The six wives of Henry VIII: Catherine Howard

We all know the story of Henry VIII and his six wives, but I still like to talk about them from time to time.

          Catherine Howard, whored her way through life? Or innocent and used all her life?

Catherine Howard was the youngest of Henry's wives and the second to be beheaded. She has had quite the slandering throughout history and it is much undeserved.

Catherine was born to Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper. Edmund was the third son of his father, and he was not well off. Catherine was possibly her tenth mother's child, Joyce had five children from her previous marriage. They had very little to survive on in the marriage and often had to beg for help.

Catherine was born between 1524 and 1528, but we really do not know when Catherine was born.  She was between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one when she was executed. Catherine's mother died in 1528, leaving the family destitute. Catherine, along with her siblings to the care of her father's stepmother Agnes Howard, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk. Agnes managed larger households at Chesworth House, Horsham and Norfolk Palace in Lambeth. In later years Agnes would come under fire for how lax supervision was in these households.

The other girls looked after Catherine but they also taught her things that weren't the most ladylike. The older girls welcomed men into their sleeping quarters, and Catherine will have witnessed this and learnt from this. Catherine may have had a sense of how important she was though, in the sense that she was from a noble family and was not just any ordinary girl. 

Catherine may not have been as well educated as the other wives of Henry VIII, but she could still read and write, even if it was at a basic level. For a woman to be able to read and write in the 1500s was quite extraordinary. She was often described as vivacious, bubbly and giggly. She was meant to have loved dancing and was very graceful at dancing, Catherine could be distracted easily which might show it was hard to teach her anything new. She was very loving and nurturing, and was very fond of dogs.

In 1536, Catherine began music lessons, one of her teachers was Henry Mannox, and they began a relationship, Catherine was possibly twelve at this point, and Henry Mannox definitely manipulated Catherine and abused his authority of power. Mannox was possibly in his early twenties to mid-twenties. The full extent of their relationship is unknown but is generally believed it was not full intercourse. Most historians agree Henry groomed Catherine and was highly inappropriate with her. Catherine severed contact with Henry Mannox in 1538, possibly mid-spring. After severing contact with Henry Mannox, it is believed she started a relationship with Francis Dereham.

Francis Dereham was a secretary of the dowager duchess, so he was possibly near Catherine daily, he might also have been one of the nighttime visitors to the girl's dorters. They called each other husband and wife and might have had plans to marry at some point in the future. Dereham trusted Catherine with many 'wifely' duties such as looking after his money when away on business. They likely had full sexual intercourse, and many of Catherine's roommates knew about this relationship, which suddenly ended in 1539 when the dowager duchess discovered the relationship. If Catherine and Francis exchanged vows and then had intercourse, they were married in the eyes of the church.

Catherine's uncle, the Duke of Norfolk was able to secure Catherine a place in Anne of Cleve's household, she was to be the fourth wife of Henry VIII. Henry and Anne's marriage was a disaster from the beginning, and it only lasted 6 months. Catherine's bubbly nature soon captured the eye of the king and he appears to have been very smitten with her. Henry bestowed gifts of land and material for new dresses. It is generally believed the Howard family used Catherine to regain their full prominence after the downfall of Anne Boleyn.  Thomas Cromwell, the King's right-hand man had arranged the match between Henry and Anne of Cleves, and it ultimately led to his downfall. His enemies saw an opportunity to bring him down, and they used Catherine for that opportunity. 

Henry soon got his marriage to Anne annulled and it seems Anne was more than happy to do so. Henry and Catherine were married on the 28th of July at Oatlands Palace, on that same day Thomas Cromwell was beheaded for treason. Not the nicest thought on your wedding day, Henry had just lost another big influence in his life. Catherine adopted the motto "no other will than his" rather apt I think. Their marriage was made public on the 8th of August at Hampton Court Palace, and prayers were said for them to bless their matrimony. Henry is supposed to have indulged Catherine's every whim and want, it is said Henry publicly fondled Catherine more than his other wives.

Catherine was young, she was carefree, and had sudden responsibilities as Queen, she had to show decorum, and set a good example to her ladies.  Catherine was the ideal wife for Henry, she didn't care about politics, and was quite happy to follow what Henry ordered. Catherine did make sure to advance her family first, giving them roles and grants of land. Catherine had a good heart, she showed affection to her youngest step-children, Edward and Elizabeth, and contrary to popular belief, Mary and Catherine were polite to each other even if they were not close. In Catherine's inventories, she had the most jewels in her possession, both old and new, Henry spent a lot of money on Catherine, and was constantly showering her with gifts.

Every night, Sir Thomas Heneage, Groom of the Stool, came to Catherine's chambers and gave her a report on the King's health. We know that Henry absolutely adored Catherine, and was very lustful towards her, it is hard to imagine how Catherine felt towards Henry, she won't have been in love with him, but possibly saw him as a father figure in her life. He showed her genuine affection, something that was very rare for her, she most likely wasn't in love with him but did care for him, she does show this by asking for reports on his health and when he fell ill with his leg she was asking after him constantly.

Henry was still hoping for more heirs, after all, he only had Edward, his son from Jane. Catherine was young so it was assumed she would be able to provide him with lots of children, Henry was 49, and he wasn't exactly in his prime. Catherine was under pressure to produce an heir, and Henry showed himself to be impatient.

