Katherine was brought up in Norfolk by her grandmother, The Duchess of Norfolk. Francis Dereham was her cousin and she fell madly in love with him. Soon they were calling each other 'husband' and 'wife' and were sleeping together whilst sharing her bedchamber with her female servants.
As a young man in need of adventure and fortune, Dereham set off to Ireland vowing to return and to marry Katherine. Whilst Dereham was in Ireland the Duchess and her household moved to London.
No love at first sight
As a young man in need of adventure and fortune, Dereham set off to Ireland vowing to return and to marry Katherine. Whilst Dereham was in Ireland the Duchess and her household moved to London.
No love at first sight
Anne of Cleves was Cromwell's favourite candidate for Henry VIII's fourth wife as she was a protestant. In 1540 Henry VIII married Anne of Cleves and he was already trying to find a way to end the marriage. He claimed the marriage had not been consummated. Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk was Katherine's uncle and he saw an opportunity; a King desperate for a male heir, to be loved and adored and his young, pretty and obedient niece, Katherine. Henry VIII noticed Katherine at court and by April 1540, he had fallen in love with her. Her family supported Katherine in her encouragements to the King as they wanted a Catholic queen back on the throne. King Henry VIII annulled his marriage to Anne of Cleves in July in 1540, the same year he had married Anne of Cleves. Henry VIII married Katherine Howard in the same month at the palace of Oatlands in Surrey.
A Happily Married Couple
The King seemed happy with his new Queen, he showered her with gifts and petted her in public, showing all the world how he doted on his new bride. In tribute to his love, she took the motto: 'No other will than his.' He struck a gold medal on which Katherine was called 'his rose without a thorn'. He believed he had found the wife of his dreams and thanked God for sending him such a 'perfect jewel'.
A Secret Affair
Katherine brought some of her old servants into her new household. The same servants who had seen her romping with Dereham. Dereham, back from Ireland, even came to work for her. By the Spring Katherine was having secret affair with her cousin, Thomas Culpeper who was a favourite of the King. It seems that Katherine took no heed from Anne Boleyn's demise which had happened only five years before.
Lady Rochford, the sister in law to Anne Boleyn and wife to Anne's brother George aided the young couple's affair by keeping watch when they met in secret.
Walls Have Ears
Thomas Cramer, the Archbishop of Canterbury learned of Katherine's past and was only too delighted to bring down his Catholic Queen. He wrote a letter including all the information he knew about Queen Katherine's past and left it on a church pew for the King to find when he went to Mass. The King, after reading it, asked Cramer to investigate these accusations. When Cramer provided King Henry with proof the King broke down in public asking for a sword so to run her through. He then commanded that both Queen Katherine and Lady Rochford were arrested. Queen Katherine was shut up in her rooms at Hampton Court. The King left Hampton Court and passed a new law making it treason for a woman to marry a King without first telling him if she had a past.
Cramer questioned the Queen and her servants for days. Dereham was also questioned. He let slip that Queen Katherine had passed him over for Culpeper. Cramer was now looking at adultery, which, for a Queen was high treason. Culpeper denied that he and the Queen had had physical relations.
And So, To the Tower Queen Katherine Went
Katherine was sent to Syon Abbey by the Thames, her rich clothes, jewels and servants removed. Dereham and Culpeper were tried and beheaded. Katherine was not tried, the House of Lords condemned her as a traitor and three months after her arrest she was taken in a barge to the Tower of London, past the rotting heads of her cousin lovers Dereham and Culpeper rotting on spikes.
On 13th February 1542 Katherine went to the scaffold to meet her fate. She told the crowd that she deserved a hundred deaths, she knelt down and with one blow the axe took off her head. She is buried near to her cousin, Queen Anne Boleyn, in the chapel of St Peter in Chains in the Tower of London.
In the course of 118 years, between 1483 - 1601, seven famous traitors were beheaded in the Tower of London. Five of these traitors were women. King Henry VIII kept the executioners busy. Three of these beheadings were ordered by him over six years:
2. Anne Boleyn (1536)
3. Countess of Salisbury (1541)
4. Katherine Howard (1542)
5. Lady Rochford (1542)
6. Lady Jane Grey (1554)
For further reading on Katherine Howard I can recommend:
Katherine brought some of her old servants into her new household. The same servants who had seen her romping with Dereham. Dereham, back from Ireland, even came to work for her. By the Spring Katherine was having secret affair with her cousin, Thomas Culpeper who was a favourite of the King. It seems that Katherine took no heed from Anne Boleyn's demise which had happened only five years before.
Lady Rochford, the sister in law to Anne Boleyn and wife to Anne's brother George aided the young couple's affair by keeping watch when they met in secret.
Walls Have Ears
Thomas Cramer, the Archbishop of Canterbury learned of Katherine's past and was only too delighted to bring down his Catholic Queen. He wrote a letter including all the information he knew about Queen Katherine's past and left it on a church pew for the King to find when he went to Mass. The King, after reading it, asked Cramer to investigate these accusations. When Cramer provided King Henry with proof the King broke down in public asking for a sword so to run her through. He then commanded that both Queen Katherine and Lady Rochford were arrested. Queen Katherine was shut up in her rooms at Hampton Court. The King left Hampton Court and passed a new law making it treason for a woman to marry a King without first telling him if she had a past.
Cramer questioned the Queen and her servants for days. Dereham was also questioned. He let slip that Queen Katherine had passed him over for Culpeper. Cramer was now looking at adultery, which, for a Queen was high treason. Culpeper denied that he and the Queen had had physical relations.
And So, To the Tower Queen Katherine Went
Katherine was sent to Syon Abbey by the Thames, her rich clothes, jewels and servants removed. Dereham and Culpeper were tried and beheaded. Katherine was not tried, the House of Lords condemned her as a traitor and three months after her arrest she was taken in a barge to the Tower of London, past the rotting heads of her cousin lovers Dereham and Culpeper rotting on spikes.
On 13th February 1542 Katherine went to the scaffold to meet her fate. She told the crowd that she deserved a hundred deaths, she knelt down and with one blow the axe took off her head. She is buried near to her cousin, Queen Anne Boleyn, in the chapel of St Peter in Chains in the Tower of London.
In the course of 118 years, between 1483 - 1601, seven famous traitors were beheaded in the Tower of London. Five of these traitors were women. King Henry VIII kept the executioners busy. Three of these beheadings were ordered by him over six years:
Traitors in the Tower of London:
1. Lord Hastings (1483)2. Anne Boleyn (1536)
3. Countess of Salisbury (1541)
4. Katherine Howard (1542)
5. Lady Rochford (1542)
6. Lady Jane Grey (1554)
For further reading on Katherine Howard I can recommend:
