Uploaded June 2024 | Updated September 2026, 52 minutes ago
The life of Katherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII, was short and tragic. A first cousin of Anne Boleyn, she was a minor member of the Howard family who was orphaned at a young age and largely raised at the home of her step-grandmother, Agnes, dowager Duchess of Norfolk. Whilst there she was involved with three men, her music teacher, Henry Manox, Agnes’s secretary Francis Dereham and a distant relation, Thomas Culpepper. Then, in 1540, she became a lady-in-waiting to Anne of Cleves and her life changed forever. Still just a teenager she caught the eye of the King and by that July she was his wife and the Queen of England. The pair seemed to get along well. Katherine was Henry’s ‘rose without a thorn’ and her presence appeared to reinvigorate him in the later part of his life. Her relationship with her step-daughter Mary (who was older than her) was tense at times, but she was kind to Prince Edward and Princess Elizabeth, even making little gifts of jewellery to the girl. Her queenship lasted less than 18 months however. In November 1541 her previous transgressions with Manox, Dereham and Culpepper came to light, as did accusations of adultery with Culpepper and all were arrested, along with Katherine’s lady-in-waiting, Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford. The men were executed that December, while Katherine and Jane were found guilty by Act of Attainder and executed on 13 February 1542 at the Tower of London. They are presumed to have been buried in the Chapel of St Peter Ad Vincula, though Katherine’s bones could not be located by the Victorians. In today’s six wives documentary from History Calling, I take a deep dive into the life of the most tragic Tudor Queen, #KatherineHoward.
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
OTHER VIDEOS YOU MIGHT LIKE:
HOW OLD WAS KATHERINE HOWARD?
youtu.be/NOUVSCKw4BY
WHAT DID KATHERINE HOWARD LOOK LIKE?
youtu.be/Oavn6o0gETI
DEATH OF KATHERINE HOWARD AND JANE BOLEYN
youtu.be/LaiU2HHTuKQ
WHAT HAPPENED TO KATHERINE HOWARD’S BODY?
youtu.be/RF1GYu2njC8
THE FACE OF JANE BOLEYN?
youtu.be/RgzPmuUA5EA
DIGGING UP ANNE BOLEYN AND OTHERS
youtu.be/EjCxVN7V6FA
SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0Hb5Wjykc2hBrBddQYXDUqU
TUDOR MONARCHS’ PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0FD_vatnjVq9egboPYy8Kg0
DEATH, MURDER AND CORPSES’ PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0HqKJP-pwWUcP1OtH1hRvN4
GEAR USED
DJI Drone: amzn.to/38h1vXr (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/39hROZm (US LINK)
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3EPIK9U (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rTWScL (US LINK)
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/37CdC1r (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3vaVxjU (US LINK)
Memory Card: amzn.to/36QvcOQ (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3KeLZZs (US LINK)
Microphone: amzn.to/3MFtoaK (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rYtjH8 (US LINK)
LEARN MORE
Want to watch/hear/read more about history (and a whole host of other topics)? Then you might benefit from a free Audible or Prime video trial. They are available from the following links:
AUDIBLE
amzn.to/44MvlMi
AUDIBLE PLUS & AUDIBLE PREMIUM PLUS
amzn.to/42rh3PF
PRIME VIDEO
amzn.to/3LW7ykg
BUY OR RENT:
The Tudors, season 1 amzn.to/2VCwQ0j
The Tudors, season 2 amzn.to/2VMPnHw
The Tudors, season 3 amzn.to/3BijsPB
The Tudors, season 4 amzn.to/3z16S58
Henry VIII and his Six Wives (2016 docu-drama) amzn.to/3jiCkag
LEARN MORE:
Gareth Russell, Young and Damned and Fair: The Life and Tragedy of Catherine Howard at the Court of Henry VIII (2017). amzn.to/3xldHhi (UK link) OR amzn.to/2VExTgg (US link)
Josephine Wilkinson, Katherine Howard: The Tragic Story of Henry VIII's Fifth Queen (London, 2016). amzn.to/3x7MxdO (UK link) OR amzn.to/3rbFuPj (US link)
David Starkey, Six Wives: the Queens of Henry VIII (Vintage, 2004) amzn.to/3k9uD4Z (UK link) OR amzn.to/3wImKIh (US link)
Antonia Fraser, The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (2nd edn, Phoenix, 2009) amzn.to/3atiEfi (UK link) OR amzn.to/36IqD5r (US link)
Eric Ives, The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn (Wiley-Blackwell, 2005) amzn.to/3xLivgr
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It doesn't affect the price you pay.
