Catherine Howard has her own name in history - "Rose without thorns". She is known as the fifth wife of Henry the Eighth, who can safely be considered the prototype of Bluebeard. Who was the young lady? How was her life with the king? Why did her husband order her to be imprisoned in a tower and executed? The article will answer all these questions.
Howard Catherine (biography: childhood and adolescence)
History has not preserved reliable information about the date of birth of the future English queen. Opinions differ significantly. She is believed to have been born between 1520-1525.
The Howard family was one of the most distinguished in the kingdom. Its head (Sir Thomas) was the Duke of Norfolk and served as chairman of the Privy Council to the king.
Catherine's parents:
- father - Sir Edmund Howard was considered the youngest son, therefore, according to English laws, an insignificant share of the inheritance passed to him, and he was forced to achieve everything on his own;
- mother - Lady Jocasta Culpeper was married for the second time. From her first marriage she left five children, and from the second - six, including the futurequeen.
After the death of her mother, the girl was given to be raised by the widow of the Duke of Norfolk, Agnes. In this house she received a meager education. However, it was here, thanks to the dissolute behavior of the Duchess's ladies-in-waiting, that Catherine gained much knowledge in the science of love. Agnes was indifferent to all this promiscuity, perceiving it as a "prank".
It is believed that in her youth Catherine Howard had two close male friends. It was the music teacher, Henry Menox, who subsequently testified against her, and the nobleman Francis Derem.
By 1539, the family was able to find a position for the girl at court. She might have been nineteen or fifteen at the time.
The position of the maid of honor
Duke Thomas of Norfolk attached his niece to the retinue of Anna of Cleves, who was the fourth wife of the king. Henry the Eighth married her by mistake, without seeing her live. When he was looking for a wife for himself, he was presented with a beautiful portrait of the artist Holbein Jr., in which he depicted a girl with aristocratic pallor and delicate features. The marriage was concluded by representatives from the side of the king and Anna. When Henry the Eighth saw his wife, he did not feel love for her, but rather disgust and pity.
The only thing he liked about Anna of Klevskaya was her retinue, which included Catherine Howard. The Tudors at that time had the right to divorce themselves, so soon Anna began to live in London not as a queen, but as"King's sister" This made it easier for both sides of the misunderstanding.
Take advantage of the situation, Thomas Norfolk, who saw the sympathy that arose between the king and his niece. Already in 1540, a modest wedding took place.
Life with Henry VIII
Catherine Howard (wife of Henry 8) was able to return his wife to his youth. At that time he was already fifty years old, he had a sore leg. To all this, in recent years he has become very stout. But his relationship with his young wife gave him back the joy of life, made him believe that he could find family happiness.
At the court, balls and tournaments began to take place again, which ceased after the death of Anne Boleyn. The king adored his wife and for her ingenuous disposition called her "Rose without thorns." She was madly in love with gifts and was childishly happy about them.
The young queen was very careless in her actions. She brought her “friends of youth” closer to the court, who knew too much about her. So, her distant relative on the mother's side, Francis Derem, whom she once wanted to marry, she appointed her secretary. This was her big mistake.
She did not suspect that she had many enemies at court, or rather opponents of her influential uncle. They took care of those close to the queen who emerged from her past. In addition, the spouses did not have a joint heir, which the king dreamed of. His only son was Prince Edward from an earlier marriage.
Accused of treason
One of those whotook up the investigation of the behavior of the queen, became Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, who had his own views on who should be next to the king. He had more guesses than evidence. However, this was enough for the king to order Cranmer to begin a secret investigation.
The ill-wishers conveyed to the king all the information about his wife, presenting evidence of her betrayal. In Henry the Eighth, this news caused a completely unexpected reaction. Instead of anger, he began to complain about the fate that does not give him the family happiness he dreams of. According to him, all the women who were in his life either cheated, or died, or were simply disgusting. At that moment, he realized that the illusion of youth had vanished.
The Queen's entourage was interrogated with particular passion, and they confessed their connection with her:
- Thomas Culpeper was a page at court;
- Henry Menox - a friend from the past;
- Francis Derem - Personal Secretary.
Catherine Howard was convicted of cheating. But she could be saved if she announced her youthful engagement to Derem. In this case, her marriage to the king would be considered invalid, and everything would have ended well. But she never acknowledged this fact.
Execution
The alleged lovers of Catherine were the first to be executed. Thomas Culpeper was beheaded and Francis Dremer was hanged and then quartered.
The Queen was placed in the Tower on February 11, 1542, where she spent three days. Catherine Howard, whose execution took place oneyes of a curious crowd, was beheaded. She met death in a state of shock, she could not even walk on her own, and she had to be carried to the place of execution.
The headless Queen Catherine Howard was buried in an unmarked grave, near another executed queen - the second wife of Henry the Eighth, Anne Boleyn. Both women were related to each other by blood as they were cousins.
The last wife of the king
After the death of Catherine, Henry VIII married again. His last chosen one was thirty-one-year-old Katerina Parr. Only she managed to outlive her husband, avoiding arrest several times due to baseless slander from ill-wishers.
Interesting facts
So severely ended the biography of Catherine Howard, who at the time of her death was no more than twenty-two years old.
There are many interesting facts about her life:
- The king in love, in honor of the wedding, ordered to cast gold coins with the inscription "Rose without thorns." Later, they were withdrawn from circulation and became a real rarity.
- After Catherine of the maid of honor Anna of Cleves became Queen of England, her friendship with Henry's fourth wife did not stop. There was a warm relationship between them. So, women spent Christmas holidays together, having dinner with the king and dancing until late.
- The future first ladies of England, Mary and Elizabeth, were nine each at the time of Catherine's executionyears. Each of them perceived this event in their own way. Mary reacted to the death of her stepmother with indifference, and Elizabeth at that time decided never to marry in her life.
- It has been estimated that the King spent more on gifts for Catherine than on his previous four wives combined.
- Presumably the ballad "The Green Holly Grows" was dedicated by Henry the Eighth to Catherine.
Image in art
Catherine Howard did not live long, and she managed to stay even less as a queen (only two years), but her image was so bright that it captivated many people of art.
So, in the films she was played by such famous actresses as Lynn Frederick, Emily Blunt, Tamzin Merchant. The opera was dedicated to her by the nineteenth-century Italian composer Giuseppe Lillo. Contemporary musician Rick Wakeman named his instrumental after Kate. She became one of the main characters in the novels by V. Holt and F. Gregory.
Catherine was too young and naive for the royal court with all its intrigues, which is why she passed away so early. But the memory of her passed through the centuries precisely because of her ease and faith in her king.
