Catherine Howard (name in history - "Rose without thorns") (born about 1520-1525 - death on February 13, 1542) - Queen-consort of England 1540-1542. Fifth wife of King Henry VIII of England. Was accused of adultery and beheaded.
Origin. early years
Catherine belonged to the most influential Howard family. There is no exact date of her birth. Father - Edmund Howard, third son of the second Duke of Norfolk. Mother - Jocasta Culpeper. And yet, Catherine's childhood was not so rosy. After the death of Jocasta, Catherine was sent to her father's stepmother Agnes Tilney, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk. She lived in two houses - at the Horsham residence (Surrey) and the Norfolk house in Lambeth, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Whitehall, the palace of Henry VIII.
The morals in the duchess's house were quite free. The girl lived with other unmarried women of noble birth, and soon showed a penchant for romance. Catherine liked to break the rules. In her earliest youth, she acquired a circle of devoted admirers.
It is known that in her youth, Catherine had at least two close friends - Henry Manox (a music teacher - later he would testify at the trial against her) and the nobleman Francis Derem.
Court life
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1539 - The Howards were able to attach Catherine as a maid of honor to Anna of Cleves. She happily went to the court.
The girl liked court life. There were many cheerful young people who loved to joke and flirt. She soon attracted the attention of a distant relative - Thomas Culpeper, chamberlain of the Near Chamber, who enjoyed the favor of the ladies. The romance of Catherine and Thomas developed, rumors spread that it was going to the wedding, but the windy lovers suddenly cooled to each other.
1540 - somewhere in this period of time, King Henry VIII fell in love with Catherine. She was three decades younger than him, but youthful ardor, gaiety and masculinity awoke in him again. The king was imbued with an insane determination to marry the one who made him happy as soon as possible. Relatives ruled Catherine so that she would more reliably lure the monarch into her nets. Henry Howards were able to instill that Catherine is virtuous, innocent and pure, which he really wanted to believe.
Catherine Howard and Henry VIII
The king who had lost his head lavished jewelry and clothes on Catherine Howard. On July 28, Henry VIII married Catherine. The Howards were jubilant: another member of their family was on the throne! By pushing their young representative to such a risky position, they also wanted to strengthen their political weight and restore Catholicism.
Although the Howards were ardent adherents of Catholicism, for Catherine herself, questions of religion were not so important. And the king seemed to be younger. Catherine's aspiration for the eternal holiday reflected her warmth and was able to infect the whole yard with joy and happiness. The queen's generosity was manifested in the benevolence, which she showed in relation to her stepdaughters - Mary and Elizabeth.
The life of the young queen was going well. She, like all of Henry's wives, was allowed to recruit anyone of her choice. Catherine strove to share her incredible luck with those she cared about, but she brought those who could harm her to herself. At court she had Catherine Tilney, with whom she had once shared a bedroom in Lambeth, and Francis Derem, who had just returned from Ireland, where he was healing his heart wounds. There was nothing unusual or unexpected in Catherine's desire to find a place for her close acquaintances; in addition, both of them were related to the Howards. However, soon rumors about Catherine's past began to spread in the court lobbies …
1541, summer - the king and queen went on a trip around the country, stopping at various castles. It was in those days that suspicious sounds were repeatedly heard in Catherine's bedroom late at night. However, the case did not come to an official investigation then.
Treason investigation
The beginning of the end of Catherine was November 2, 1541. Maid Mary Hall from the home of the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk decided to tell her brother John Lasel about the queen's past. John was a close friend of Archbishop Cranmer, Protestant and enemy of the Howard Catholic clan, but a devoted royal servant. The whole court quickly learned about Catherine's past romances with Henry Manox and Francis Derem. Cranmer, maintaining decency, secretly informed the monarch of everything in a letter. The king loved Catherine very much in order to believe in the first accusations, but agreed to an investigation, believing that it could clear the queen's name.
1541, November 5 - Mary, Manox and Derem were questioned. This immediately dispelled all doubts about the queen's past. The king was crushed: the queen not only assured him of her integrity at the time of marriage, but also later successfully misled her husband. He wanted to send her to the former Zion Abbey, but did not have time - further investigation revealed not only sin, but also treason.
As it turned out, one of the Queen's courtiers, Lady Jane Rochford, the widow of George Boleyn, arranged secret meetings for Catherine with her lover. It was about a novel that appeared, apparently, during a summer trip around the country. They collected eyewitness accounts of what was then happening in the queen's chambers. Under torture, Francis Derem declared his innocence in this new crime, but named the real culprit - Thomas Culpeper.
Culpeper was arrested but confessed to the intention, but not to the adultery itself. This confession was not made under torture. He talked about his deep love for Catherine, eagerly talking about their secret nocturnal dates, but insisted on a mitigating circumstance: they were only talking. Later, Thomas, nevertheless, admitted that their mutual desire and love only grew over the years, which led to the inevitable denouement.
Court. Execution
On December 1, Thomas Culpeper and Frances Derem were convicted of treason. The monarch refused to soften the fate of Derem. 1541, December 10 - a man who only once slept with an unmarried girl, who also welcomed him, was brought in a cart to the gallows, hung not to death, castrated, gutted, beheaded and quartered. Culpeper, with whom Catherine was unfaithful to her king, was only beheaded by the grace of Henry VIII.
1542, January - The Queen and Lady Rochford was sentenced to death without trial on the basis of an old law, according to which if a woman, marrying the monarch, does not announce her past love affairs, she thereby becomes guilty of treason, the same applies to anyone who took part in such acts or knew about them. Catherine and Jane were sentenced to beheading.
According to the testimony, imprisoned in the Tower, Queen Catherine, who was not even 20 years old, preparing for the execution, asked to bring her a deck to learn how to put her head on it. 1542, February 13 - the execution itself took place. Catherine was buried next to her relative Anna in the chapel of St. Peter, in chains. Lady Rochford was also executed at the same time.
Interesting Facts
• It is estimated that the monarch spent more money on gifts for Catherine Howard than on his previous four wives combined.
• In honor of the wedding, the enamored monarch ordered to cast gold coins with the inscription “Rose without thorns”. Later they were taken out of circulation and they became a real rarity.
• After Catherine from the maid of honor Anna of Cleves turned into an English queen, her friendship with the fourth wife of Henry did not end. Warm relations remained between them. Thus, the women spent the Christmas holidays together, having supper with the monarch and dancing until late.
• The future English queens, Mary and Elizabeth, were 9 years old at the time of Catherine's execution. Each of them perceived this event in its own way. Mary (later Mary the Bloody) reacted indifferently to the death of her stepmother, and Elizabeth (the last of the Tudor dynasty) at this time decided that she would never marry in her life.
