KATHRYN HOWARD: The Young Beauty

Today, we have Katheryn Howard, the fifth wife of King Henry VIII.  After discovering that Anne of Cleves did not look like her portrait (and was somewhat lumpy and large-breasted) Henry VIII lost all interest in her.  Shortly after this, young Katheryn Howard caught Henry's eye.  She was fifteen at the time, and that seems highly inappropriate today because Henry was no less than fifty.  Not only was he fifty, but Henry was a very large man at this point in time.  He had thrombosis in his leg, and the sore needed to be drained daily and smelled awful.  This, Henry was not necessarily a catch at this point regardless of his wealth and power for a young girl from the affluent Howard family.  However, Henry had the fact that he was king, and it could be considered Kathryn Howard's duty to marry him.  He showered her with gifts including: jewels, a house, clothes, and money.  Because Henry was so fat and disgusting, Kathryn never had any real feelings for him.  Thus, she slept around.  While Henry usually demanded his wives be virgins, he didn't question Kathryn's virginity because she was so young.  In the end, he really should have checked it because she was not a virgin.  She had had various affairs with Henry Mannox while she was staying at her grandmother's (The Dowager Duchess of Norfolk) house, Francis Dereham (secretary for the Dowager Duchess), and Thomas Culpepper (a male courtier that was in Henry's favor).  In the end, her secret was revealed to Henry himself.  Originally, she was only accused of not being a virgin (which was not necessarily a crime, but it humiliated Henry).  Then, her affair with Dereham was revealed.  Because Dereham was later made her secretary, this lead to an avenue by which Kathryn could be charged with adultery.  She was tried and convicted of adultery (which was treason when it came from a queen).  She was beheaded on February 13, 1542.

Kathryn is not given a lot of credit.  She is considered relatively unimportant in the grand scheme of Henry's wives.  She was only married to him for two years, and very little happened in two years.  She is sometimes compared with Anne Boleyn because they were both beheaded.  Unfortunately, Anne sparked the English Reformation and Kathryn really appears to have only cheated.

Her Wikipedia Page

Her Tudor History Page

And for the next blog...