Catherine Howard (1523 - 1542)

Born 1523 in Lambeth, Surrey, England

Ancestors

Wife of Henry (Tudor) of England KG — married 28 Jul 1540 (to 13 Feb 1542) in Oatlands Palace, Surrey

Died 13 Feb 1542 at about age 19 in Tower of London, London, England

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Biography

Catherine’s mother died when she was young, and Catherine was brought up by her father’s stepmother, Agnes Tilney, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk at Chesworth House near Horsham, Sussex, and at Norfolk House, Lambeth, in London.

Agnes superintended Catherine’s education, which was typical of that for most young women from noble households and included reading, writing and music. Catherine was raised a Catholic, but she was not particularly pious.

Catherine might have been as young as 12 when her music teacher, Henry Manox, took sexual advantage of his position, although he stopped short of intercourse. When the Dowager Duchess found the couple embracing, she struck Catherine, even though she herself had been at fault for failing to guard Catherine's honor as custom dictated.

When Catherine was around 14 years old, by which time the household had moved to Lambeth in London, she became sexually involved with her kinsman, Francis Dereham, who had recently been appointed secretary to the Dowager Duchess. This time, there was no doubt that it was a full-blown sexual liaison: they even addressed each other as ‘husband’ and ‘wife’.

In March 1539, Catherine’s uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, secured her a prized position in the household of Anne of Cleves, who was set to become Henry VIII’s fourth wife.

Catherine may have met Henry VIII in December 1539, when he travelled to Greenwich to await Anne’s arrival. Then, after the King's disastrous first meeting with Anne, Norfolk likely chose his moment to push Catherine into Henry’s path.

By June 1540, Henry's interest in Catherine was known throughout the court. One observer noted that the King 'crept too near another lady', and Anne of Cleves herself complained that her new husband was attracted to Catherine.

Catherine appeared a gracious and conventional Queen. At her first court Christmas, she greeted her predecessor, Anne of Cleves, warmly. They exchanged gifts and even danced together.

At Greenwich in 1541, following the convention for royal consorts, Catherine successfully pleaded with her husband to pardon some prisoners. She later interceded on behalf of other prisoners and promoted the interests of her family.

But in one fundamental respect, Catherine flouted the behavior expected of a Tudor Queen – and a wife. The fact that she was far from the virginal bride that Henry expected soon became all too obvious. A few months after becoming Queen, Catherine was aghast when her former lover, Francis Dereham, arrived at court and began pestering her for office, boasting to her councillors that she favored him over the other courtiers.

Downfall

In October 1541, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, was informed of Catherine’s premarital liaisons by a former member of the household at her childhood home. Cranmer was given the unenviable task of breaking the news to Henry, and left a written summary for the King in the chapel at Hampton Court Palace.

Henry’s first reaction to the accusations was disbelief. He ordered an immediate inquiry, which soon proved the truth of the allegations – and uncovered more besides. Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford (widow of Anne Boleyn’s brother George), a close attendant of the Queen, was interrogated and eventually confessed to having facilitated her meetings with Thomas Culpepper.

On 8 November, the Queen herself confessed. She said that Francis Dereham had used her 'in such sort as a man doth use his wife many and sundry times'. Catherine also admitted to having sexual encounters with Henry Manox and later confessed to an affair with Thomas Culpepper. In reporting her testimony to the King, Cranmer remarked that he had found her in 'lamentation and heaviness, as I never saw no creature'.

Confronted with the truth about Catherine's past, Henry was plunged into a deep depression from which he never fully recovered. He had adored his young wife and had had no notion of her infidelity.

On 14 November 1541, Catherine was moved to the former monastery of Syon, and eight days later was deprived of her queenship. Thomas Culpeper and Francis Dereham were convicted of treason on 1 December and executed shortly afterwards.

Catherine and Lady Rochford were condemned under a bill of attainder on 21 January 1542. It stipulated that any future queen who failed to disclose her unchaste past would be guilty of high treason.

Whilst imprisoned, Thomas Cranmer, noted he had to remove all sharp objects as the queen was in such a hysteria he worried she might harm herself.

On 10 February 1542, Catherine was taken by barge to the Tower of London. As she passed under London Bridge, she would have likely seen the rotting heads of Thomas Culpepper and Francis Dereham.

Three days later, at 9am on 13 February 1542, Catherine Howard faced her execution at the Tower. So weak that she had to be supported onto the scaffold, she gathered enough strength to confess that her sentence was justified. Moments later, the axe fell.

The Screaming Lady

The ghost of Catherine is thought to frequent Hampton Court's haunted gallery where she was dragged back to her rooms screaming while under house arrest. She wanted to plead with her husband, King Henry VIII. Catherine's ghost is also known as The Screaming Lady.^[1]

Research notes

Born ABT 1523. Lambeth, London Borough of Lambeth, Greater London, England.

Died Feb 13 1542. London, England.

Buried London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Greater London, England.

b. c.1523 Wingate, Co. Durham

m. Henry VIII 28 July 1540 Oatlands Palace, Surrey

23 Nov 1541 Stripped of title of queen. Imprisoned at Syon Abbey, Middlesex

10 Feb 1542: Taken to the Tower.

13 Feb 1542: Executed.

Burial: FEB 1542 St. Peter Vincula, London, Middlesex

Sources

1. ↑ Space:Ghost_Profiles_on_Wikitree

• Edward Walford. "Blackheath and Charlton," in Old and New London: Volume 6, (London: Cassell, Petter & Galpin, 1878), 224-236. British History Online, accessed November 8, 2021, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/old-new-london/vol6/pp224-236.

• A P Baggs and M C Siraut. "Stogursey: Castle," in A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 6, Andersfield, Cannington, and North Petherton Hundreds (Bridgwater and Neighbouring Parishes), ed. R W Dunning and C R Elrington (London: Victoria County History, 1992), 136-137. British History Online, accessed November 8, 2021, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/som/vol6/pp136-137.

• "Parishes: Preston Candover," in A History of the County of Hampshire: Volume 3, ed. William Page (London: Victoria County History, 1908), 371-377. British History Online, accessed November 8, 2021, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/hants/vol3/pp371-377.

• Letter from Catherine Howard to Thomas Culpeper, 1541. The National Archives. nationalarchives.gov.uk. Accessed 8 Nov 2021.

See Also

• "Royal Ancestry", by D. Richardson 2013 Vol. V. pp. 212.
• Wikipedia contributors, "Catherine Howard," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Catherine_Howard&oldid=1030022346 (accessed June 24, 2021).