#CatherineHoward #Tudorhistory #KatherineHoward
The life of Katherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII, was short and tragic. A first cousin of Anne Boleyn, she was a minor member of the Howard family who was orphaned at a young age and largely raised at the home of her step-grandmother, Agnes, dowager Duchess of Norfolk. Whilst there she was involved with three men, her music teacher, Henry Manox, Agnes’s secretary Francis Dereham and a distant relation, Thomas Culpepper. Then, in 1540, she became a lady-in-waiting to Anne of Cleves and her life changed forever. Still just a teenager she caught the eye of the King and by that July she was his wife and the Queen of England. The pair seemed to get along well. Katherine was Henry’s ‘rose without a thorn’ and her presence appeared to reinvigorate him in the later part of his life. Her relationship with her step-daughter Mary (who was older than her) was tense at times, but she was kind to Prince Edward and Princess Elizabeth, even making little gifts of jewellery to the girl. Her queenship lasted less than 18 months however. In November 1541 her previous transgressions with Manox, Dereham and Culpepper came to light, as did accusations of adultery with Culpepper and all were arrested, along with Katherine’s lady-in-waiting, Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford. The men were executed that December, while Katherine and Jane were found guilty by Act of Attainder and executed on 13 February 1542 at the Tower of London. They are presumed to have been buried in the Chapel of St Peter Ad Vincula, though Katherine’s bones could not be located by the Victorians. In today’s six wives documentary from History Calling, I take a deep dive into the life of the most tragic Tudor Queen, #KatherineHoward.
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
OTHER VIDEOS YOU MIGHT LIKE:
HOW OLD WAS KATHERINE HOWARD?
youtu.be/NOUVSCKw4BY
WHAT DID KATHERINE HOWARD LOOK LIKE?
youtu.be/Oavn6o0gETI
DEATH OF KATHERINE HOWARD AND JANE BOLEYN
youtu.be/LaiU2HHTuKQ
WHAT HAPPENED TO KATHERINE HOWARD’S BODY?
youtu.be/RF1GYu2njC8
THE FACE OF JANE BOLEYN?
youtu.be/RgzPmuUA5EA
DIGGING UP ANNE BOLEYN AND OTHERS
youtu.be/EjCxVN7V6FA
SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0Hb5Wjykc2hBrBddQYXDUqU
TUDOR MONARCHS’ PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0FD_vatnjVq9egboPYy8Kg0
DEATH, MURDER AND CORPSES’ PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0HqKJP-pwWUcP1OtH1hRvN4
GEAR USED
DJI Drone: amzn.to/38h1vXr (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/39hROZm (US LINK)
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3EPIK9U (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rTWScL (US LINK)
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/37CdC1r (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3vaVxjU (US LINK)
Memory Card: amzn.to/36QvcOQ (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3KeLZZs (US LINK)
Microphone: amzn.to/3MFtoaK (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rYtjH8 (US LINK)
LEARN MORE
Want to watch/hear/read more about history (and a whole host of other topics)? Then you might benefit from a free Audible or Prime video trial. They are available from the following links:
AUDIBLE
amzn.to/44MvlMi
AUDIBLE PLUS & AUDIBLE PREMIUM PLUS
amzn.to/42rh3PF
PRIME VIDEO
amzn.to/3LW7ykg
BUY OR RENT:
The Tudors, season 1 amzn.to/2VCwQ0j
The Tudors, season 2 amzn.to/2VMPnHw
The Tudors, season 3 amzn.to/3BijsPB
The Tudors, season 4 amzn.to/3z16S58
Henry VIII and his Six Wives (2016 docu-drama) amzn.to/3jiCkag
LEARN MORE:
Gareth Russell, Young and Damned and Fair: The Life and Tragedy of Catherine Howard at the Court of Henry VIII (2017). amzn.to/3xldHhi (UK link) OR amzn.to/2VExTgg (US link)
Josephine Wilkinson, Katherine Howard: The Tragic Story of Henry VIII's Fifth Queen (London, 2016). amzn.to/3x7MxdO (UK link) OR amzn.to/3rbFuPj (US link)
David Starkey, Six Wives: the Queens of Henry VIII (Vintage, 2004) amzn.to/3k9uD4Z (UK link) OR amzn.to/3wImKIh (US link)
Antonia Fraser, The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (2nd edn, Phoenix, 2009) amzn.to/3atiEfi (UK link) OR amzn.to/36IqD5r (US link)
Eric Ives, The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn (Wiley-Blackwell, 2005) amzn.to/3xLivgr
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It doesn't affect the price you pay.
#CatherineHoward #Tudorhistory #KatherineHoward
