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| Possible portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger (c. 1540) |
- King Henry VIII of England and Ireland (m. 1540 - 1542)
- N/A
Appearance:
She was described as petite, being short in stature and skinny. She had dark brown hair and blue eyes, as well as a hook shaped nose, and was considered attractive by many members of the Tudor court. Katherine famously received a lot of male attention, and was also described as graceful.
Character:
Katherine had a very bright and bubbly personality, along with a good sense of humour. She loved music and loved to dance. She was popular, having many friends, and gained the attention of a lot of male courtiers.
She was good friends with her former mistress, and her husband's ex-wife, Anne of Cleves, and the two of them enjoyed dancing together. However, she would often clash with her step-daughter, Mary, but her other two step-children appeared to find her endearing.
She was generally friendly and warm, but could also be very naive and easily taken advantage of. She likely wasn't particularly intelligent or politically astute, and greatly enjoyed being pampered by her husband.
Though she was raised Catholic, she was not particularly religious.
Biography:
Katherine was born in Lambeth, England, some time around 1523. She was born into a minor branch of the powerful Howard family who often served as dukes and earls. Her father was Lord Edmund Howard, the third son of the Duke of Norfolk, and her mother was Joyce Culpepper. She was the middle of eleven children, including children from her mother's first marriage. Katherine was also the first-cousin of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's second wife.
Her upbringing would be largely chaotic, as her father was often reliant on financial aid from family members, which he would spend heavily and get himself into debt. He was a gambling addict, and would bring disgrace to the family, often having to go into hiding, meaning he did not play an active role in his children's upbringing. Katherine was likely an unwanted child and was greatly neglected. Her education was very limited, to a point where she barely knew how to read and write.
Her mother would die in 1528, and her father would leave for work in Calais. Katherine would be separated from most of her siblings, and was sent to the household of her step-grandmother, Agnes Howard, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk. Agnes would obtain guardianship of Katherine, alongside other children of aristocratic yet poor families. However, due to Agnes being at court the majority of the time, the state of care in her household would be rather lax and unruly.
During this time, Katherine's education prospects were slightly improved, and she began music lessons. Her music teacher, Henry Mannox, likely began grooming and abusing Katherine around 1536. It's believed that he touched her and spoke to her inappropriately until Katherine was finally able to break away from him in 1538. However, Katherine's sexual abuse was far from over, as she was then pursued by Anges' secretary, Francis Dereham. Dereham was much older than Katherine, and it's believed that the two of them did have plans to eventually marry each other. Their relationship was an open secret within the household, however, Agnes Howard would end the relationship upon finding out about it in 1539. During this confrontation, Agnes was reported to have slapped Katherine.
Later that year, her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, was able to secure her a job at court as a lady-in-waiting to Henry VIII's fourth wife, Anne of Cleves. Katherine was immediately popular at court, including with the King himself, and they would openly flirt with each other in front of everyone. However, Henry was married, and Katherine instead grew close to Thomas Culpepper, possibly developing feelings for him. However, he soon moved on to other women, and when Dereham found out about the courting behaviour between the two of them, he returned to maintain his claim on Katherine, which she rejected.
The Duke of Norfolk also began to have high hopes for Katherine, and may have planned to use her in order to restore favour to the Howard family, as well as help restore Catholicism to England. He took advantage of Henry VIII's failing marriage to Anne of Cleves, and Katherine soon caught the King's interest once again.
Henry became obsessed and besotted with the much younger Katherine, and he began to spoil her with gifts and land. The marriage between Henry and Anne was annulled, and in 1540, both Henry and Katherine were officially married; she was just 17 while Henry was 49. Katherine enjoyed being spoiled by her new husband, and also got on very well with Anne of Cleves, Henry's former wife. However, her relationship with her step-daughter, Mary, would remain rocky.
Throughout her marriage, it is likely that Katherine rekindled her relationship with Thomas Culpepper, and certainly by 1541, the two of them were meeting in secret. They exchanged love letters, and their liaisons were aided by Lady Jane Boleyn, the widow of Katherine's cousin, and Anne Boleyn's brother, George Boleyn, Viscount of Rochford. However, people from Katherine's past also arrived at court, blackmailing the queen for favours in exchange for their silence on her past behaviour and relationships.
The Protestant Archibishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, began to hear the circulating rumours about Katherine, especially that she had sexual relations prior to her marriage to Henry. Cranmar immediately began his own quiet investigation, and was able to uncover the love letters shared between Katherine and Culpepper. Jane Boleyn also confessed she had witnessed the two of them together.
While attending chapel, Henry received a letter containing the allegations against his wife. He ordered an official investigation, and Katherine was placed under house arrest. During this period, Katherine reportedly became hysterical, frightened, and depressed to a point where even Cranmer began to feel sympathy for her. He then ordered that Katherine be placed on suicide watch. The pre-contact with Dereham would allow for Henry to annul his marriage to Katherine, and banish her from court.
Katherine confessed to her previous affiliations with Dereham, though stated that it was not consensual on her part, and that she had been raped. After this, Katherine was stripped of her title as queen and was imprisoned in Syon Abbey; she would never see her husband again. Many of Katherine's family members were also arrested, alongside her rumoured lovers, who would also be brutally executed.
In 1542, Parliament passed a law making it treason for a queen consort to not disclose her sexual history, with the punishment being death. Katherine was charged with this and was convicted without trial. She screamed and thrashed as she was carried to the Tower of London, and was forced to witness the decapitated heads of Culpepper and Dereham. On the night before her execution, Katherine requested that the execution block be brought to her prison cell so that she could practice placing her head upon it. Jane Boleyn was also sentenced to die alongside her.
On the day of her execution, Katherine was said to have remained relatively brave and composed, while Jane suffered a complete mental breakdown. She made a speech, as was custom, claiming that she deserved to die for what she had done, and that Henry had always been kind to her. She also pleaded for her family's mercy.
Katherine then laid her head down on the block like she had spent the whole night practising, and was then killed by a single blow from the axe.
Rule:
Katherine only reigned as consort for one year and did not play an active role in politics. However, she was known for her fashion influence, and enjoyed parties, balls, and banquets. Despite her much more relaxed attitude to her role as consort, she was quite popular with English courtiers.
- Her ghost is said to haunt Hampton Court Palace, screaming and begging for her husband's forgiveness upon the discovery of her affairs.
- According to legend, Katherine's final words before her execution were, '"I die a Queen, but I would have rather died the wife of Culpepper."' However, this is merely a myth.
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