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14 | <Metadata name="Content">Catherine Howard, fifth queen of Henry VIII</Metadata>
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15 | <Metadata name="Page_topic">Catherine Howard, fifth queen of Henry VIII</Metadata>
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16 | <Metadata name="Author">Marilee Mongello</Metadata>
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17 | <Metadata name="Title">Catherine Howard: Biography, Portraits, Primary Sources</Metadata>
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18 | <Metadata name="FileFormat">HTML</Metadata>
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19 | <Metadata name="URL">http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/howard.html</Metadata>
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35 | <table border="0" cellpadding="3" width="100%" height="631">
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36 | <tbody>
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37 | <tr>
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38 | <td width="25%" height="1"><br>
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39 | </td>
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40 | <td valign="top" width="50%" height="1"><p></td>
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41 | <td width="25%" height="1"><br>
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42 | </td>
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43 | </tr>
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44 | <tr>
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45 | <td width="25%" height="3"><br>
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46 | </td>
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47 | <td width="50%" height="3">
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48 | <p align="center"><font size="4">'The King's affection was so
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49 | marvelously set upon that gentlewoman [Catherine], as it was never
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50 | known that he had the like to any woman.'</font><br>
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51 | <i><font size="-1">Thomas Cranmer's secretary, Ralph Morice, in a
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52 | letter to his master, 1540</font></i></p>
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53 | </td>
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54 | <td width="25%" height="3"><br>
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55 | </td>
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56 | </tr>
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57 | <tr>
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58 | <td width="25%" height="610"><br>
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59 | </td>
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60 | <td valign="top" width="50%" height="610">
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61 | <p align="center">&nbsp;</p>
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62 | <p align="center"><img height="95" alt="Catherine Howard"
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63 | src="_httpdocimg_/howardcardinal.gif" width="389"></p>
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64 | <p align="center">
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65 | <img height="252"
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66 | alt="portrait of Catherine Howard by Holbein, on the back of a playing-card"
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67 | src="_httpdocimg_/howard-crop.jpg"
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68 | width="250"></p>
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69 | <p align="center"> <i><font size="2">miniature portrait of Catherine
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70 | Howard by Hans Holbein the Younger</font></i></p>
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71 | <p align="left"> <b><br>Catherine Howard was a cousin of Henry
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72 | VIII's ill-fated second queen, Anne Boleyn; and like Anne, Catherine
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73 | would die on the scaffold at Tower Green.&nbsp; Her birthdate is
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74 | unknown, but her father was the younger brother of the duke of
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75 | Norfolk.&nbsp; Though personally impoverished, Catherine had a powerful
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76 | family name and thus secured an appointment as lady-in-waiting to
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77 | Henry's fourth queen, Anne of Cleves.&nbsp; While at court, she caught
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78 | the eye of the middle-aged king and became a political pawn of her
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79 | family and its Catholic allies.&nbsp; Catherine's greatest crime was
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80 | her silliness.&nbsp; Raised in the far too permissive household of her
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81 | grandmother, she was a flirtatious and emotional girl who rarely
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82 | understood the consequences of her actions.&nbsp; She made the mistake
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83 | of continuing her girlish indiscretions as queen.&nbsp; Henry was
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84 | besotted with her, calling her his 'Rose without a Thorn' and showering
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85 | her with gifts and public affection.&nbsp; Catherine was understandably
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86 | more attracted to men her own age and, after just seventeen months of
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87 | marriage to the king, she was arrested for adultery.&nbsp; The
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88 | distraught king at first refused to believe the evidence but it was
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89 | persuasive.&nbsp; Unlike Anne Boleyn, Catherine had betrayed the
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90 | king.&nbsp; She was beheaded on 13 February 1542, only nineteen or
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91 | twenty years old.&nbsp; <font face="Times New Roman,Times"
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92 | color="#000000">The drama of her execution lends gravity to a brief
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93 | life which would otherwise pass unnoticed.</font></b></p>
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94 | <blockquote>
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95 | <p>&nbsp;</p>
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96 | <p><a
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97 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fhoward.html#Biography">
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98 | <font size="4"><br>
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99 | Read the biography of Catherine Howard.</font></a></p>
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100 | <p><br>
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101 | <b>Primary Sources</b> <br>
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102 | Read <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fletter13.html">Catherine's
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103 | letter to Thomas Culpeper</a>. <br>
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104 | <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fpricath.html">The fall
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105 | of Catherine Howard</a>, 1540</p>
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106 | <p>Visit <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.marileecody.com%2fimages.html">Tudor
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107 | England: Images</a> to view the only known portrait of Catherine. </p>
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108 | <p>Test your knowledge of Catherine's life at <a
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109 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2ftudor1.html">Tudor Quizzes</a>.</p>
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110 | <p><font size="2"><b><br>
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111 | Interact<br>
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112 | </b> Meet other Six Wives enthusiasts at <a
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113 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fladiesallfanlist.cjb.net">Ladies All: A Fanlisting for
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114 | the Six Wives of Henry VIII</a>.<br>
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115 | <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2ftudorhistory.org%2flists%2flist.html"> Tudor Talk </a>&nbsp;This
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116 | email discussion list is sponsored by Tudorhistory.org.<br>
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117 | <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fgroups.yahoo.com%2fgroup%2fReign%5fof%5fthe%5fTudors%5frpg">Reign
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118 | of the Tudors</a>&nbsp; This is a role-playing game set in 16th century
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119 | England.&nbsp; If you would like to 'play' Jane Grey or Anne Boleyn or
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120 | other Tudors, click the link to join.</font></p>
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121 | <p align="left">&nbsp;</p>
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122 | </blockquote>
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123 | </td>
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124 | <td width="25%" height="610"><br>
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125 | </td>
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126 | </tr>
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127 | </tbody>
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128 | </table>
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129 | <blockquote>
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130 | <blockquote>
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131 | <blockquote>
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132 | <p><b><a name="Biography"></a></b><font size="4">'I found her in
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133 | such lamentation and heaviness, as I never saw no creature, so that it
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134 | would have pitied any man's heart in the world, to have looked upon
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135 | her.'</font>&nbsp;&nbsp; <i><font size="-1">Thomas Cranmer describes
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136 | visiting Catherine after her arrest, 1542</font></i> </p>
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137 | </blockquote>
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138 | </blockquote>
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139 | <p>&nbsp;</p>
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140 | <p><b>Biography</b> <br>
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141 | Catherine Howard's short life is one of the great cautionary tales of
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142 | Henry VIII's reign; there is about it something strangely pathetic and
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143 | small, but also powerful and moving.&nbsp; Catherine was neither
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144 | particularly beautiful or intelligent, but she was a charming,
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145 | flirtatious girl who rose, virtually overnight, from obscurity to
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146 | become queen of England. </p>
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147 | <p>She was the daughter of the 2d duke of Norfolk's youngest son,
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148 | Edmund, and his wife, Jocasta (Joyce) Culpeper.&nbsp; She was one of
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149 | too many children for her impoverished parents and the date of her
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150 | birth was not recorded; most historians believe it was 1521.&nbsp;
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151 | Edmund was not an auspicious individual and, like most younger sons,
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152 | spent most of his life in constant need of money.&nbsp; He complained
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153 | to the king's chief minister <a
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154 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fcitizens%2fcromwell.html">Thomas
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155 | Cromwell</a> that he wished to be a poor man's son for at least then he
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156 | could work without shame.&nbsp; But he was an aristocrat, a member of
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157 | one of the greatest noble families of England, and he could do little
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158 | but beg for help from one relation to another.&nbsp; He sent his
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159 | daughter to live with her grandmother, the dowager duchess of Norfolk,
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160 | and thus avoided responsibility for Catherine's upbringing.&nbsp; This
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161 | should not reflect badly upon him since it was typical of the times;
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162 | and though Catherine's grandmother complained ceaselessly about the
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163 | expense of supporting numerous grandchildren, she did provide a
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164 | comfortable home.&nbsp; She did not, however, provide strict
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165 | supervision - a fact which would have dire consequences for the entire
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166 | Norfolk family after Catherine became queen. </p>
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167 | <p>Catherine was raised in a type of dormitory at Lambeth Palace,
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168 | crowded in with other young girls (some were servants to her
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169 | grandmother) and her education was not intellectual.&nbsp; Rather, her
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170 | days were spent passing the time in the most pleasant manner
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171 | possible.&nbsp; The duchess's household was not wealthy and Catherine
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172 | understandably chafed at her constricted lifestyle.&nbsp; There was
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173 | within her a strong love of luxury and inability to control her
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174 | desires; this was a lack of self-control, a realization that certain
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175 | things should not be done, must not be risked, no matter how much she
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176 | wanted something.&nbsp; While she was simply one of many daughters of
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177 | an impoverished lord, this immaturity did not matter.&nbsp; But when
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178 | she became queen, it remained and past indiscretions also returned to
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179 | haunt her.&nbsp; </p>
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180 | <p>Catherine grew into a merry and vivacious girl, not conventionally
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181 | beautiful but graceful and charming.&nbsp; She possessed all the
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182 | vitality of youth, something which proved irresistible to her aged
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183 | king.&nbsp; The only part of her sporadic education which she seemed to
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184 | enjoy were her music lessons; in particular, she enjoyed the attentions
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185 | of her music teacher, a man named Henry Mannox.&nbsp; They first met in
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186 | 1536, when Catherine was just fifteen years old.&nbsp; Hired to teach
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187 | her the virginal and lute, Mannox soon began a practiced seduction of
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188 | his young pupil.&nbsp; </p>
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189 | <p>Catherine later swore the relationship was not consummated.&nbsp;
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190 | 'At the flattering and fair persuasions of Mannox being but a young
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191 | girl I suffered him at sundry times to handle and touch the secret
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192 | parts of my body which neither became me with honesty to permit nor him
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193 | to require,' she later told interrogators.&nbsp; Mannox admitted the
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194 | same.&nbsp; Since Catherine later confessed to more serious
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195 | transgressions, there was no reason for her to lie in this
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196 | instance.&nbsp; And one can certainly condemn Mannox for taking
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197 | advantage of his young student. </p>
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198 | <p>As a mere music teacher, Mannox was too far below her in social
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199 | status for a serious relationship to develop.&nbsp; Though he followed
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200 | the duchess's household to London in 1538, Catherine's attentions soon
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201 | turned elsewhere.&nbsp; She fell in love with a gentleman-pensioner in
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202 | her grandmother's household named Francis Dereham.&nbsp; This
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203 | relationship was far more serious and undoubtedly consummated.&nbsp;
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204 | There is much evidence on this point, including Catherine's own
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205 | confession: 'Francis Dereham by many persuasions procured me to his
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206 | vicious purpose and obtained first to lie upon my bed with his doublet
