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Claire | December 1, 2015
On 1st December 1541, Francis Dereham, secretary to Queen Catherine Howard, and Thomas Culpeper, a member of the king’s privy chamber, were tried for treason at Guildhall. Both men were found guilty and condemned to death. Chronicler and Windsor Herald Charles Wriothesley records: “This yeare, the fyrst daye of December, was arrigned at the Guyld […]
Claire | November 2, 2015
Happy All Souls’ Day! Unfortunately, back in 1541 All Souls’ Day was not a happy day for Henry VIII and any thoughts or prayers he had for departed loved ones were soon forgotten when he attended All Souls’ mass and found a letter left for him in the Holy Day Closet at Hampton Court Palace. […]
Claire | June 30, 2015
Today we have a guest post from Kyra Kramer author of The Jezebel Effect: Why the Slut Shaming of Famous Queens Still Matters – thanks so much Kyra! Katheryn Howard began her first Summer Progress as Henry VIII’s queen on June 30, 1541. Was this the beginning of her end? It was on this progress […]
Claire | December 17, 2014
Historians, particularly popular writers, have customarily identified Katherine Howard’s relationships as consensual. Believing that she was, in fact, older than she actually was, they have suggested that she was the dominant party in her liaisons. Tracy Borman termed Katherine ‘a sexual predator’, believing that Katherine ‘knew exactly what she was doing’.1 Lacey Baldwin Smith similarly […]
Claire | December 10, 2014
Following their conviction for treason at a trial at London’s Guildhall on 1st December, Thomas Culpeper, Gentleman of the Privy Chamber, and Francis Dereham, secretary to Queen Catherine Howard, fifth wife of King Henry VIII, were executed at Tyburn on 10th December 1541. Culpeper was beheaded but Dereham had to face the brutal traitor’s death […]
Claire | November 2, 2014
On 2nd November 1541, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer left a letter for Henry VIII in the Holy Day Closet at Hampton Court Palace detailing Catherine Howard’s colourful past, and how she had “lived most corruptly and sensually”. Cranmer had been persuaded by Chancellor Audley and the Earl of Hertford to relate the story told by Mary […]
Claire | December 10, 2013
Today marks the anniversary of the executions of Thomas Culpeper, Gentleman of the Privy Chamber, and Francis Dereham, secretary to Queen Catherine Howard, fifth wife of King Henry VIII. If you watched “The Tudors” series, you may be forgiven for believing that these men got their come-uppances, after all, Thomas Culpeper was a rapist and […]
Claire | December 4, 2013
On 4th December 1541, Thomas Wriothesley and William Fitzwilliam, Earl of Southampton, wrote to Sir Ralph Sadler, Henry VIII’s principal secretary, regarding a visit they had made to Agnes Tilney, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk and step-grandmother of Queen Catherine Howard. They reported that “she was not so sick as she made out, but able enough […]
