The Rise & Fall of Catherine Howard - With Facial Reconstructions | Royalty Now
Summary
TLDRKatherine Howard, the fifth wife of King Henry VIII, was a young woman with a tumultuous past. Born into the Howard family, she was raised by relatives after her father's financial ruin. Her early life was marked by scandalous relationships with music teacher Henry Manox and Francis Dereham. Her rise to Queen was swift, but her marriage to the aging King was fraught with challenges. Catherine's past caught up with her, leading to her arrest and eventual execution, a tragic end to a life seeking love and companionship.
Takeaways
- 👑 Katherine Howard was the fifth wife of King Henry VIII and became Queen unexpectedly.
- 🏰 Born into the prominent Howard family, Katherine's early life was marked by family scandal and financial ruin.
- 🎶 As a young girl, Katherine had romantic relationships with her music teacher Henry Manox and later Francis Dereham.
- 🌿 Katherine's carefree youth was spent at her grandmother's estate, Chesworth, with little supervision.
- 💔 Her relationships with Manox and Dereham were intense but ended with her seeking to break free from their possessiveness.
- 👗 Described as short, slender, and lovely, Katherine was known for her cheerful personality and ruddy smile.
- 💍 King Henry VIII was captivated by Katherine, leading to his divorce from Anne of Cleves and their subsequent marriage.
- 🖼️ There is no verified portrait of Katherine Howard, with several paintings being contenders but none definitively identified as her.
- 🔍 Katherine's past relationships became a threat to her marriage and ultimately her life when they were revealed.
- ⚰️ Accused of adultery and treason, Katherine Howard was executed, her life a tragic tale of love and power in the Tudor court.
Q & A
Who was Katherine Howard and why is she significant in history?
-Katherine Howard was the fifth wife of King Henry VIII. She is significant because her marriage to the king was marked by scandal and ultimately led to her execution, making her story a tragic tale in Tudor history.
What is the range of years historians believe Katherine Howard was born?
-Historians debate Katherine Howard's birth year, proposing it to be anywhere between 1518 and 1527.
What was the reputation of the Howard family during Katherine's early life?
-The Howard family's reputation was tarnished by the time Katherine was born due to her father's financial mismanagement and his close relation to Anne Boleyn, King Henry VIII's disgraced second wife.
Who raised Katherine Howard after her father left the country?
-Katherine Howard was raised by her grandmother, Agnes Howard, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, after her father left the country.
What is known about Katherine Howard's relationship with Henry Manox?
-Katherine Howard had a relationship with her music teacher, Henry Manox, which escalated quickly. It was her first known romantic involvement and was considered scandalous for the time.
What was the nature of Katherine Howard's relationship with Francis Dereham?
-Katherine Howard had a secretive and intimate relationship with Francis Dereham, which included plans to marry and was characterized by his possessiveness and jealousy.
How did Katherine Howard's past relationships become a threat to her marriage with King Henry VIII?
-Katherine Howard's past relationships with Henry Manox and Francis Dereham became a threat when Dereham demanded a position close to the queen, potentially to use their past against her.
What was the role of Thomas Culpeper in Katherine Howard's life after she became queen?
-Thomas Culpeper was an old love interest of Katherine Howard who she reconnected with after becoming queen. Their renewed relationship led to secret meetings and possibly an affair, which ultimately contributed to her downfall.
Why was Katherine Howard's marriage to King Henry VIII considered to need a special dispensation?
-Katherine Howard's marriage to King Henry VIII needed a special dispensation because she was closely related to Anne Boleyn, Henry's second wife.
How did King Henry VIII react when he was presented with evidence of Katherine Howard's past?
-Initially, King Henry VIII reacted calmly, suggesting the evidence must be fabricated, but later he was deeply affected, sitting in stunned silence and then weeping after the truth was confirmed.
What was the ultimate fate of Katherine Howard after her arrest?
-After her arrest and confession, Katherine Howard was formally stripped of her title as Queen of England and was executed on February 13th, 1542.
Outlines
👑 Early Life and Scandalous Beginnings
Katherine Howard, the fifth wife of King Henry VIII, was born into the prominent Howard family but faced a tarnished family reputation due to her father's financial mismanagement and close relation to Anne Boleyn. Raised by her grandmother, she had a carefree childhood and developed a cheerful personality. At the age of 14, she began a relationship with her music teacher, Henry Manox, which was considered scandalous for the time. Katherine's early life was filled with romantic entanglements, including a relationship with Francis Dereham, which would later haunt her.
🏰 Rise to Court and Initial Queenly Duties
Katherine's uncle, William Howard, secured her a position as a maid of honor in the court of Anne of Cleves. This opportunity allowed her to escape her tumultuous past and enter the glamorous Tudor court. At court, she caught the eye of King Henry VIII, who was captivated by her youth and beauty. Despite the lack of verified portraits, historians have suggested several contenders as possible likenesses of Katherine. Her early days at court were marked by her dedication to her duties and her vivacious nature, which attracted the attention of many, including Thomas Culpeper.
💍 Marriage to the King and the Downfall
King Henry VIII's marriage to Anne of Cleves ended, and he quickly turned his attention to Katherine. Despite the need for a special dispensation due to her relation to Anne Boleyn, the marriage was arranged. Katherine became queen, and while she initially seemed unsure of her role, she eventually became a charming and delightful hostess. However, when King Henry fell ill, Katherine's insecurities grew, and she began to lash out. Her past with Francis Dereham threatened her position, and her relationship with Thomas Culpeper became more apparent, leading to a dangerous path.
🔍 The Unraveling of a Queen
Katherine's past caught up with her when Francis Dereham demanded a position close to her, causing alarm among her courtiers. As she tried to manage her past indiscretions, the truth began to surface. Investigations led to confessions from Dereham and others, revealing Katherine's affairs. The king, initially in denial, was eventually presented with undeniable evidence. Katherine was arrested and confessed to her past mistakes but not to an affair with Culpeper, until further confessions implicated them both.
⚰️ The Tragic End
Catherine Howard was stripped of her title and faced trial alongside Dereham and Culpeper. Despite the severity of Culpeper's alleged crimes, it was Dereham who was sentenced to death due to a pre-contract with Catherine. Catherine, after months of imprisonment, was executed on February 13th, 1542. Her life is viewed as a tragedy, a young woman seeking love and companionship amidst the harsh realities of Tudor politics and societal expectations.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Katherine Howard
💡Tudor Court
💡Henry Manox
💡Francis Dereham
💡Thomas Culpeper
💡Anne Boleyn
💡Queen of England
💡Affairs
💡Execution
💡Tudor Machine
💡Hello Fresh
Highlights
Katherine Howard was the fifth wife of King Henry VIII and paid a terrible price for her unexpected role.
Katherine's birth year is debated, with historians suggesting between 1518 and 1527.
Katherine's early life was spent in the care of her grandmother, Agnes Howard, after her father's financial troubles.
At 14, Katherine met her music teacher Henry Manox, beginning a flirtatious relationship.
Katherine's relationship with Francis Dereham became intimate, with rumors of them considering marriage.
Katherine's father's death in 1539 led to her becoming a maid of honor in Anne of Cleves' court.
Katherine caught King Henry VIII's eye in the autumn of 1539 at the Tudor court.
There is no verified portrait of Katherine Howard, with historians debating the subject of existing paintings.
Katherine was described as short, slender, young, fresh, and lovely, but with no specific physical details.
Katherine's marriage to King Henry VIII required a special dispensation due to her relation to Anne Boleyn.
King Henry VIII was captivated by Katherine, lavishing her with gifts and attention.
Katherine's past relationship with Francis Dereham threatened her marriage and position as queen.
