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Katherine Howard
Why was Katherine Howard executed?
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Catherine found her marital relations unappealing. She was not pregnant upon marriage (June 1540), as at first thought, and became repulsed by her husband's grotesque body. In early 1541, she embarked upon a lighthearted romance with Henry's favourite male courtier, Thomas Culpepper.
As her extramarital liaison progressed, people who had witnessed her indiscretions began to contact her for favours (i.e. blackmail). In order to buy their silence, she appointed many of them to her household. By late 1541, Catherine's indiscretions rapidly became known thanks to John Lascelles' wife, a Protestant reformer who presented the information to Thomas Cranmer, then Archbishop of Canterbury and a close advisor of Henry's.
Cranmer gave Henry a letter with the accusations against Catherine on November 2, 1541, as they attended an All Souls' Day mass. Henry at first refused to believe the allegations, thinking the letter was a forgery, and requested Cranmer further investigate the matter. Within a few days, corroborative proof was found, most notably the confessions issued from Dereham (her musician) and Culpeper after they were tortured in the Tower of London.
She was arrested on November 12, her pleas to see Henry were ignored, and Cranmer interrogated her regarding the charges. Catherine would have been disgraced, impoverished, and exiled, but ultimately spared execution had she agreed to a precontract allowing the annulment of the marriage. However, she steadfastly denied any precontract, stating that Dereham forced himself upon her. Culpeper and Dereham were executed at Tyburn in December, Parliament passed a bill of attainder in January 1542, that made the intent to commit treason punishable by death. This solved the matter of Catherine's supposed precontract and made her unequivocally guilty, as adultery by a queen was treason. She was beheaded with one stroke, and buried in the nearby chapel of St Peter ad Vincula, where
As her extramarital liaison progressed, people who had witnessed her indiscretions began to contact her for favours (i.e. blackmail). In order to buy their silence, she appointed many of them to her household. By late 1541, Catherine's indiscretions rapidly became known thanks to John Lascelles' wife, a Protestant reformer who presented the information to Thomas Cranmer, then Archbishop of Canterbury and a close advisor of Henry's.
Cranmer gave Henry a letter with the accusations against Catherine on November 2, 1541, as they attended an All Souls' Day mass. Henry at first refused to believe the allegations, thinking the letter was a forgery, and requested Cranmer further investigate the matter. Within a few days, corroborative proof was found, most notably the confessions issued from Dereham (her musician) and Culpeper after they were tortured in the Tower of London.
She was arrested on November 12, her pleas to see Henry were ignored, and Cranmer interrogated her regarding the charges. Catherine would have been disgraced, impoverished, and exiled, but ultimately spared execution had she agreed to a precontract allowing the annulment of the marriage. However, she steadfastly denied any precontract, stating that Dereham forced himself upon her. Culpeper and Dereham were executed at Tyburn in December, Parliament passed a bill of attainder in January 1542, that made the intent to commit treason punishable by death. This solved the matter of Catherine's supposed precontract and made her unequivocally guilty, as adultery by a queen was treason. She was beheaded with one stroke, and buried in the nearby chapel of St Peter ad Vincula, where
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