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207 | and hose and after within the bed and finally he lay with me naked and
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208 | used me in such sort as a man doth his wife many and sundry times but
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209 | how often I know not.' </p>
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210 | <p>Their affair continued throughout 1538.&nbsp; They addressed one
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211 | another as 'husband' and 'wife' and when Dereham was sent to Ireland on
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212 | business, he left 100 pds in Catherine's keeping.&nbsp; </p>
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213 | <p>But Mannox, still with the household, was infuriated; his
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214 | attraction to Catherine continued while she spurned his company for
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215 | Dereham's.&nbsp; In revenge, he sent an anonymous note to the dowager
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216 | duchess.&nbsp; She then discovered Catherine and Dereham together and
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217 | there was a frightful scene.&nbsp; But a physical relationship between
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218 | a betrothed couple was not uncommon by sixteenth-century standards and
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219 | Catherine and Dereham parted with some understanding of marriage when
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220 | he returned from Ireland. </p>
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221 | <p>But, unluckily for Dereham, Catherine's heart cooled towards him
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222 | while he was away.&nbsp; And in 1539, having moved closer to court and
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223 | staying at her uncle's house, she met Thomas Culpeper.&nbsp; A
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224 | gentleman of the king's Privy Chamber and cousin of Catherine's mother
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225 | Joyce Culpeper, he was a handsome and charming young man; his position
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226 | in court was considered important since it allowed personal access to
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227 | the king.&nbsp; Catherine fell in love with him, though Culpeper's own
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228 | feelings are not known.&nbsp; Catherine's family was powerful and she
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229 | was an attractive girl.&nbsp; It is likely that he was at least
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230 | interested in her, if not immediately infatuated.&nbsp; </p>
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231 | <p>But then the great event occurred which was to change Catherine's
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232 | life forever.&nbsp; She arrived at court in late 1539 or early 1540 as
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233 | a lady-in-waiting to <a
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234 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fcleves.html">Anne of
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235 | Cleves</a> and Henry VIII fell in love with her. </p>
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236 | <p>It is clear from Catherine's life before meeting the king that she
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237 | was a flirtatious and emotional girl.&nbsp; It is also clear that she
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238 | possessed the charm and sexual allure to attract men.&nbsp; These were
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239 | to be her greatest strengths and weaknesses, for while they attracted
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240 | the king, they also led her into increasingly reckless behavior.&nbsp;
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241 | If she had married Dereham or Culpeper, or any other social-climber,
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242 | she would have remained a gossip and flirt, perhaps she would have
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243 | succumbed to adultery.&nbsp; But behavior that could be tolerated in a
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244 | poor niece of a duke was treason in a queen of England. </p>
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245 | <p>Catherine's family was torn between elation and trepidation with
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246 | regard to Henry's infatuation.&nbsp; T<font face="Times New Roman,Times"
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247 | color="#000000">he Norfolk name was one of the oldest in
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248 | England.&nbsp; They had supported Richard III against the first Tudor
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249 | king, Henry VII, but managed to win favor with their military prowess
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250 | and servile devotion to the new dynasty.&nbsp; But Henry VIII never
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251 | fully trusted Thomas Howard, the 3d duke of Norfolk, though he wed two
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252 | of Norfolk's nieces.&nbsp; Their grand name, then, was both blessing
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253 | and curse.&nbsp; As an old family in a court of upstarts and fond of
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254 | feudal prerogative, Catherine's relatives had made wary friends and
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255 | bitter enemies at court.&nbsp; And the divisive reign of Anne Boleyn,
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256 | herself no friend of her Norfolk relations (the duke presided over her
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257 | trial), had taught them all to tread carefully about the king.&nbsp;
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258 | And Catherine's personality worried them.&nbsp; Could she sustain the
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259 | king's attraction?&nbsp; And, if so, could she become a mature and
