She Wolves (30 page)

Catherine met Francis Dereham when the household moved to Lambeth. He was of a much higher status than Henry Manox. He was also young, handsome and attractive to women, becoming a favourite of Catherine’s grandmother, the Duchess of Norfolk. Catherine was one of many young girls in the duchess’s household and the line between servants and noblewomen was blurred. Catherine shared a dormitory with both girls of her own rank and the duchess’s female servants and there would have been very little privacy. Catherine would have learnt from an early age that it was possible to take a lover with impunity and she may have imitated the older girls. Catherine’s youthful activities with Henry Manox were probably almost a game to her and an attempt at playing at being grown up. By around 1537, however, Catherine was ready to embark on a more mature affair. The girls’ dormitory would be locked at night but the key was easily stolen from the duchess.
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Once the door was unlocked the young men of the household would come to visit the girls, bringing food for midnight picnics.
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Catherine probably enjoyed the danger of these secret meetings and the chance to flirt with the young men. Soon, however, she and Dereham were known to favour each other over any others.

Catherine Howard and Francis Dereham certainly consummated their relationship.
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This would have seemed like a normal practice to Catherine growing up in the easy atmosphere of the girls’ dormitory and she later admitted that she had been taught about contraception and knew how to stop herself from conceiving a child.
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Catherine always denied that she and Francis Dereham had entered into any engagement with each other but Dereham claimed that he considered himself betrothed to her.
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As with Catherine’s affair with Manox, it seems likely that Catherine saw her action as harmless fun with a man who was her social inferior. Dereham probably hoped to marry Catherine and so ally himself with her powerful family and the couple addressed each other as husband and wife and talked of a marriage.
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They also exchanged love tokens, Dereham giving Catherine velvet and satin for a gown and also lending her £100 when he left for Ireland. Catherine, who would not have had money for these luxuries herself, was probably pleased to play the role of Dereham’s wife whilst they were in Lambeth together.

Catherine and Dereham’s relationship was soon common knowledge around the duchess’s household. Henry Manox had followed the household to Lambeth and quickly became jealous of Catherine’s new relationship. Hoping to have Dereham sent away, Manox wrote an anonymous letter to the duchess, informing her of the midnight picnics in the dormitory and of Catherine and Dereham’s affair.
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He then left the letter on her pew in the chapel. According to Manox, Catherine found the letter and showed it to Dereham. Catherine was probably furious with Manox, believing her connection with him to be historic and she instructed her new lover to warn Manox off. Armed with the letter, Dereham turned on Manox, abusing him for attempting to betray Catherine. It seems likely that the duchess already knew about her granddaughter’s love affair. The duchess appears to have been happy to ignore the evidence of love affairs in her household, providing that they were carried out discretely. According to the account of Katherine Tylney, one of the girls in the household, once the duchess:

The duchess probably reasoned that as long as the affair did not disturb her peace, it was harmless. She did however ask her son, Catherine’s uncle, to speak to Catherine about what was expected of her as a Howard.

Catherine probably never seriously considered the prospect of marrying Dereham, expecting the affair to simply dwindle out when they parted in the autumn of 1539.
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In late 1539, Henry VIII’s marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, was announced and over sixty ladies were appointed to serve the new queen, one of whom was Catherine Howard. Catherine must have been thrilled to hear that she was to visit court for the first time. It seems likely that this appointment marked the end of her affair with Dereham in her eyes and she probably expected to find a high-status husband at court. This is certainly what her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, and grandmother would have had in mind when putting Catherine forward for the appointment. Catherine would have been provided with fine new clothes for her position at court and probably felt proud of her new situation.

Catherine Howard has been called the most beautiful of all Henry VIII’s wives and it is possible that this was why she was selected above her cousins and sisters to represent the Howard family at court. She was described by the French ambassador as ‘a lady of great beauty’
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, although he later qualified this by saying she was more graceful than beautiful and very short.
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Even if Catherine Howard was not a beauty, she certainly stood out at court, probably due to her liveliness and her youth. It is likely that she gained many admirers and it quickly became apparent that one of these admirers was the king. Catherine was a first cousin of Anne Boleyn and her relatives had first-hand experience of how to attract and keep Henry’s interest. Catherine was tutored by her family on how to behave and she presented an air of youthful purity.
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For Henry, Catherine appeared the exact opposite of his hated wife, Anne of Cleves and, by mid-1540, it was clear to the court that he wished to free himself of his current wife so that he could marry Catherine. Catherine cannot have found the aged and bloated king attractive, but she probably revelled in the presents and status that his affection gave her. According to the French ambassador, ‘the king is so amorous of her that he cannot treat her well enough and caresses her more than he did the others’.
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Catherine’s youth made Henry feel youthful again and the couple were married quietly on 28 July 1540.