During Catherine and Henry's marriage, Henry's leg gave him a lot of pain and he seems to have suffered from his ulcers more than ever.  In March 1541, Henry seemed to have sunk into a deep depression, he began to regret executing Thomas Cromwell the previous summer, and he even refused to admit Catherine to his rooms because of how much pain he was in. Catherine seems to have been confused at this sudden rebuttal and tried to ask after him constantly. 

Thomas Culpeper, a cousin of Catherine's and a man of the King's chamber. During the royal marriage, Catherine was supposed to have had an affair with Thomas and Lady Jane Rochford was abetting the affair. Apparently, Catherine and Thomas wanted to get married in the months she was Anne of Cleves lady-in-waiting, this is all hearsay. There is no concrete evidence that Thomas and Catherine had an affair, there is one letter from Thomas to Catherine, calling her 'my little, sweet fool', but this doesn't prove that an affair was going on, it could have been words of comfort or he was simply manipulating Catherine. It has been alleged that their affair began in the spring of 1541. Some of the servants in Catherine's household were people Catherine had lived with at Lambeth. Many people contacted Catherine for royal favour and blackmail, they claimed they had witnessed her sexual behaviour at Lambeth. 

John Lassels, a supporter of Cromwell before his downfall and execution, approached Thomas Cranmer, the archbishop of Canterbury, providing him with the information that his sister Mary had refused to join the Queen's household, and when questioned why, it was because she had witnessed Catherine's "light" ways. Cranmer questioned Mary on what she had said, Mary alleged she had witnessed Catherine having sexual relationships while they were both under the care of the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk at Lambeth. Cranmer began his investigations immediately, this was perfect for Cranmer, he could get rid of the Catholic faction and turn the king solely into Protestantism.

Lady Rochford was interrogated, she feared that she would be tortured, but she very quickly agreed to the line of questioning that was going to happen. She told Cranmer that she was on the lookout on Catherine's backstairs as Culpeper had made his escapes from the Queen's chambers. During this investigation, a letter was found in Catherine's handwriting in Culpeper's chambers. This is the only letter of hers that has survived.

On the first of November 1541, Thomas Cranmer left the king a letter on his chair in Chapel Royal describing all the allegations towards Catherine.  Henry was utterly distraught at what he had read, he could not believe it. He gave Cranmer the go-ahead to investigate these allegations, Henry wanted to prove everyone wrong he did not believe it. Catherine was questioned on the 7th of November, she was frantic, distressed and was a poor sight to see, Catherine must have been terrified, she knew what happened to those who upset the king, was she about to become another?

Catherine was stripped of her title as Queen on the 23rd of November, and she was imprisoned in Syon Abbey. Catherine spent the whole of Winter in Syon Abbey, the king resided at Hampton Court, and Catherine would never see Henry again.

Culpeper, Dereham and Mannox were all arrested. Mannox was questioned but was let go because he hadn't taken Catherine's virginity. I think the main issue was that it wasn't Henry who took away Catherine's "innocence", virginity was a huge thing, it was sacred and a woman's bargaining tool. Culpeper and Dereham were tried, found guilty and executed. Culpeper was beheaded, Dereham got the short straw, and he was hung, drawn and quartered, one of the most horrible ways to die. Their heads were put on spikes on Tower Bridge, a warning to others not to upset the king. Many of the Howard family that was in the ascending star because of Catherine was imprisoned in the tower for good and stripped of their titles and possessions. The Duke of Norfolk somehow escaped the drama and went to his house, Kenninghall, he wrote a letter of apologies and mercy to the king. He would never be as close to the king again.

Catherine was practically in limbo, she was no longer a Queen, but the king hadn't put Catherine on trial. Parliament introduced an act of attainder against Catherine, this bill was passed on the 7th of February 1542. No formal trial was held, and Catherine could not have her say like Anne Boleyn did. The King had passed an act making it treason for a queen consort to fail to disclose their sexual history. Catherine's life was ebbing away and she couldn't do anything to stop it.

When the lords of the council came to take Catherine to the tower, she is supposed to have panicked and screamed, if this is true, it is because she knew she was doomed.  Her funeral was arranged for 7:00 on the 13th of February, Catherine was not long for this world. The night before Catherine's execution she requested for the block to be brought to her so she could practise how to position herself with dignity, she wanted to die gracefully. 

Catherine died with dignity and grace, she is reported to have looked pale and frightened, it is not a surprise really. She did require assistance with the scaffold, this is possible because of her anxiety. Catherine asked for forgiveness for her sins, apologised to the king and said she deserved to die a thousand deaths for what she had done. Catherine was swiftly executed with the axe, and her lady-in-waiting, Jane Rochford followed Catherine to the grave a few moments later. Catherine joined her cousin Anne Boleyn in St Peter Ad Vincula, hopefully, Catherine would now lie in peace.

Catherine is often a misjudged figure in history, a flighty young girl who messed around with men. Catherine is not that, it is just assumed that she dallied with men, what if she didn't have a choice? she was possibly 13 when Henry Mannox was her music teacher, what interest would she have had in a 30-year-old man? Catherine did make mistakes, and she made the wrong mistakes when it came to Henry VIII but her family pushed Catherine into the bed of the king, she had little choice in the matter. Catherine was used for other people's gains for the majority of her life, Catherine deserves more sympathy than she gets.

Until next time history nerds, 

                                   Unholytudor 💜