Katherine's behavior became erratic as her relationship with King Henry VIII became distant.
Katherine's attraction to Thomas Culpeper led to secret meetings and possibly an affair.
Francis Dereham's jealousy and demands for a position close to the queen raised suspicions.
Katherine's past caught up with her when John Lascelles revealed her previous relationships to the king.
King Henry VIII's reaction to the revelations about Katherine was calm but led to an investigation.
Katherine was arrested and eventually confessed to her past mistakes, but not the affair with Culpeper.
Katherine Howard was formally stripped of her title as Queen of England on November 23rd, 1541.
Francis Dereham and Thomas Culpeper were sentenced to death for their involvement with Katherine.
Katherine Howard was executed on February 13th, 1542, after a tragic fall from grace.
The story of Katherine Howard is one of seeking love and companionship amidst the harsh realities of Tudor court life.
Transcripts
Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Royalty Now,
where we bring you face to face with figures from the past.
Katherine Howard was the fifth wife of King Henry VIII,
a girl who never expected to be Queen and paid a terrible price for it.
We'll walk you through the life and appearance of Katherine
and then reveal some recreations of this ill fated Tudor beauty.
So let's go ahead and get started.
Like many Tudor women,
most of Katherine's early life has been lost to history.
We know she was born in Lambeth Parish in what is now London.
But what year she was born is something that historians still debate.
They've proposed anywhere between 1518 and 1527.
We're following historian Gareth Russell's
hypothesis that Catherine was born around 1521
and was therefore older than most accounts suggest during her story.
The Howard family had been a prominent presence in the Tudor world
ever since its founding in 1483.
Catherine's father, Edmund Howard,
had been a fixture at Henry VIII’s Court,
and even had a jousting match with the king at his coronation.
But by the time Catherine was born,
the Howard family's reputation had been tarnished.
After her father spent much of the family's
fortune to make things worse.
Edmond was closely related to King Henry VIII’s disgraced second wife...
Anne Boleyn after her mother's death
and her father's debt caused him to leave the country.
Catherine was left to be raised by relatives.
As a young girl, she packed her things and went to live with her
grandmother, Agnes Howard, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk.
Chesworth house in Sussex seemed an idyllic place to be raised.
The countless wards of the Duchess
would play in the woods near the house, splashing in the River Arun
and taking long walks in the Tudor garden.
It was also a wonderful place to go nearly unsupervised.
The dozens of household servants
were always there watching and gossiping,
but they didn't interfere with the Wards antics.
Around 1536.
When Catherine was about 14, she met Henry Manox, her music teacher,
and their relationship quickly escalated.
Manox, by most accounts,
was this stereotypical musician, sensitive, young, impulsive
and very attentive to the young Catherine.
Soon enough, they would be seen flirting and even kissing.
Now, although this may seem scandalous, it's important to remember
that Catherine, growing up on the fringes of the Tudor Court,
never expected to become any one of real importance.
At most, she expected to work as a lady in waiting
or perhaps marry into an estate of her own.
So she was mostly free to find herself a match.
And although you could tell she had a mind of her own
breaking things off with Manox because he was too pushy,
she seemed to have grown a weakness for a certain type of man.
The young Catherine had no shortage of admirers.
The few surviving descriptions describe her as flourishing in youth.
You can imagine her being just lovely with a ruddy smile
and a cheerful personality.
After her break with Manox, Catherine
set her sights on an even more troubling companion.
The Dowager Secretary, Francis Dereham.
Not long after they met,
Dereham began to sneak out at night into Katherine's shared dorm,
bringing fruit and wine with him
and spending night after night with Catherine.
During one of these visits,
one of the other girls in the dorm, unable to sleep, reported
that she had to switch beds after she began to hear
puffing and blowing from Catherine in Dereham.
Rumors began to spread that Catherine
had lost her innocence to Francis,
but she didn't care about the rumors, and the pair became inseparable,
no longer bothering to even keep their relationship
a secret from the other girls.
