Catherine is the tenth child of Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpepper. Her brothers and sisters include Ralph, George, Henry, Charles, Mary, Thomas, Isabel, Joyce and Margaret.
Catherine's exact date of birth is inconclusive, except that it is between 1520 and 1525. Catherine comes from a noble family. She is Thomas Howard, niece of the third Duke of Norfolk and cousin of anne boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII. Her father is the second son and has to be attached to more powerful relatives. With the help of anne boleyn, he got a position in Calais on 153 1. Young Catherine went to Agnes Thirny, the widowed godmother and the Duchess of Norfolk (Catherine's grandfather's second wife).
The Duchess lives in the luxurious Lamberthz Palace, accompanied by a large number of men and women, and many children from poor families are sheltered by her. However, the duchess often stays in the court and is very lax in educating and raising her children. Catherine can read and write, and her education level is better than that of most British women of her time. She is often described as cheerful and lively, but no one has ever said that she is knowledgeable or pious. In the laissez-faire environment of the Duchess's residence, 1536, she had an affair with the music teacher Henry Manox, when she was only 1 1 or 13 years old. When Catherine became queen, she appointed Manox as a royal musician. Later in the trial, Manox gave testimony against Catherine. Manox and Catherine both admitted that they had sexual contact.
1538, Catherine had a new suitor: the duchess's secretary, Frances Dulemet. They soon became lovers and husband and wife. Durham even gave his money to Catherine for safekeeping. Many of Catherine's roommates knew about it, but the relationship ended in 1539 with the intervention of the Duchess. Catherine and Durham agreed to get married after he came back from Ireland. In the view of the church at that time, as long as they vowed to marry each other before having sex, they could be regarded as valid marriages.
Catherine's uncle helped him get a position in the court of Henry VIII as a waiter for Anne of Clevis, Henry's German bride. Catherine was young and beautiful and soon won Henry's attention. Her relatives are full of doubts that Catherine is too young to cope with all kinds of responsibilities as a king's mistress, and she has only been in the palace for a few months. On the other hand, anne boleyn's accusation of adultery and the death penalty made the Norfolk family lose face in the court of Henry VIII. The family regards Catherine as a hope to regain her prestige and rebuild the Catholic faith in Britain. Catherine's popularity has increased the influence of this family. In just a few months, the king gave Catherine a lot of land and clothes.
As mentioned above, before Henry VIII, Catherine had a substantial marriage relationship with Dumet, which lasted until she married Henry and ended when Dumet died in 154 1 year. 1540 On July 9, Henry declared his marriage with Anne invalid. It is said that Catherine was pregnant with Henry's child at this time. They got married quickly on July 28th, probably out of Henry's urgent expectation for the legal heir. At that time, Henry was nearly fifty years old and his waistline was getting wider and wider. He surrounded Catherine with wealth, jewels and all kinds of luxurious gifts. The war with France and the Reformation brought Henry a lot of troubles, and he hoped that the bride would bring him peace and happiness again. Catherine's motto "Non autre volonte que la sienne" also shows her desire to please the king as queen.
However, despite her wealth and decision-making power, Catherine soon found married life boring. She was not really pregnant when she got married, and her husband's bloated figure made people feel boring (he weighed 136 kg at that time, and the wound on his thigh festered). 154 1 At the beginning of the year, with the help of Catherine's old waitress Jane Boleyn (Anne and mary boleyn's younger brother, widow of Viscount George Boleyn of Rockford), she started dating courtier Thomas Carr Pepper in private. There is no factual evidence that the two men really committed adultery, but this relationship did last for a long time, and they often dated.
154 1 In the summer of, the king and his wife toured all over Britain, during which they had a routine pregnancy test, which may indicate that they still kept their sex life. At the same time, Catherine's affair did not stop. In order to silence those who witnessed her gaffes at Lambert Palace in the past, she hired many old acquaintances. In particular, Henry Menox was hired as a court musician and Francis Durham as a private secretary. However, all this has led to disastrous consequences.
154 1 After the northern tour, john russell, a Protestant reformer, exposed Catherine's rash behavior. Lazarus' sister Mary Hall is the duchess's maid. In order to attack the Catholic Howard family, he leaked the news of the Queen's adultery to Thomas Cranmer, then the archbishop of Canterbury and Henry's confidant.
Cranmai gave the secret letter to Henry on15411.2. Henry didn't believe it, but he agreed to Cranmer's further investigation. Within a few days, I found tangible evidence, including the confessions of Dummette and Culpepper after being tortured in the Tower of London, and Catherine's love letter to Culpepper.
165438+ 10/2, Catherine was arrested. It is said that once she escaped from her pursuers, ran to the church where Henry attended mass, knocked on the door and shouted Henry's name. However, in the end, she was arrested and put in a room in Hampton Palace, accompanied only by Mrs. rochefort. She was forbidden to meet Henry, and Cranmai was personally in charge of her interrogation. Later, Cranmai once said, "It's the first time I saw a person so sad and depressed that anyone who saw it would sincerely sympathize with her." He ordered the guard to remove all the things she might use to kill herself.
If Catherine admits that she is engaged to Durham, Henry VIII will soon declare his marriage with Catherine invalid and expel Catherine from the court. She may live a life of shame and poverty in exile, but she can escape the tragic fate of anne boleyn. But Catherine firmly denied it, insisting that Durham forced her to commit adultery.
Imprisonment and death
165438+1On October 22nd, Catherine was deprived of the title of Queen, and she was kept in Thain Villa in middlesex all winter. Culpepper and Durham were executed in Tyburn, London on15411210. The former was beheaded and the latter was cracked. The heads of two people hang on London Bridge as usual. Her relatives, except her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, were taken to the Tower of London. These Howard family members were found guilty after trial, sentenced to life imprisonment and confiscated property. However, they were all released and their property was returned.
Catherine herself was imprisoned until June, 5438 +2654381October +0, and the Congress passed the Deprivation of Public Rights Act, which stipulated that anyone who tried to commit treason could also be sentenced to death. It doesn't matter whether Catherine is engaged or not, because the queen's adultery is treason. On February 10, she was sent to the Tower of London. 1 1 day, Henry signed a law depriving citizens of their rights, and Catherine's death penalty is scheduled to be executed at 7 am on 13.
On the eve of the execution, Catherine kept practicing how to put her head on the execution platform. When she was executed, she was pale and frightened. She needed someone to help her to the guillotine, but she was calm. She made a short speech, saying that the verdict was just and fair, and asked for mercy for her family and prayed for the redemption of her soul. Her last words were: "I will die as a queen, but I would rather die as Culpepper's wife."
She was killed by one blow, and her body was buried in St Peter's Church near the Tower of London, where her cousin anne boleyn was also buried. Henry was not present. St Peter's Church was reorganized in Victorian era, and Catherine's body was confirmed. Today, her name is also engraved on the Western Wall to commemorate the people who lost their lives in the Green Tower.
Francois I of France wrote a letter to Henry VIII, expressing regret over the loss of the "Bohemian Queen". He also said that "women's frivolity will not yield to men's honor."