Birth: 1521Kathryn Howard was the fifth wife to Henry VIII. She was also the niece to Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk and a cousin to Anne Boleyn. When she was young, she was sent to Lambeth Palace to live with her step-grandmother, Agnes Tilney, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk.
The Dowager Duchess ran a very laxed household since she was often away at court. This perhaps was the reason that a romance was easily developed between Kathryn and her music teacher, Henry Manox, in 1536. Kathryn was between 12-16 years old. The affair ended in 1538, when Kathryn fell for a secretary named Francis Dereham. However, the Dowager Duchess found out and put an end to it in 1539.
Kathryn’s uncle got her a position as a lady-in-waiting to Henry VIII’s new wife, Queen Anne of Cleves. The King took an interest in the attractive 19-year-old girl immediately, and started bestowing expensive gifts of land and clothing upon her. Kathryn’s family encouraged her to take advantage of the King’s attentions in order to increase their influence and restore their status, since the execution of Anne Boleyn stained their name.
Within 16 days of his annulment from Anne, Henry married Kathryn on July 28, 1540. Henry was 30 years senior to his bride.
Still, Kathryn brought about a joy and a spirit that Henry needed during his aging years. He had gained weight and suffered from an ulcerated leg, but her youthful exuberance gave him a new found happiness for life. He called her “the rose without a thorn.”
But within a year into her marriage, rumors of her infidelity became a problem. It did not help that she was not pregnant, but she also appointed Henry Mannox as one of her musicians and Francis Dereham as her private secretary. In early 1541, Kathryn began a small romance with one of Henry’s courtiers, Thomas Culpepper. Although it was unclear if Kathryn ever committed adultery, their exchanges and meetings showed that they had some sort of relationship.
By the end of 1541, Kathryn’s flirtations were exposed because of a man named John Lascelles, who was married to the chambermaid of the Dowager Duchess. His wife, Mary, had witnessed Kathryn’s affairs back in the day, and Laschelles presented that information to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer.
Cranmer, also a close advisor to Henry, brought forth the information to the King, who at first refuse to believe the allegations. However, upon further investigations, proof was gathered, including confessions from Dereham and Culpepper and a love letter written by Kathryn.
Kathryn was arrested for adultery and imprisoned in Syon House in Middlesex through the winter of 1541. Thomas Culpepper and Francis Dereham were executed on December 8, 1541. Kathryn was executed on the Tower Green at the Tower of London on February 13, 1542. She is buried with her cousin, Anne Boleyn, in the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula.