Called King Henry VIII’s “Rose Without a Thorn,” Catherine Howard was convicted of treason and beheaded in 1542.
Howard was born in 1521 and grew up in her grandmother’s household. Her grandmother was the dowager duchess of Norfolk, and while under her grandmother’s care, Howard had very little supervision.
Catherine Howard Becomes Queen
By 1539 or 1540, Howard had been sent to act as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Anne of Cleves, who was the fourth wife of King Henry VIII. The two did not stay married for long, however, and before long, the king was infatuated with Howard. After King Henry’s short marriage to Queen Anne was annulled, Howard and the king were married on July 28, 1540.
Howard’s marriage to King Henry VIII would not last long, either. After being accused of carrying out adulterous affairs with Thomas Culpeper and Francis Dereham, Howard was convicted of treason against the king and executed on Feb. 13, 1542.
Catherine Howard and Anne Boleyn
Howard was the cousin of King Henry VIII’s second wife, Anne Boleyn, who also caught the king’s eye while acting as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Katherine of Aragon. Boleyn, too, was beheaded after being accused of adulterous affairs.
Read more about Catherine Howard and her time as the fifth wife of King Henry VIII.