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260 | successful queen?</font> </p>
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261 | <p><font face="Times New Roman,Times" color="#000000">It is important
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262 | to remember that Henry's previous English queens, <a
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263 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fboleyn.html">Anne Boleyn</a>
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264 | and <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fseymour.html">Jane
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265 | Seymour</a>, had spent years in royal service before marrying their
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266 | king.&nbsp; They were veterans of the English court and knew the
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267 | intricacies and dangers of their position.&nbsp; Catherine was a mere
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268 | child by contrast, barely literate, and born in a later
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269 | generation.&nbsp; But for the conservative faction at Henry's court,
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270 | those dedicated to the restoration of the Catholic faith as practiced
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271 | before the Reformation, she was their last, best hope.&nbsp; Unlike
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272 | Anne Boleyn, Catherine's personal and political success was not tied to
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273 | the Protestant faith.&nbsp; She had been raised Catholic by her Norfolk
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274 | grandmother and, despite her personal lapses, she represented the
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275 | conservative faith to others.</font> </p>
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276 | <p><font face="Times New Roman,Times" color="#000000">Catherine's
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277 | relatives questioned her maturity, but they were not willing to risk
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278 | the king's wrath by pointing it out.&nbsp; Henry VIII was mercurial and
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279 | dangerous, and his latest marriage was a bitter disappointment.&nbsp;
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280 | Woe to the courtier who spoke ill of his latest attraction!&nbsp; It
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281 | was left to the Norfolk clan to coach Catherine as best they could and
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282 | hope their triumph would last.&nbsp;</font> </p>
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283 | <p><font face="Times New Roman,Times" color="#000000">The king soon
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284 | publicly favored young Mistress Howard.&nbsp; On 24 April she was given
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285 | lands seized from a felon; a few weeks later, she received an expensive
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286 | gift of quilted sarcanet.&nbsp; It is possible their relationship was
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287 | consummated around this time for there was a sudden urgency to annul
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288 | the ill-fated marriage to Anne of Cleves.&nbsp; The king's advisors
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289 | soon found a valid impediment to the fourth marriage and, on 13 July
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290 | 1540, it was officially ended by Parliament.&nbsp; Meanwhile, the
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291 | French ambassador reported rumors that Catherine was pregnant.&nbsp;
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292 | The king had one son and heir but the vagaries of life in the 16th
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293 | century made another heir necessary.&nbsp; Henry had just turned
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294 | forty-nine years old and half his subjects were eighteen or
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295 | younger.&nbsp; The security of his realm was his greatest concern and
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296 | it could only be guaranteed by legitimate heirs; as a second son
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297 | himself, he knew the life of young <a
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298 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fedward6.html">Prince
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299 | Edward</a> was a slender thread upon which to balance a dynasty.</font>
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300 | </p>
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301 | <p><font face="Times New Roman,Times" color="#000000">Henry married
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302 | Catherine on 28 July 1540 at Oatlands Palace in Surrey.&nbsp; The
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303 | ceremony was a success, albeit lacking in the usual pomp and display of
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304 | royal unions.&nbsp; Catherine was never crowned queen of England.&nbsp;
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305 | Henry VIII simply couldn't afford the ceremony; perhaps, too, he wished
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306 | to wait until the marriage proved successful in the most important way
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307 | and Catherine bore him a son.&nbsp; The king consulted his council on
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308 | creating a new succession should the blessed event occur, pushing his
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309 | daughters Mary and Elizabeth even further from the throne.</font> </p>
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310 | <p><font face="Times New Roman,Times" color="#000000">The next year
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311 | was an Indian summer in the king's life.&nbsp; Catherine chose as her
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312 | motto 'Non autre volonte que la sienne' ('No other wish but his' or 'No
