32 Facts About Catherine Howard

Catherine Howard was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper, a cousin to Anne Boleyn, and the niece of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk.

Catherine Howard secured her a place in the household of Henry's fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, where Howard caught the King's interest.

Henry was 49, and it is widely accepted that Catherine was about 17 at the time of her marriage to Henry VIII.

On her paternal side, Catherine was the niece of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, and first cousin of poet and soldier Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, and Mary Howard, wife of Henry VIII's illegitimate son, Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset.

Catherine's mother, Joyce Culpeper, already had five children from her first husband, Ralph Leigh when she married Lord Edmund Howard, and they had another six together, Catherine being about her mother's tenth child.

Therefore, Catherine Howard was the first cousin of Anne Boleyn, and the first cousin once removed of Lady Elizabeth, Anne's daughter by Henry VIII.

Catherine Howard was the second cousin of Jane Seymour, because her grandmother Elizabeth Tilney was the sister of Seymour's grandmother, Anne Say.

Catherine Howard was the third of Henry VIII's wives to have been a member of the English nobility or gentry; Catherine Howard of Aragon and Anne of Cleves were royalty from continental Europe.

Catherine Howard was born in Lambeth in or about 1523, although the exact date is unknown.

An estimated date has been determined from the wills of family members, the known birth order of her and her siblings in various dated records, and the age range of her ladies-in-waiting, being in the same age group and often, same past household of the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, where Catherine Howard would spend a large portion of her childhood and adolescence.

Catherine Howard clearly was not a high priority for her father, still less her education and future prospects.

Whether due to her mother Joyce's death in about 1528, her family's financial problems, or Catherine Howard nearing the age suitable for wardship, Catherine Howard's family was broken up in 1531, when she was about 8 years of age.

Catherine Howard married sometime in the late 1530s, perhaps in 1539, and there is some evidence that he was the same age as two other men serving in the household, including his cousin Edward Waldegrave, who was in his late teens or early twenties between 1536 and 1538.

Catherine Howard severed contact with Mannox in 1538, most likely in the spring.

Shortly afterward, Catherine Howard was pursued by Francis Dereham, a secretary of the Dowager Duchess.

Catherine Howard seems to have found her attractive, and whenever they happened to be in each other's company they publicly flirted, but little else appears to have happened.

Catherine Howard rejected this, and in response he moved on to another woman within the Queen's household.

Catherine Howard adopted the French motto "Non autre volonte que la sienne", meaning "No other will but his".

Catherine Howard was too young to take part in administrative matters of State.

Catherine Howard accused councillors of being "lying time-servers", and began to regret executing Cromwell.

Catherine Howard had considered marrying Culpeper during her time as a maid-of-honour to Anne of Cleves.

John Lassells, a supporter of Cromwell, approached the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, telling him that his sister Mary refused to become a part of Queen Catherine Howard's household, stating that she had witnessed the "light" ways of Queen Catherine Howard while they were living together at Lambeth.

Catherine Howard was obliged by a Privy Councillor to return the ring previously owned by Anne of Cleves, which the King had given her; it was a symbol of removal of her regal and lawful rights.

Many of Catherine Howard's relatives were detained in the Tower, tried, found guilty of concealing treason and sentenced to life imprisonment and forfeiture of goods.

The night before her execution, Catherine Howard is believed to have spent many hours practising how to lay her head upon the block, which had been brought to her at her request.

Catherine Howard died with relative composure but looked pale and terrified; she required assistance to climb the scaffold.

Catherine Howard described her punishment as "worthy and just" and asked for mercy for her family and prayers for her soul.

Catherine Howard's body was not one of those identified during restorations of the chapel during Queen Victoria's reign.

Catherine Howard is commemorated on a plaque on the west wall dedicated to all those who died in the Tower.

Catherine Howard is wearing a pendant jewel that is similar to that shown in Holbein's portrait of Jane Seymour at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

Catherine Howard makes note of the fact that Holbein, who is known for using symbolism in subtle ways, chose to mount the miniature on a Four of Diamonds playing card and by doing so, it is speculated, was referring to the miniature as being Anne of Cleves, the Fourth Wife of Henry VIII.

All of these factors make it a reasonable potential to be Catherine Howard, based on all the evidence.