Coat of Arms, Badge and Signature of the Six Tudor Queens
Katherine of Aragon Anne Boleyn Jane Seymour Anne of Cleves Katheryn Howard Kateryn [More]
Katherine Howard
Katheryn Howard: Part Four
Along the way I’ve discovered that Katheryn Howard had a more interesting life than I had expected - very similar to what happened when I researched Jane Seymour. Once you go back and learn about Katheryn’s childhood, and understand her relationship with men, it gives you a better idea of how she got herself into hot water later on. She was too young to be queen - her lack of education and her immaturity were what made her reckless. I fear that even if she had only been [More]
Katheryn Howard – Part Three
The last article in the series covered Katheryn’s wedding night through Easter, or end of March 1541. It was at this point in time that Katheryn began to show favor to Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford. Find Part One Here Find Part Two Here Katheryn Howard - Part Three It was around the same time as Margaret Pole’s unexpected execution at the end of May 1541, that Queen Katheryn had become noticeably upset about her relationship with the King. Rumors had been float [More]
Katheryn Howard: Part Two
In Part One of this series, we ended with Katheryn Howard...married, and Thomas Cromwell...executed. If you missed it, I’d recommend going back and reading or listening to it - this series is the life story of Katheryn, to grasp her as a person you'll need to hear her whole story. Read Part One - Click Here After weeks of reading and researching Katheryn Howard I’ve come to my own conclusion on who she was as a person. Often we hear her called naive, or abused, but I [More]
Katheryn Howard: Part One
The story of Katheryn Howard intertwines with many other notable figures of the time but none more than Anne of Cleves and Thomas Cromwell. We’ll start with Katheryn’s childhood and attempt to chronologically move through time until her execution in 1542. After writing Part One, I realized her story deserves multiple parts. Part One, will start from Katheryn’s childhood up to her marriage to King Henry VIII. Part Two will cover her downfall. That part of her life definit [More]
Katheryn Howard (Guest Post)
Katheryn Howard Guest post by Lissa Bryan Of all of King Henry VIII’s queens, Katheryn Howard is viewed with the least sympathy. If not technically guilty of adultery, she’s at least seen as having “deserved” her fate because of her immoral lifestyle. One recent historian referred to her as an “empty-headed slut.” Others have described her as a “good-time girl” or a frivolous young woman only interested in pretty dresses and boys. Down through the centuries, [More]
The Differences in the Wives of Henry VIII
Raised as the second son, or "spare", Henry Tudor, Duke of York was never intended to be King of England. When his older brother Arthur, Prince of Wales died unexpectedly in 1502 Henry was thrust into the spotlight as heir to the throne of England. His training began immediately and Henry despised the fact that his father controlled everything around him. He went from being raised with his sisters to being separated from the world. When there were discussions by Henry VII [More]
The Ladies Who Served: Katherine Howard
Katherine Howard's time as Queen of England was short-lived but even so she also had many ladies who served her. It makes one wonder if Katherine could foresee her future or if she was naive enough to think that Henry's love would always be hers - she knew if she had the king's favor that she would remain continue to receive gifts and affection from him. How did it all begin? We don't often speak of this and I'd like to share this quote with you: Katherine Howard met [More]
Tudor Queens Come to Life with Portraits, Wax Figures and Descriptions of Appearance
All six of Henry VIII's queens were beautiful in their own way. Whether it was their physical beauty or their nature, there was something about each of them that the King was attracted to. Here we take a look at some wax figures of his wives and descriptions of their appearance - we are attempting to bring the Tudor queens to life. -- Katherine of Aragon Just after her marriage to Henry in 1509, Katharine was described, perhaps somewhat partially, by her Confessor, [More]
Katherine Howard: The End of Her Story
Most are drawn into the story of Katherine Howard because of her age and supposed naivety. She was the youngest of Henry's wives who made the aging King feel young again. Unfortunately, Katherine had a history with older men that Henry was not aware of when he married his "rose without a thorn." There were others involved that were aware of Katherine's past and did not inform Henry before their marriage. Today we look at those who knew and those who lost their heads...and [More]
The Manipulation of Catherine Howard
Guest article written by: Catherine Hunt With minor edits by: Rebecca Larson A Tudor Fanatics Take on Catherine Howard Catherine's downfall at the hands of her uncle, Duke of Norfolk, was, metaphorically speaking, like a hangman's trap. He pulled the lever and down and she fell! Why was it so easy to do? Why was he so confident she would be pliable? One has to think of Catherine herself. She was in the care of her great-aunt, dowager Duchess of Norfolk, with a view t [More]
Children of Anne of Cleves and Henry VIII
Chapter 1 In mid 16th century England there were rumors of the epic proportion that had spread throughout the kingdom and beyond. These said rumors are what will be examined in this article. Rumor: Anne of Cleves had one, maybe two children by Henry VIII after they were separated from marriage. At this time in England, Henry VIII’s fifth wife, Katherine Howard was in the midst of being exposed for her past indiscretions along with her adulterous relationship wit [More]
Anne of Cleves and Henry VIII: The Short Life of a Marriage
This guest article is the sequel to - Anne of Cleves: Betrothal to Henry VIII Guest Article Written By: Samia Chebbah Anne of Cleves was a German princess. She arrived from Dusseldorf to England, two months after being betrothed to Henry VIII, on December 11th,1539.[1] She would become his fourth wife. What was different with this marriage was that the king waited two years before marrying again. Actually, his last queen, Jane Seymour died o [More]
Book Review: The Forgotten Tudor Women
While searching for books to add to my Christmas list I came across The Forgotten Tudor Women by Silvia Barbara Soberton. The book intrigued me because it was about three women in Tudor history that we often don't hear enough about - Margaret Douglas, Mary Howard and Mary Shelton. As you probably already know I recently wrote an article about Mary Howard and really enjoyed learning more about her during my research. All I had known prior to researching her was that sh [More]
Anne Parr: Witness to History
Lady Anne Parr was sister to Kateryn Parr -- sixth wife of Henry VIII. Anne Parr is unique because she was either a Maid-of-Honor, or Lady-in-Waiting to all the wives of Henry VIII, all six. A Maid-of-Honor was generally a young girl in her teens, just starting out at court. In order to hold the position one had to be part of a noble family. Physical beauty was also requirement, so we must assume Anne was considered attractive. A Maid-of-Honor also had to impress courtiers [More]