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313 | other will than his') and did her best to amuse and distract him.&nbsp;
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314 | The waste of lives and exorbitant money fighting France had depressed
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315 | the English treasury and the king's spirits.&nbsp; And the Reformation
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316 | had cost him the love of the common people.&nbsp; Henry also
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317 | increasingly suffered from the ailments which would kill him a few
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318 | years later.&nbsp; He had severe headaches and pains throughout his
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319 | body; he found it difficult to sleep and was often impotent.&nbsp;</font>
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320 | </p>
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321 | <p><font face="Times New Roman,Times" color="#000000">English
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322 | politics had become another headache for the king.&nbsp; His great
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323 | advisor and friend, Thomas Cromwell, had championed the Protestant
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324 | cause and the union with Anne of Cleves.&nbsp; The king's
|
---|
325 | disappointment - and the endless conniving of Cromwell's enemies - led
|
---|
326 | to his arrest and execution on the very day Henry and Catherine
|
---|
327 | married.&nbsp; Within a few months, the king openly lamented the loss
|
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328 | of his 'most faithful servant'.&nbsp;</font> </p>
|
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329 | <p><font face="Times New Roman,Times" color="#000000">Chief among
|
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330 | Cromwell's enemies were Catherine's uncle Norfolk and his close friend,
|
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331 | Stephen Gardiner, bishop of Winchester.&nbsp; Norfolk had always chafed
|
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332 | at the power Henry granted the 'commoner' Cromwell; Gardiner was a
|
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333 | Catholic who despised Cromwell's legislative destruction of the papacy
|
---|
334 | in England.&nbsp; They used Catherine and the king's own impatience and
|
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335 | cupidity to destroy Cromwell.&nbsp; But it was only a brief triumph.</font>
|
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336 | </p>
|
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337 | <p><font face="Times New Roman,Times" color="#000000">Catherine was
|
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338 | not pregnant in the summer of 1540, nor did she become so.&nbsp; But
|
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339 | the king was so physically affectionate with her in public that none
|
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340 | doubted the happy event would occur.&nbsp; Still, warning signs about
|
---|
341 | this hasty marriage had already begun.&nbsp; Catherine's relationship
|
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342 | with Dereham had never been kept secret, though Henry was perhaps
|
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343 | unaware of it.&nbsp; His courtiers gossiped and wondered.&nbsp; Joan
|
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344 | Bulmer, a young woman who had lived with Catherine at Lambeth,
|
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345 | requested that Catherine bring her to court to share in her 'great
|
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346 | destiny'; it was a subtle blackmail.&nbsp; In August 1541, Dereham was
|
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347 | made her secretary, perhaps as a bribe to keep quiet about their former
|
---|
348 | relationship.&nbsp; So even as she collected rich gifts of gowns,
|
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349 | jewels, fur cloaks, and golden clocks, Catherine knew her indecorous
|
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350 | past lurked in the background.&nbsp; Was she worried?&nbsp; As her
|
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351 | later behavior showed, she was not.&nbsp;</font> </p>
|
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352 | <p>She was not merely collecting personal finery, but also lands and
|
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353 | manors that had once belonged to Jane Seymour and even Thomas
|
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354 | Cromwell.&nbsp; And she began to explore the traditional role of the
|
---|
355 | queen as patroness.&nbsp; She also took great care to ensure her aged
|
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356 | husband's happiness.&nbsp; Many biographers have speculated on
|
---|
357 | Catherine's true feelings for Henry VIII.&nbsp; She probably did not
|
---|
358 | love him in the most romantic sense of the word, but she did love him
|
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359 | for the affection and generosity he showed her.&nbsp; And she also
|
---|
360 | approached him with something of an awed reverence, for he was the king
|
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361 | and thus a quasi-mystical figure, all-knowing and all-powerful.&nbsp; </p>
|
---|
362 | <p>But he was not immune to illness and in the spring of 1541, the
|
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363 | king fell low with a serious fever and Catherine was sent away for her
|
---|
364 | own safety.&nbsp; It was around this time that she began her affair
|
---|
365 | with Culpeper, the handsome young man who had caught her fancy two
|
---|
366 | years before; as evidence, we need only <a
|
---|
367 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fletter13.html">read her only
|
---|
368 | surviving letter</a>, written to Culpeper in April 1541.&nbsp; When the
|
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369 | king recovered, he took Catherine on a royal progress through the north
|
---|
370 | of England and again the French ambassador reported rumors of her
|
---|
371 | pregnancy.&nbsp; It was even suggested that, should the condition be
|
---|
372 | confirmed, Catherine would be crowned at York Minster.&nbsp; These
