Howard, Catherine (1520/22–1542)
Howard, Catherine (1520/22–1542)
Queen of England. Born between 1520 and 1522 in Lambeth, England; beheaded for adultery and treason, Feb 13, 1542, in the Tower of London; interred at Chapel Royal, Tower of London; dau. of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper; 1st cousin of Anne Boleyn (1507–1536); m. Henry VIII (1491–1547), king of England (r. 1509–1547), July 28, 1540.
Young, headstrong woman who captured the heart of the aging Henry VIII and became his 5th wife; grew up in household of step-grandmother Agnes Tylney, duchess of Norfolk; came to court to serve in Anne of Cleves' household and fell in love with one of the king's courtiers, Thomas Culpeper; caught the attention of the king and was married to him (1540); began adulterous relationship with Culpeper (1541); her fall was swift; arrested (Nov 12, 1541), was condemned to die (Feb 11, 1542), under an Act of Attainder; not yet 21, was executed on the same block and in the same place as her cousin Anne Boleyn.