February 13, 1542 – Catherine Howard Executed - Janet Wertman

Skip to content Sidebar

Recent Posts

• December 15, 1560 – Thomas Parry Dies
• What Henry’s Wives’ Jewellery Tells us About the Tudor Court
• The Boy King is a BookBub Featured Deal!
• September 8, 1560 – Death of Amy Robsart
• August 25, 1554 – Death of the Duke of Norfolk

Categories

• Appearances
• On This Day
• Interesting Letters and Speeches
• Guest Posts
• Book Reviews and Author Interviews
• Tudor Tidbits
• Writing Life
• Uncategorized

Archives

Archives Select Month December 2025 November 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 March 2025 January 2025 December 2024 May 2024 February 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014

Can’t Find it? Search for it!

Search

Meta

• Log in
• Entries feed
• Comments feed
• WordPress.org

February 13, 1542 – Catherine Howard Executed Published by janetwertman on February 13, 2022

Henry VIII beheaded his fifth wife two months after he discovered her adulterous (pre-adulterous?) relationship with Thomas Culpeper, and two weeks after Parliament passed the Act of Attainder that convicted her without a trial.

Catherine Howard was given only a single day to prepare herself for this moment, but she used it intentionally. Spanish Ambassador Eustace Chapuys reported to Charles V that “she asked to have the block brought in to her, that she might know how to place herself; which was done, and she made trial of it.”

This is the macabre image we are left with: this poor young woman, not yet twenty, spending hours rehearsing her death over and over again. Was it to make the process seem less terrible and foreign? Or was it to ensure that she would fulfill her last public act with all the dignity expected of the Queen of England (even though she was stripped of that rank on November 23rd)? Likely both.

Either way, she succeeded: an eyewitness to the execution confirmed that she had made “the most godly and Christian end.” And the French Ambassador Charles de Marillac’s letter to Francis I, gives us this description:

“…about nine o’clock in the morning, this Queen first, and afterwards the lady of Rochefort, within the Tower, had their heads cut off with an axe, after the manner of the country. The Queen was so weak that she could hardly speak, but confessed in few words that she had merited a hundred deaths for so offending the King who had so graciously treated her. The lady of Rochefort said as much in a long discourse of several faults which she had committed in her life. It is not yet said who will be Queen; but the common voice is that this King will not be long without a wife, for the great desire he has to have further issue.”

On that last point, Chapuys disagrees. His analysis:

The King has been in better spirits since the execution, and during the last three days before Lent there has been much feasting. Sunday was given up to the lords of his Council and Court; Monday to the men of law, and Tuesday to the ladies, who all slept at the Court. He himself in the morning did nothing but go from room to room to order lodgings to be prepared for these ladies, and he made them great and hearty cheer, without showing particular affection to any one. Indeed, unless Parliament prays him to take another wife, he will not, I think, be in a hurry to marry; besides, few, if any, ladies now at Court would aspire to such an honour, for a law has just been passed that should any King henceforth wish to marry a subject, the lady will be bound, on pain of death, to declare if any charges of misconduct can be brought against her, and all who know or suspect anything of the kind against her are bound to reveal it within 20 days, on pain of confiscation of goods and imprisonment for life.

Woof.

FOR FURTHER READING:

The letters from Eustace Chapuys and Charles de Marillac can be found in Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 17

***

If you like my posts, you’ll love my books! My Seymour Saga trilogy tells the gripping story of the short-lived dynasty that shaped the Tudor Era. Jane the Quene skews romantic, The Path to Somerset is pure Game of Thrones (without the dragons), and The Boy King is a noir coming-of-age. Get them now through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Apple, or even your local independent bookstore!

(PS Already read them? Did you love them? Then please review them – even just a stars rating! It makes a huge difference in helping new readers find them and would mean the world to me!)

SharePin15Share15 Shares Published inOn This Day

• Catherine Howard
• Jane Boleyn
• On This Day in History

Previous Post February 6, 1549 – Princess Elizabeth Forced to Admit What Happened with Thomas Seymour Next Post February 20, 1547 – Edward VI Crowned King

Be First to Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment

Name*

Email*

Website

Δ

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.