Catherine was probably aged only around fifteen or sixteen at the time of her marriage and appears to have been determined to enjoy herself. Henry adored her and caressed her publicly, pandering to her every desire. Catherine loved dancing and spent much of her time as queen enjoying the pursuit, even dancing with her husband’s ex-wife, Anne of Cleves. Catherine also loved presents and Henry showered her with gifts. Over Christmas and New Year 1540–1541, Catherine received a number of rich presents from Henry, including a square containing twenty-seven table diamonds and twenty-six clusters of pearls.
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Catherine probably also loved the ceremony that went with being a queen. She had her own private barge, a huge household and probably enjoyed the status that her role as queen conferred on her. Catherine was probably thrilled when on her first ceremonial entry to London she was saluted by the guns from the Tower as she passed by barge down the river.
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For Catherine, being queen must have seemed beyond her wildest dreams and she was determined to make the most of the opportunities that her role opened up for her.

Henry’s marriage to Catherine rejuvenated him and he appeared almost young throughout the second half of 1540.
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Henry was nearly fifty, however, and this transformation could not last forever. In March 1541, Henry’s leg ulcer, which had given him trouble for several years, dramatically closed causing his life to be in danger. Probably not wishing his pretty young wife to see him in such a way, Henry barred Catherine from his presence. After his recovery, Henry remained depressed and this was the first sign of trouble in their marriage. Catherine must have been alarmed at Henry’s moods and may have sought consolation elsewhere. In May 1541 Catherine also seems to have become somewhat depressed.
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When Henry anxiously asked her why, she said that she had heard a rumour that he intended to take Anne of Cleves back. Henry immediately sought to console her, saying that he would never take Anne back, even if he were free. Catherine may not have been entirely reassured, however, as Henry does not seem to have ruled out the possibility of exchanging her for someone else. Despite these troubles, Catherine was still in high favour when she and Henry set out on a northern progress in the summer of 1541.

Henry had reigned for over thirty years in 1541 but had never visited the northern part of his kingdom. He had long planned, and put off, a progress to the north but finally, in the summer of 1541 was ready to set out. Henry and Catherine left London on 30 June with a great company of people and provisions.
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Henry had designed his progress to be a show of strength to the rebellious north. Catherine must have been excited at the prospect of travelling as queen although they were hampered from the start by bad weather and she may have rapidly begun to lose patience with the muddy, dilapidated roads. Nonetheless Catherine appears to have performed the public role of queen to perfection on the progress. She wore crimson velvet when she and Henry rode into Lincoln where they retired to their tent outside the city to change their clothes.
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The royal couple then emerged, Henry dressed in cloth of gold and Catherine in cloth of silver, and were ceremonially welcomed to Lincoln. Catherine must have been bored by the speeches and pageants that accompanied these visits, but there were no complaints made about her conduct. After Lincoln, the progress moved on, reaching Pontefract on 23 August and York on 16 September.
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Catherine’s public conduct as queen was immaculate but her private conduct left a great deal to be desired. She probably became acquainted with Thomas Culpeper soon after arriving at court to wait on Anne of Cleves. Culpeper was a distant cousin of Catherine’s mother and presented a very different proposition to either Henry Manox or Francis Dereham. When he and Catherine met he was already a member of Henry’s privy chamber, in high favour with the king. He was also young and handsome, no doubt attracting Catherine’s attention early on. He must have been an enormous contrast to Catherine’s sickly and elderly husband. Catherine and Culpeper probably became lovers early in her marriage and Catherine’s maids certainly noticed the queen’s suspicious conduct, giving Culpeper loving glances from the window and barring her maids from entry to her bedchamber unless they were summoned.
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Catherine was so much in Henry’s favour, however, that no one dared to go to the king with their suspicions. Catherine was infatuated with Culpeper and gave him a velvet cap decorated with a jewelled brooch, warning him to hide it so no one would guess where he had got such a rich item.
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Catherine knew that her affair with Culpeper was wrong but showed an almost childlike naivety in her conduct. She appears to have considered her husband to be an almost God-like figure and warned Culpeper not to mention their relationship in the confessional as Henry, as Head of the Church, would surely hear what he said.
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Catherine also committed details of her affair to writing, a dangerous practice in Henry’s suspicious court, and her only surviving letter is a love letter to Culpeper. Catherine wrote this letter around April 1541, before the progress:

Catherine’s letter demonstrates the love she felt for Culpeper and the pains she took in writing to him. She was unwise to record her feelings and it is possible that Culpeper kept this letter as evidence against her should her ever need it. Throughout her brief time as queen, Catherine showed a disregard for personal safety. She underestimated the potential dangers incurred by her actions. She also showed naivety in August 1541 by appointing Francis Dereham as her private secretary.
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Catherine simply does not seem to have realised that as queen she was constantly watched, her activities scrutinised. She continued her affair with Culpeper during the northern progress.

Catherine confided her affair to her kinswoman, Lady Rochford, who was also one of her ladies. Lady Rochford was the widow of George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford, and had given evidence against her husband in the allegations of incest against him and his sister, Anne Boleyn. She was therefore well used to court intrigues and perfectly suited to organising meetings between Catherine and Culpeper. Catherine kept her other ladies barred from her bedchamber and, according to
Hall’s Chronicle
she had Culpeper: