Clue in Portrait to Identify Henry VIII's Queen", "New Research Raises Questions About the Subject of a Celebrated Hans Holbein Miniature Portrait", "Wishful Thinking: Reading the Portraits of Henry VIII's Queens", "All that Glitters: Hans Holbein's Lady of the Cromwell Family", "Howard, Sir George (by 151980), of London and Kidbrooke, Kent", "Letters and Papers, Henry VIII (15091547)", "February 13th, 1542: The Execution of Catherine Howard and Jane Boleyn", Letter from Catherine Howard to Thomas Culpeper, Original images of the Act concerning the Attainder of the late Queen Katharine and her Complices, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catherine_Howard&oldid=1152494779, Burials at the Church of St Peter ad Vincula, People convicted under a bill of attainder, People executed by Tudor England by decapitation, People executed under the Tudors for treason against England, People from the London Borough of Lambeth, Converts to Anglicanism from Roman Catholicism, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the ODNB, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2023, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 30 April 2023, at 15:49. Portrayal [ edit] Culpepper is referenced in nearly all biographies of Henry VIII and Catherine Howard. After he was given evidence that she had had affairs before their marriage and that she was having an affair with her cousin, Thomas Culpepper, Henry had her imprisoned and then beheaded for treason. There is no authenticated contemporary likeness of Catherine Howard,[47] and there is no documentary evidence that she ever had her portrait painted. Required fields are marked *. Her one surviving signature spells it "Katheryn". [34][35] This measure retroactively solved the matter of Catherine's supposed pre-contract and made her unequivocally guilty. Her passing reminds us to cherish every moment with our loved ones and hold them close while we can. Both Dereham and Culpeper were tried and, their guilt being predicated on the presumption of Catherines, they were condemned to death for treason. Catherine passed away on February 13, 1542 at the age of 19 in Tower of London, London, England. Charles de Marillac, the French ambassador, reported to his master, Francis I, that the Queen was executed at around 9am, followed by Lady Rochford. According to custom, their heads were placed on spikes on London Bridge. He claimed Lady Rochford had provoked him much to love the queen, adding that she said also to him how much the queen loved him by which means he was tricked and brought into the snare which blind youth hath no grace to foresee. [17] The French ambassador, Charles de Marillac, thought her "delightful". The lack of information about Cats death is not unusual, as families have the right to keep such details private. It was still dark when Catherine arose the following morning. Catherine, too, had said that Lady Rochford would many times, being ever by, sit somewhat far off or turn her back and she [Catherine] would say to her: For Gods sake madam even near us.. 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, although there is no indication that Henry would have chosen that alternative. Catherine would not face trial, but instead would be condemned to death by an Act of Attainder, signed by her own husbands hand. [31] His son Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, a poet, remained a favourite of the King. [10] 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." [38] She died with relative composure but looked pale and terrified; she required assistance to climb the scaffold. He was still living in Lambeth in 1541. When her ladies had removed her mantle and hood, she knelt in the straw and placed herself on the block that was now so familiar to her. Neither she nor the Queen spoke much on the scaffold; they only confessed their guilt and prayed for the Kings welfare.4, The lady of Rochefort said as much in a long discourse of several faults which she had committed in her life.5. Both men took advantage of their position of authority in the household and Catherine had no means of defending herself. "[12][13], Catherine severed contact with Mannox in 1538, most likely in the spring. According to popular folklore her last words 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. When a young person dies suddenly, it can be tough for their loved ones to accept. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. 13 February 1542 Lady Rochford and Queen Catherine Howard died repentant, 10 February 1542 Queen Catherine Howard is escorted to the Tower, 12 February 1542 Catherine Howard prepares for her execution, 10 February 1542 Catherine Howard is taken to the Tower of London, 30 June 1541 Henry VIII and Catherine Howard Set off on Progress, The Executions of Catherine Howard, Jane Boleyn, Francis Dereham and Thomas Culpeper, The Marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine Howard, Katherine Howard: Smeared Blood on an Angels Face, The arrests of Queen Anne Boleyn and her brother, George Boleyn, Lord Rochford 2 May 1536, #fridayfun Quiz: Anne Boleyns siblings, #WednesdayFact Anne Boleyn said yes with a jewel, #portraittuesday The John Hoskins miniature of Anne Boleyn. Catherine who always denied a pre-contract of marriage with Dereham was charged with treason and was exiled to Syon House (formerly Syon Abbey), which is now in West London (then, it was within the parish of Isleworth, in the county of Middlesex). While it isnt possible to pinpoint Catherines exact age, the wills of two of her relatives place her year of birth between 1523 and 1527, suggesting that she was significantly younger than 21. But relations between the two women eventually began to settle down, and they treated one another cordially. Omissions? Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. For Catherine it was a truly spectacular rise from obscurity to the seat of power, says Josephine Wilkinson. No plans were made for a coronation, yet she still travelled downriver in the royal barge into the City of London to a gun salute and some acclamation. However, the obituary noted that her death was sudden and unexpected, indicating that it was not the result of a prolonged illness. When did she marry Henry VIII? Catherine Sadly, by the time Catherine was old enough to serve at court, Anne was dead. If indeed they exchanged vows before having sexual intercourse, they would have been considered married in the eyes of the Church.[12]. According to Jane Boleyns biographer, Julia Fox, she began by declaring her complete faith and trust in God. Catherine was still too young to serve Jane Seymour (who became queen in 1536), and so had to wait until Anne of Cleves married Henry before she could take her place at court. Under intense interrogation, and possibly torture, Dereham blurted out that he and Catherine had not continued their relationship because he had been replaced in her affections by Thomas Culpeper. 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 and George Boleyn, also lay. Catherine was the daughter of a poverty-stricken younger son of the 2nd duke of Norfolk. 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 Whitsuntide. Instead, angry that Catherine had not been of pure and honest condition when he married her, and that he had been deceived concerning her, he wanted to destroy the jewel for womanhood, whom he had once loved so dearly. The King had displayed little interest in Anne from the beginning, but Thomas Cromwell failed to find a new match, and Norfolk saw an opportunity. He ordered those involved to be interrogated and so the whole story of Catherines past came out. According to legend, Catherine's last words as she stood on the scaffold at the Tower of London on 13 February 1542 were: I die a queen, but I would rather die the wife of Thomas Culpeper.. Catherine knelt at the block and the executioner cut off her head with his axe. According to historian Anna Whitelock, relations between the two were initially fraught. Catherine, who was at least two and possibly even seven years younger than Henrys elder daughter, Mary, found the role of stepmother difficult. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Catherines mother died when she was a child, so at the age of around 10 or 12 Catherine was sent to live with her step-grandmother, Agnes, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, in the countryside near Horsham in West Sussex. ", King Henry and Catherine were married by Bishop Bonner of London at Oatlands Palace on 28 July 1540, the same day Cromwell was executed. All of you who watch me die should learn from my example and change your own lives. Catherines parents Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper were part of the extended family of the Duke of Norfolk. Your email address will not be published. [8], In the Dowager Duchess's household, Catherine became influenced by some older girls who allowed men into the sleeping areas at night. Her obituary did not disclose the cause of death, leaving many questions unanswered. Catherine had been married to Henry for just 18 months when she was executed at the Tower of London on 13 February 1542, and in that time did not bear Henry any children. Several of these writers have been highly critical of Catherine's conduct, if sympathetic to her eventual fate. Writing in The Telegraph, Worsley highlighted the queasy fact that the girl at the centre of [this] was quite possibly still in her early teens., She added: Its all very well to describe [Catherines] easy charm and her abundant store of good nature, but it is questionable to do so about a girl who, from the age of 11 or 12 onwards, had older men coming into her bedroom. Henry was quickly displeased with Anne but was thoroughly smitten with Catherine. Her execution followed the discovery by her husband, Henry VIII, of claimed affairs before their marriage and of alleged adultery afterward. In the summer of 1541, as Henrys court embarked upon a royal progress to the north country, rumours of Catherines previous indiscretions continued to haunt her and she was forced to give favours and positions in return for silence, says Philippa Gregory. [65] He stated that a "dated parallel for costume, notably the distinctive cut of the sleeves, is Holbein's Christina of Denmark of 1538. You can unsubscribe at any time. [56], A Holbein drawing (below) is also traditionally identified as being of Catherine Howard, but this appears to be without foundation. Kids And Family. Her family and loved ones were devastated by her sudden and unexpected death. She asked for the block to be brought to her room, saying that she wanted to know how she was to place her head on it. [30], Culpeper and Dereham were arraigned at Guildhall on 1 December 1541 for high treason. [18], Catherine was young, joyous and carefree. Baldwin Smith described Catherine's life as one of hedonism and characterized her as a "juvenile delinquent", as did Francis Hackett in his 1929 biography of Henry. To find out more about Henry VIII and his six wives, click here. He publicly acknowledged her as queen of England on August 8, 1540. Her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, distanced himself from the scandal by retreating to Kenninghall to write a letter of apology, laying all the blame on his niece and stepmother. Within a matter of weeks in what was a truly spectacular rise from obscurity to the seat of power Catherine Howard had become his fifth queen. Catherine Howard, the fifth wife and queen of Henry VIII, was dead. Why not try 6 issues of BBC History Magazine or BBC History Revealed for 9.99 delivered straight to your door + FREE access to HistoryExtra.com, Save 70% on the shop price when you subscribe today - Get 13 issues for just $49.99 + FREE access to HistoryExtra.com. Also read: Laci Peterson Husband: Where Is Scott Lee Peterson? She confirmed that they had met several times, adding that she thought Culpeper hath known the queen carnally considering all things that this deponent hath heard and seen between them. All who knew her will remember her infectious smile and kind heart. These professionals conduct autopsies and other tests to determine the cause of death in cases that are not immediately apparent. Today it is said that Catherines ghost can be seen and heard running and screaming along what is now known as the Haunted Gallery. Historical novelist Philippa While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. 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. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. #portraittuesday The Hever Castle Rose portrait of Anne Boleyn, Anne Boleyn is a pivotal character in the novel, I am Henry, #fridayfun Anne Boleyns Early Life Quiz, #portraittuesday The NPG portrait of Anne Boleyn, Maundy Thursday Anne Boleyn, King Charles III and the Royal Maundy, 3 April 1538 Anne Boleyns mother, Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire, dies, Replay of my livestream The Making of a King: Henry VIIIs Education and Upbringing, The Making of a King: Henry VIIIs Education and Upbringing Livestream on YouTube 18 March. Corrections? Henry was nearly 50 years old when he married the teenage Catherine at least 30 years older than her and he was in failing health. He accused Anne of adultery, and she was convicted and beheaded on May 19, 1536; that she had not She married him on 28 July 1540 at Oatlands Palace in Surrey, just 19 days after the annulment of his marriage to Anne. Yet this new position was to prove a poisoned chalice, for, while living with the duchess, Catherine was sexually exploited by two men of the household. Her maternal grandfather and step-grandmother, Parks and Ann Chewning, and maternal grandmother, Marlene Chewning, preceded her in death. Entering through the Traitors' Gate, she was led to her prison cell. Her youth, prettiness and vivacity were captivating for the middle-aged sovereign, who claimed he had never known "the like to any woman". Catherine Howard was Queen of England from 1540 until 1541, as the fifth wife of Henry VIII. Catherine Parr Catherine's uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, found her a place at Court in the household of the King's fourth wife, Anne of Cleves. In 1536, Catherine received music lessons, which were intended to polish her in readiness to join Queen Annes court. Catherines household was broken up, while she was removed as queen and exiled to Syon House with only a small staff to attend her. While living with the duchess [of Norfolk], Catherine was sexually exploited by two men of the household, she said. [60] Two copies are extant: a 16th-century version at Hever Castle is exhibited as Portrait of a Lady, thought to be Catherine Howard;[61][62] the National Portrait Gallery exhibits a similar painting, Unknown woman, formerly known as Catherine Howard (NPG 1119),[63] dating from the late 17th century. On this day in history, the 13th February 1542, Catherine Howard was executed at the Tower of London. It was immaterial whether or not Catherine and Culpeper had actually had sex because malicious intent was enough and when it came to the safety of the king and the succession, anything could be deemed malicious. She was born into a very well connected family. [59][60][61] The portrait (below), dated circa 15351540, is exhibited at the Toledo Museum of Art as Portrait of a Lady, probably a Member of the Cromwell Family (1926.57).
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