They even began to speak of marriage,
calling each other husband and wife, making some believe
that they may have been engaged.
It's this part
the idea that they may have had an understanding between them
that would come back to haunt Catherine.
For months, they would continue their public affection with each other,
so much so that even Catherine's grandmother noticed.
But as time went on,
Catherine began to get to know another side of Francis.
His possessive and jealous side,
As the months wore on, Frances would only get worse and worse.
and Catherine's feelings for him began to fade.
But he wasn't about to let her go that easily.
in 1539.
Catherine's father died making her an orphan,
but luckily her uncle William,
swooped in, arranging a coveted position for her
as a maid of honor in the court of King Henry's new wife,
Anne of Cleves.
This was not just a fantastic opportunity,
but also a convenient excuse to get away from the volatile
Francis Dereham
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in the autumn of 1539.
Catherine would travel to London to the glamorous Tudor court,
and it's here that she catches King Henry VIII’s eye.
So what was Henry seeing as he laid eyes upon young Catherine Howard?
We don't have a single verified portrait of Catherine left for us today.
It's possible that one was never made or that they were all destroyed.
Physical descriptions are also lacking.
They tell us she was short and slender, young,
fresh and lovely, but no specifics.
Let's talk about some portraits
that current historians have brought forward
as contenders for being Catherine.
First, there's this Holbein portrait.
It was identified as Catherine in 1909,
but actually has a much stronger association
with the family of Thomas Cromwell.
An inscription on the painting
makes it clear that the sitter is 21 years old,
and the style of the sleeve suggests it was painted around 1535,
which would make the subject too old to be Catherine.
It's more likely that this is one of the Cromwell women.
So while this has been highly associated with Catherine,
it's probably not her.
There's also this miniature
which is associated with Catherine because it was found among
a Howard ancestors things.
It's around the 1740s that this becomes known as a likeness of her.
The necklace that she's wearing
is known to have belonged in the royal collection of jewels
and can also be seen on this portrait of Jane Seymour.
unfortunately, there's not enough evidence
to conclusively identify it just yet.
The other strong contender is located at the Metropolitan Museum.
It's certainly an alluring option.
The beauty of this subject is undeniable,
especially for the Tudor period.
The dresses of the right style and rank to be Catherine,
and it appears to have been painted in the early 1540s.
Other women at court who had enough money
to have a painted portrait at this time can actually be ruled out
because there are existing images of them that don't look like this.
This could definitely be the face that Henry saw.
It would be a while before
anything could even begin to happen between Catherine and the King.
His new wife, Anne of Cleves, had brought with her
a desperately needed Protestant alliance.
So at least for the time being, he had to prioritize his marriage.
During her first few weeks at Tudor Court,
Catherine took her new duties very seriously,
but she never let that stop her from having fun.
She was young, pretty and vivacious,
and she could be caught flirting with many of the young men of the court.
But one in particular caught her eye.
Thomas Culpeper, handsome, funny and athletic.
He was one of Henry's favorites and a favorite to many of the women at court.
As well.
He was just Catherine's type in the good and bad ways.
The two would begin to be
seen flirting, laughing and teasing each other.
In a love letter found later,
Thomas called Catherine “my sweet little fool”
Catherine was enamored with Culpeper
and for a while even thought about marriage.
But because of her previous relationships, she kept her guard up.
Unfortunately for Catherine, Thomas
wasn't on the same page and eventually got tired of the chase.
Without much notice, he had moved on to someone else.
Devastating Catherine.
Little did she know that her life
was about to change drastically.
By the summer of 1540.
King Henry's marriage to Anne of Cleves had all but disintegrated.
And Catherine may have been to blame.
The king was absolutely captivated by her.
By this point, King Henry was nearly 50 years old
and had passed his physical prime a long time ago.
