Catherine Howard

Catherine Howard was born around 1523 in Lambeth, London, England, and became Queen of England as the fifth wife of King Henry VIII from 1540 until her title was stripped in 1541. Her marriage to Henry VIII occurred on 28 July 1540 at Oatlands Palace, Surrey. Her life was marred by the financial and social difficulties of her father, Lord Edmund Howard, which affected her upbringing and education. Catherine’s adolescence was spent under the care of the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, where she received the education typical for young women of her class at the time, which was minimal. Her rise to the queen’s position was as sudden as her downfall; she was executed on 13 February 1542 for adultery, which was considered treason.

She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper and had a large number of siblings due to her mother’s previous marriage and her father’s marriage to Joyce. Catherine’s family connections included being a cousin to Anne Boleyn and a niece to Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk. Despite her aristocratic lineage, her immediate family faced financial difficulties, and her father’s mismanagement of funds led to a life of instability for Catherine. Her marriage to the King at a young age, her subsequent fall from grace, and her execution at the Tower of London were all events that defined her short life.