|
---|
373 | rumors prove that Henry still made love to his wife on a somewhat
|
---|
374 | regular basis.&nbsp; And for her part, Catherine was confident she
|
---|
375 | could 'meddle with a man' without pregnancy, which made her
|
---|
376 | relationship with Culpeper safe.&nbsp; He and Dereham both traveled in
|
---|
377 | the progress as members of the royal household.&nbsp; </p>
|
---|
378 | <p>In Catherine's rather simple view of marriage, as long as she and
|
---|
379 | the king were happy, nothing else mattered.&nbsp; And since the king
|
---|
380 | would be happy as long as he was ignorant, all would be well. </p>
|
---|
381 | <p>And the king was ignorant for a surprisingly long time.&nbsp; For
|
---|
382 | his part, Culpeper was using Catherine's infatuation to further his own
|
---|
383 | ambitions.&nbsp; He was not a particularly 'gentlemanly'
|
---|
384 | gentleman.&nbsp; In fact, he had brutally raped a park-keeper's wife,
|
---|
385 | ordering three of his servants to hold her down during the attack; he
|
---|
386 | also murdered a villager who tried to save her.&nbsp; He had been
|
---|
387 | pardoned by the king, but it is one of the few facts we know about
|
---|
388 | Culpeper and not a pleasant one.&nbsp; His ambitions regarding
|
---|
389 | Catherine undoubtedly stemmed from Henry VIII's ill health.&nbsp; If
|
---|
390 | the king died, then the queen dowager would maintain some influence and
|
---|
391 | power at court.&nbsp; Before that inevitable day, she could give him as
|
---|
392 | many expensive gifts as he desired.&nbsp; </p>
|
---|
393 | <p>Did Catherine love Culpeper?&nbsp; She undoubtedly did, at least
|
---|
394 | as much as her immature view of love allowed.&nbsp; He was handsome,
|
---|
395 | very charming, if only in a superficial manner, and he complemented and
|
---|
396 | cajoled her.&nbsp; She became increasingly open in her affection,
|
---|
397 | enough to worry Culpeper himself.&nbsp; As a gentleman of the privy
|
---|
398 | chamber, he knew the king's moods better than anyone and had no desire
|
---|
399 | to risk much for Catherine.&nbsp; </p>
|
---|
400 | <p>But there were others at court who knew of the relationship, and
|
---|
401 | they would not keep quiet.&nbsp; When the northern progress finally
|
---|
402 | ended on 1 November, and the royal couple settled at Hampton Court
|
---|
403 | Palace, Catherine's past and present indiscretions caught up with
|
---|
404 | her.&nbsp; She had been safe enough during the northern progress, for a
|
---|
405 | traveling court was not nearly as gossip-ridden as a settled one; there
|
---|
406 | were, after all, far more practical matters to attend to as the king
|
---|
407 | moved from city to city.&nbsp; But once they were home, other matters
|
---|
408 | could take precedence - matters like the queen's infidelity. </p>
|
---|
409 | <p>Catherine's fall from grace was so rapid that foreign ambassadors
|
---|
410 | were at a loss to explain it.&nbsp; The man behind it was John
|
---|
411 | Lascelles, the brother of Mary Hall, herself a chambermaid to the
|
---|
412 | dowager duchess of Norfolk and thus privy to Catherine's past.&nbsp;
|
---|
413 | However, the past was not necessarily a danger to the queen; most young
|
---|
414 | women could not withstand scrutiny of their early flirtations.&nbsp;
|
---|
415 | They were perhaps not serious enough to warrant her execution.&nbsp;
|
---|
416 | Lascelles, who was a 'convinced reformer', was motivated by his
|
---|
417 | religious convictions and not personal animosity towards
|
---|
418 | Catherine.&nbsp; But she represented the conservative Catholic faction
|
---|
419 | and, with her influence, they were growing more powerful and
|
---|
420 | reactionary.&nbsp; Lascelles went to Thomas Cranmer, Henry's close
|
---|
421 | friend and archbishop of Canterbury.&nbsp; Cranmer recognized the
|
---|
422 | dangers to Catherine, namely the precontract with Dereham that would
|
---|
423 | invalidate her marriage to Henry VIII.&nbsp; The precontract, of
|
---|
424 | course, while ending her marriage, also excused her intimacy with
|
---|
425 | Dereham.&nbsp; </p>
|
---|
426 | <p>On 2 November, while Henry attended a Mass for All Souls' Day,
|
---|
427 | Cranmer passed him a letter with the charges.&nbsp; The king was
|
---|
428 | immediately 'perplexed' and believed the letter was a forgery.&nbsp;
|
---|
429 | This was his first and thoroughly honest reaction; Catherine had
|
---|
430 | deceived him well.&nbsp; He ordered Cranmer to keep the matter private
|
---|
431 | and began an investigation.&nbsp; It took but a few days for
|
---|
432 | Catherine's house of cards to come tumbling down.&nbsp; </p>
|
---|
433 | <p>An assortment of female servants were arrested and sent to the
|
---|
434 | Tower, as was Dereham.&nbsp; He was tortured; he confessed his earlier
|
---|
435 | relationship and named Culpeper as the queen's current lover.&nbsp;
|
---|
436 | Culpeper was then arrested, tortured, and confessed.&nbsp; </p>
|
---|
437 | <p>When confronted with the confessions, Henry's confusion gave way
|
---|
438 | to great anger and self-pity.&nbsp; He managed to blame everyone but
|
---|
439 | himself for this latest marital catastrophe.&nbsp; He wished for a
|
---|
440 | sword to slay Catherine himself - a not uncommon reaction for a
|
---|
441 | cuckolded husband, particularly one who had been so generous and
|
---|
442 | trusting.&nbsp; He left Hampton Court on 5 November, sailing to
|
---|
443 | Whitehall Palace.&nbsp; Catherine was arrested on 12 November and her
|
---|
444 | tearful pleas to see the king were ignored; she was locked in her
|
---|
445 | rooms.&nbsp; Two days later, she was taken to Syon House.&nbsp; She
|
---|
446 | would never see Henry again. </p>
|
---|
447 | <p>Cranmer was given the distasteful task of interrogating the
|
---|
448 | terrified girl.&nbsp; She was hysterical, convinced she would be
|
---|
449 | executed like her cousin; even the archbishop felt pity for her
|
---|
450 | condition.&nbsp; Perhaps he suggested an option to Henry VIII that he
|
---|
451 | had first proposed for Anne Boleyn - let Catherine admit her sins,
|
---|
452 | annul the marriage, and send her away.&nbsp; The Dereham precontract
|
---|
453 | was the perfect excuse.&nbsp; Catherine need only admit its existence
|
---|
454 | and her life would be spared.&nbsp; It was the king's 'most gracious
|
---|
455 | mercy' and her only possible chance for survival. </p>
|
---|
456 | <p>But Catherine, frightened and lacking any counsel, did not realize
|
---|
457 | that the precontract would save her life.&nbsp; Instead, she was
|
---|
458 | convinced it would be used to condemn her.&nbsp; And so, even as she
|
---|
459 | admitted to 'carnal copulation' with Dereham, she stressed his
|
---|
460 | 'importune forcement' and 'violence'.&nbsp; She and Cranmer wanted the
|
---|
461 | same end but talked at odds.&nbsp; And it was possible, too, that Henry
|
---|
462 | VIII had never intended to spare her life. </p>
|
---|
463 | <p>Indeed, with each day that passed, the king was less inclined to
|
---|
464 | show mercy.&nbsp; The floodgates had opened and ever more scurrilous
|
---|
465 | rumors were heard about his 'Rose without a thorn'. </p>
|
---|
466 | <p>Catherine was demoted from her position as Queen on 22 November
|
---|
467 | and formally indicted two days later for leading an 'abominable, base,
|
---|
468 | carnal, voluptuous and vicious life'.&nbsp; She remained at Syon House
|
---|
469 | for the next two months.&nbsp; On 10 December, Dereham paid a horrific
|
---|
470 | penalty for his 'crimes'; he was hung, drawn, and quartered
|
---|
471 | (disemboweled and castrated while still conscious) as a traitor.&nbsp;
|
---|
472 | Culpeper was also executed that day, though he suffered a more merciful
|
---|
473 | beheading; this was ordered by the king, perhaps because of Culpeper's
|
---|
474 | higher rank and personal service in his household.&nbsp; Their heads
|
---|
475 | were fixed on spears atop London Bridge and remained there as late as
|
---|
476 | 1546. </p>
|
---|
477 | <p>Catherine, meanwhile, continued in a state of suspended
|
---|
478 | hysteria.&nbsp; Her various relatives were sent to the Tower, including
|
---|
479 | the elderly dowager duchess.&nbsp; Only the duke survived, having
|
---|
480 | sufficiently humbled himself before Henry. </p>
|
---|
481 | <p>Perhaps the executions of Dereham and Culpeper had brought a
|
---|
482 | newfound maturity to Catherine.&nbsp; She was content to remain quietly
|
---|
483 | at Syon House, though it was clear the king could not allow it.&nbsp;
|
---|
484 | On 21 January the House of Lords passed an Act of Attainder and it
|
---|
485 | received the king's approval on 11 February.&nbsp; It was intended to
|
---|
486 | answer the question vexing them all - of what exactly was Catherine
|
---|
487 | Howard guilty?&nbsp; If she had been precontracted to Dereham, then she
|
---|
488 | was never married to the king - and thus not guilty of adultery.&nbsp;
|
---|
489 | But in a speech on 6 February, Henry made it clear that the new Act
|
---|
490 | could punish those who <i>intended</i> to commit treason (or adultery,
|
---|
491 | since adultery in a queen was treason.)&nbsp; It was this intent which
|
---|
492 | sealed Catherine's fate.&nbsp; </p>
|
---|
493 | <p>On Friday, 10 February 1542, the duke of Suffolk arrived to take
|
---|
494 | Catherine to the Tower of London.&nbsp; The hysterical frenzy returned;
|
---|
495 | she struggled and had to be forced aboard the barge.&nbsp; She was
|
---|
496 | dressed in black velvet and lodged in the Queen's Apartments, though no
|
---|
497 | longer queen.&nbsp; On Sunday night, she was informed that she would be
|
---|
498 | executed the next day.&nbsp; Her only request was that the block be
|
---|
499 | brought to her for she wished to 'know how to place herself.'&nbsp; It
|
---|
500 | was to be her last act on a grand stage; she would die with all the
|
---|
501 | dignity and composure possible. </p>
|
---|
502 | <p>Around seven o'clock on Monday, 13 February, several privy
|
---|
503 | councilors arrived as escort.&nbsp; Her uncle Norfolk was not among
|
---|
504 | them, having wisely withdrawn to his country estates.&nbsp; Catherine
|
---|
505 | was weak and frightened and had to be helped up the steps to the
|
---|
506 | scaffold.&nbsp; But once there, she made a small, quiet speech
|
---|
507 | regarding her 'worthy and just punishment'; she prayed for the king's
|
---|
508 | preservation and for God's forgiveness.&nbsp; The actual execution was
|
---|
509 | over quickly. Catherine's body was interred at the nearby chapel of St
|
---|
510 | Peter ad Vincula.&nbsp; </p>
|
---|
511 | <p>Catherine Howard did not have an impact upon English
|
---|
512 | history.&nbsp; She is perhaps the most inconsequential of Henry VIII's
|
---|
513 | six wives, her reign as queen a very brief eighteen months.&nbsp; She
|
---|
514 | bore no children and made no lasting impression upon those who knew
|
---|
515 | her.&nbsp; But it should be remembered that she was thirty years
|
---|
516 | younger than her husband, a silly young girl who never understood the
|
---|
517 | dangers of royal regard.&nbsp; Her life was over before it had truly
|
---|
518 | begun; we can only wonder how it might have ended differently.</p>
|
---|
519 | <p> <br>
|
---|
520 | &nbsp;</p>
|
---|
521 | <blockquote>
|
---|
522 | <center>
|
---|
523 | <p><font size="-1"><a
|
---|
524 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fwives.html">to the Six
|
---|
525 | Wives main page</a></font> <br>
|
---|
526 | <font size="2"><a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor.html">to
|
---|
527 | Tudor England</a></font></p>
|
---|
528 | <p><font size="2">The only biography of Catherine Howard is <i>A
|
---|
529 | Tudor Tragedy</i> by Lacey Baldwin Smith,<br>
|
---|
530 | which is sadly out-of-print.&nbsp; Catherine is also the subject of
|
---|
531 | Ford Madox Ford's<br>
|
---|
532 | <i>The Fifth Queen</i>, one of my favorite works of historical
|
---|
533 | fiction.</font></p>
|
---|
534 | </center>
|
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535 | </blockquote>
|
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536 | </blockquote>
|
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537 |
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538 | <!-- text below generated by server. PLEASE REMOVE --><!-- Counter/Statistics data collection code --><script language="JavaScript" src="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fhostingprod.com%2fjs%5fsource%2fgeov2.js"></script><script language="javascript">geovisit();</script><noscript><img src="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;el=direct&amp;href=http://visit.webhosting.yahoo.com/visit.gif?us1108082570" alt="setstats" border="0" width="1" height="1"></noscript>
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540 | </Content>
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541 | </Section>
|
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542 | </Archive>
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