He was sedentary due to a leg injury,
and he had gained a massive amount of weight over the last few years.
But Catherine made him feel young again.
He lavished her with gifts, buying anything she wanted.
On July 9th,
The King divorced his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves,
only six months after their wedding.
Within days, it was clear that he intended to marry Catherine.
But ominously,
Catherine and Henry's marriage would need a special dispensation
because she was too closely related...
...to Anne Boleyn
Now, we don't know how Catherine actually felt about the marriage.
She could not have been very excited to marry an ill tempered old man,
but she would be queen of England,
and her family's influence would grow immensely.
Plus, King Henry absolutely adored her.
As marriage preparations commenced,
Catherine was required to fill out her household,
and suddenly many people from her past were asking for favors,
including Francis Dereham.
The secret they shared could destroy Catherine,
and he would use it against her if he had to.
He demanded a position in her court and to silence him.
He was allowed a position at Hampton Court, Henry the main residence.
But Francis knew that their secret could easily have him killed as well.
He began trying to erase their past together,
finding anything and everything related to their old love affair,
He would lock all of the evidence in a single chest
and give the chest to the Dowager Duchess.
But he would keep the key.
Catherine and Henry were married
on July 28th, 1540.
Henry seemed enamored with his beautiful new wife.
Courtiers remarked that they had never seen him so happy
and that after sundry troubles in marriage, Henry
found in her a jewel for womanhood.
at the beginning of her queenship.
Catherine seems less sure of herself, but as the months go by,
she becomes more and more charming at public events.
She would stand radiant next to her husband,
but wisely never outshine him.
She knew when to make a joke or when to remain serious
and was a delightful hostess.
Honestly, Catherine Howard made a great queen,
But the happy marriage would hit its first bump
when Henry got sick in 1541.
A fever struck the king, aggravating an ulcer in his leg
and causing him extreme pain.
He would spend weeks fighting the illness,
leaving him angry and temperamental,
lashing out at everyone around him, including Catherine.
To Catherine, this was just like all of her previous relationships.
Once the honeymoon was over,
she was left with a darker side of her partners.
Only this time she was stuck.
As time went on and her relationship with Henry remained distant,
her insecurities as Queen began to get the best of her.
She began to believe that, like Anne of Cleves,
Henry may have just lost interest.
So she begins to lash out, yelling at her ladies in waiting.
And even King Henry's own daughters
in order to comfort herself.
Catherine began to surround herself with women,
women who flirt and women who gossip,
something that previous Tudor queens were much less tolerant of
because they knew the risks.
This posse would also include Jane Boleyn, the Lady Rochford.
Jane had a fondness for excitement and intrigue,
just like Catherine, and the two
seemed to bring out the worst in each other.
After getting to know Catherine, Jane knew just how to cheer her up.
in March of 1541,
Catherine was walking through her private corridor,
and came face to face with her old love, Thomas Culpeper.
For Catherine, the attraction had never faltered
and the sight of her old lover, along with her husband's neglect,
started her down a dangerous path.
For a while, Catherine was able to keep Thomas mostly out of her mind.
But by May, Thomas was ill and Catherine
was sending page boys with dinners and notes for him.
Before long, Catherine's affections
seemed to become dangerously more obvious and her behavior more erratic.
Her ladies were confused when she would give them
cryptic messages like Find Lady Rochford
and ask her if she has the things she promised me.
And it was with the help of Lady Rochford
that Thomas and Catherine arranged a secret meeting.
Catherine arrived in Jane's
room where Thomas Culpeper snuck in the back door,
narrowly missing a guard that had come to lock the doors.
Lady Rochford dozed while Catherine and Thomas talked for hours,
up nearly until dawn, flirting and talking about past loves.
It was the move of a teenage girl and not a queen of England,
someone who felt herself invincible to any consequences.
Their meetings would continue in the coming weeks,
progressing from talking to declarations of love
and probably to physical intimacy.
