Was Henry VIII’s young queen really guilty of adultery, or was her fate sealed by mere suspicions and intent?
Catherine Howard’s tragic story is often overshadowed by tales of infidelity and scandal, but the truth may be far more complex.
In this video, we’ll dive into the evidence surrounding her alleged affair with Thomas Culpeper, explore her meetings with him, and examine what the act of attainder actually claimed.
Transcript:
When we think of the downfall of Catherine Howard, Henry VIII’s ill-fated fifth queen, it’s often assumed that she was executed for committing adultery. But what if that wasn’t entirely true?
The tragic story of Catherine Howard is one filled with secrecy, betrayal, and intense royal scrutiny. In this video, I’ll look closely at the evidence surrounding her alleged affair with Thomas Culpeper, the suspicions that led to her arrest, and what the historical records actually reveal. So, did Catherine really commit adultery, or was it something else that sealed her fate?
Queen Catherine Howard was found guilty of high treason by an act of attainder. An act of attainder was an act of parliament by which a named person, or a list of people, was found guilty of a serious crime, such as treason, felony or misprision. This meant that Parliament ruled on their guilt rather than them being tried for their crimes. The act would provide for their punishment, and would also include the forfeiture of lands to the crown, and also the corruption of blood, meaning that they couldn’t inherit lands or transmit them, i.e. leave them to their heirs.
The act of attainder against Catherine Howard and her lady-in-waiting, Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford, was introduced into the House of Lords on 21st January 1542 and received royal assent on 11th February 1542, two days before Catherine and Jane were executed.
So what did the act of attainder say? What was the high treason that Catherine and Jane had committed?
Let me read out the relevant part of that particular act:
“Katharine Howard whom the King took to wife is proved to have been not of pure and honest living before her marriage, and the fact that she has since taken to her service one Francis Dereham, the person with whom she “used that vicious life before,” and has taken as chamberer a woman who was privy to her naughty life before, is proof of her will to return to her old abominable life. Also she has confederated with lady Jane Rocheford, widow, late wife of Sir Geo. Boleyn, late lord Rocheford, to “bring her vicious and abominable purpose to pass” with Thos. Culpeper, late one of the King’s Privy Chamber, and has met Culpeper in “a secret and vile place,” at 11 o’clock at night, and remained there with him until 3 a.m., with only “that bawd, the lady Jane Rocheford.” For these treasons, Culpeper and Dereham have been convicted and executed, and the Queen and lady Rochford stand indicted.
The indictments of such as have lately suffered are hereby approved, and the said Queen and lady Rochford are, by authority of this Parliament, convicted and attainted of high treason, and shall suffer accordingly; and the said Queen, lady Rocheford, Culpeper, and Dereham shall forfeit to the Crown all possessions which they held on 25 Aug. 33rd year of Hen. VIII reign.”
You’ll notice that there is no mention of Catherine having committed adultery, just of “her will to return to her old abominable life” and her “vicious and abominable purpose”. It doesn’t explicitly say that she slept with Culpeper, and is more about Catherine’s intentions. Her employment of Sir Francis Dereham was seen as proof that she wanted to reignite their relationship, and her secret meetings with Thomas Culpeper were seen as proof that she was returning to her old way of life. If she wasn’t already sleeping with him, she was intending to, is what the act is suggesting. And Lady Rochford was condemned for helping her to meet Culpeper.
But did Catherine sleep with Thomas Culpeper?
Well – and I definitely need a t-shirt with this written on as I seem to say it so much – we just don’t know. When he was interrogated regarding the secret meetings that he’d had with Catherine at Lincoln, during the royal progress to the north, one of which had lasted from 11pm until about 3am, insisted that they had simply talked “of themselves and of their loves before time.” Lady Rochford backed this up for the first meeting, saying that she’d been present, but was too far away to hear what they said, but that she’d fallen asleep the second time. However, she also stated that, and I quote from the record of her interview, “She thinks Culpeper has known the Queen carnally”. She didn’t see them make love, but she assumed they had.
Culpeper denied sleeping with Catherine, but stated that “he intended and meant to do ill with the Queen and that likewise the Queen was so minded with him.” He also said that Catherine had told him,“If I listed I could bring you into as good a trade as Bray hath my lord Parr in.” – Dorothy Bray having had an affair with William Parr – and that when he “Answered that he thought her no such woman as Bray”, Catherine replied, “Well, if I had tarried still in the maidens’ chamber I would have tried you.”, “tried” in this case meaning to make love. He also told of how Catherine had told him to “beware that whensoever he went to confession he should never shrive him of any such things as should pass betwixt her and him” as the king was the head of the church and, therefore, “should have knowledge of it”.
What Culpeper didn’t realise is that he was confessing to treason here. The 1534 Treason Act stated that a person was guilty of high treason if they did “maliciously wish, will or desire by words or writing, or by craft imagine, invent, practise, or attempt any bodily harm to be done or committed to the king’s most royal person, the queen’s or the heirs apparent.” Intention was all that was needed to condemn Culpeper and Catherine. Perhaps they hadn’t committed adultery yet, but they intended to do so, something which would have harmed the king and potentially impugned the succession as Catherine, the queen, may have got pregnant.
So, did Catherine Howard and Thomas Culpeper ever truly cross the line? The truth is, we may never know for certain. Their intense connection and the intent to “do ill” were considered treasonous in Henry VIII’s court. In the end, Catherine’s secret meetings and alleged intentions were enough to convict her, even if physical evidence of adultery remains unclear.
It’s entirely possible that they just talked, kissed and fooled around. Perhaps, Catherine was holding out because they were under the impression that the king was going to die soon and so they wouldn’t have long to wait. It’s impossible to know, but Lady Rochford was certainly under the impression that they had done the deed.
Whatever the truth of Catherine and Culpeper’s relationship, their tragic story serves as a reminder of the harsh consequences of royal suspicion in the Tudor court. What’s your take on this historical mystery? Let me know your thoughts.