We aren't quite sure what Thomas Culpeper,
his motivations for the affair were.
He knew what would happen if they were caught.
It's been hypothesized that maybe Thomas suspected
the king would die soon and that he could marry the wealthy Dowager Queen.
Or perhaps he just loved her.
But on August 25th,
Catherine's past finally caught up with her.
Francis Dereham, possibly out of jealousy,
demanded a position that would keep him close to the Queen.
Or else,
with no obvious positions to fill, Catherine was panicking.
She couldn't anger him.
He simply knew too much.
She agreed to appoint him as “Gentleman Usher”, a position
which wasn't typical for a Queen's household.
This set off some alarm bells to those around her.
Catherine was rightly becoming deeply paranoid.
We see her frantically trying to tie up loose ends from her youth.
She invites Alice Wilkes to court the girl from years ago
who couldn't sleep due to Catherine and Frances puffing and blowing.
Unfortunately for Catherine,
no matter how hard she tried, the truth eventually caught up with her.
One cold November morning after mass,
Archbishop Thomas Cranmer heard a story.
It came from a man named John Lascelles, whose niece, Mary Hall,
used to work for the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk,
and she seemed to know quite a lot about the young Queen of England.
Henry Manox And Francis Dereham
With trepidation, Cranmer brought the story in front of the king.
Surprisingly, King Henry read
the revelations rather calmly
and then concluded They must be fabricated,
but never one to be made a fool of.
He dispatched five men to find the truth.
Soon they found Henry Mannix,
and he confirmed their suspicions.
In fact, providing so much evidence
that it was impossible not to believe him, even providing a list
of everyone who knew about Catherine's affairs.
And it was not a short list.
Next, they apprehended Francis Dereham.
It didn't take him long to confess to a physical relationship with the Queen,
and he was immediately sent to the tower
On November 6th.
The investigators told the King what they had found...
Henry simply sat in stunned silence for several minutes,
And then ...
he began to weep.
Reports of emergency council meetings set at odd hours
and the absence of Francis Dereham from his post
struck a bolt of terror in the heart of Queen Catherine.
On November 7th, 1541,
Thomas Cranmer went to Winchester Palace to arrest Catherine.
As soon as she saw them.
Catherine knew it was all over.
I found her in such lamentation and heaviness
as I never saw any creature
so that it would have pitied any man's heart to have looked upon her.
Soon she was being questioned,
and over the course of several visits,
the interrogators received a full confession,
but only to the mistakes of her youth.
There was still no suspicion of a romance with Thomas Culpeper.
That was until the hotheaded
Francis Dereham confessed that Culpeper had succeeded him
in the Queen's affections.
Eventually, the investigators got their most complete confession
from Catherine's lady, Catherine TILNEY
Tilney had lived with Catherine her entire life
and had witnessed firsthand every mistake and every indiscretion.
The evidence was undeniable.
On November
23rd, Catherine was formally stripped of her title as Queen of England.
At their trials,
Francis Dereham and Thomas Culpeper were sentenced to death.
Even though Thomas's offense seemed worse,
possibly sleeping with the Queen while she was married.
It was Dereham who received the death sentence of a traitor,
all because of the pre-contract
he made with Catherine so many years ago.
After being imprisoned for many months,
Catherine was taken to the scaffold on February 13th, 1542.
In a heartbreak, aching anecdote.
It's said that Catherine requested a block
to be placed in her cell the night before so she could practice
setting her head upon it.
The young queen bravely went to her death
that cold day in February.
Her life reads like a tragedy,
that of a young woman being caught in the gears of the Tudor machine.
It seems her only sins were seeking love and companionship
from those who failed to guide her.
I've made versions of Catherine
from both of the leading portrait contenders.
Let us know in the comments which one
you think is the true Catherine Howard.
So let's take a look at the recreation. Now.
Thank you all so much for watching.
And we'll see you all for the next video.
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