Dr Kat and Katherine Howard 

I think if I found that the king was interested in me I would have fled to France.

Poor kid. She may’ve been foolish but that’s hardly unusual in an adolescent. I’ve a lot of sympathy for her.

No one protected her, even under her grandmother's own roof, from being used by unscrupulous men. Then she was blamed for what was done *to* her. Henry could have put her in a nunnery, or exiled her (after divorce). But no, she had to be killed to appease Henry's weak ego. Tragic. About that rumored assertion she made at the very end, that she'd rather be Culpepper's wife. Given how abusive her family was to her, all the trauma she'd been subjected to (including seeing her former lover's head on a pike), perhaps she did say it with full knowledge of the consequences they'd face in the hope of causing them to suffer, thereby getting vengance on them. Who could blame her if she did?

I like the point you make about Henry's different reactions to being supposedly 'cuckholded' by two of his wives. The processes involved in the fall of Anne compared to Catherine were so different. Anne's fall took place so fast, and Henry moved right on, showing what a sham setup it actually was, but Catherines fall took months and every process of law was followed. Henry seems to have been genuinely shocked that such a thing could really happen, as if it never had before. I do feel very sad for Catherine, as I do for all of his wives. I dont believe any of them deserved their fates, and neither did the men who fell with Anne Boleyn. Horrific times!

Catherine always read more “messed up foster kid” than “evil seductress” to me. Maybe that’s why Henry was so different when it came to her execution- he knew deep down that he was the main beneficiary of the system that murdered her. It’s probably also society seems so determined to slander her, calling her a slut, trophy wife, or hedonist

Thank you for this, Katherine has such a tragic story. Xx

Catherine Howard was a poorly brought up, ill-educated and borderline neglected young woman. Taken advantage of all the way and especially by her powerful Howard male relatives who saw opportunity for themselves when she caught the King's eye. My feeling is that her "dalliance" with Culpepper was expediency- try and get pregnant. It is, I think, fairly obvious that Henry wasn't able anymore, or not often anyway. I think poor Catherine was desperate and, don't forget, Anne Boleyn was her cousin. Catherine knew what could happen... she took a risk and forfeited her life. Poor young lady.

Thank you for putting words to the difficult concept of applying the impact of sexual trauma on people who lived in a time where women were expected to submit to sex and men without question.

Catherine Howard I see as the saddest and most exploited of all H8 consorts. Pathetc figure of an exploited youth. Go as far as seeing her as a child of trafficing. Excruciatingly painful to think of what happened to this girl

Hi Dr. Kat! Your description of Henry at the time Katherine married him explains vividly why she would have been so vulnerable to the attention of other (young) men, Who was there to befriend and guide her wisely? So sad, it is painful to think about, I understand your feelings here🥰 Stay well❣️

Hello Dr. Kat. Very interesting topic and the sound was good too. Thank you

I recall hearing/reading that the man who raped the commoner and killed her husband was a different Thomas Culpeper, but it's been a long time, so I don't recall the reasoning, I'm afraid. Is this just a wild theory, or is there any meat to it? A great observation of Henry's reaction to Anne's and Catherine's respective affairs - it further solidifes that Anne was a victim of judicial murder and the accusations against her were unsubstantiated. Served Henry right, to be on the receiving end for a change - if only it wasn't for the collateral damage of Catherine's life :-( I always had an impression that being so young and raised to such a high position from her rather humble background, she didn't really stand a chance, she lacked the education, the savviness, perhaps even the strength of will... She was doomed from the very beginning, poor girl.

I have always found the night of practice with the block somehow especially heartrending;

Excellent presentation. It was my understanding that Jane Boleyn acted as a go between for Howard and Culpepper. Is this accurate?

Thank you. Yes so sad and harrowing

Great presentation!

Great content as always.

Thank you Dr Kat, just recently found you and am fascinated 👍

Thanks. Like many others I’ve been looking forward to this video. 🙂

Fabulous as always! Thank you.

Have you considered doing a programme on the oldest profession in the world? Particularly in Tudor times? There are so many interesting names: Harlot, Strumpet, Jezebel, Floosie, Trollop? It would be interesting to know the role that these women played, their lives, how they were viewed? The bawdy women of taverns. What life was like for them? Nell Gwynn comes to mind? Might be an interesting one?

The simplest reason is usually correct. Katherine was obsessed with Culpepper.

Thanks for a great video and your prospective. What a tragic figure; with no one to turn too.

Thank you as ever for the balanced review of information based on the sources. The question I have never been able to work out is just how many people were executed during the reign of Henry VIII. Was this a normal practice during previous reigns? Was it that those at court suffered more than other sections of society and how just normal was the act? We hear about people beheaded as traitors both in the reigns of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I but these reigns were both considerable periods of time. How afraid were people of the King's wrath and a potential fall from favour?

Very interesting indeed

Love your channel..very interesting..thank you

I think she had a crush perhaps on Culpeper after all she was basically a teenager who didn't all told it's really sad

Poor little girl. Sorry for her, manipulated by family.

Catherine’s story is so tragic. She was just a naive teenager married to an obese old man. Henry, in what I think was his desire to feel young again, put a child in a position that should only be occupied by a grown woman.

I have no idea how I would code in Catherine Howard’s position. The I know is I probably wouldn’t have done as well. My head would have rolled

The short life of Katherine Howard is so sad .

Did any of these women have a say as to whether or not they wanted to be with Henry? At this time in history, women were blamed for a rape. So, how many women were raped and they didn't dare say anything. Sometimes, they were even punished for it, so that gave men free rein. It was a boys will be boys type of thing.

Dear Dr. Kat, do you have a book recomendation on Katharine Howard?

There is something about Catherine's letter to Thomas Cullpepper that is intriguing. It sounds like the sentiments of someone quite immature emotionally, yet the handwriting is very well formed. Did she have someone scribe for her do you think? As ever, Dr Kat invites out response from her videos and to consider the psychology behind the historical persona.

I think she was a typical teenager, she thought she was grown up and she made a mistake, ordinarily as a Howard if she hadn’t have married the King, the family would have been able to sweep her history under the carpet but because she was married to the king they weren’t able to do this. I think she was young and may have thought ‘I’m a Queen I can do what I want’ and it didn’t work out. She was used by a lot of men (like most Tudor women) and sadly it all caught up with her. I honestly feel so bad for Catherine and she is my favourite of Henry’s wives.

King Henry and Cathy Howard Had a marriage that soured She became queen While still a teen She soon became Culpeper powered

If you haven't read many letters from the time - your interpretation would only be through our 21st communication, which would be completely ignorant to the times!

Poor little Catherine Howard. No one noted her birth. Her education was obviously enough to teach her a good writing hand. She obviously never expected much from her life. She had been abused young and punished, taken her own sexuality into hers hands with Dereham, been punished. Finally had a break as a Lady of Waiting to a young Queen. An exciting life awaited. She could never have expected the Kings behaviour, the divorce and their marriage. Her family would have been delighted, she would not have had the option of saying “no”. If she had become pregnant? Who knows? Jane R perhaps wanted this as a Boleyn. A tangled web, indeed. She was a poor little girl caught up in adult politics. I too found her “block practicing “ horrifying when I read about it as a teen. It made me tearful, despite thinking her very silly. Older, I think her used and abused and not very bright. HenryVIII was a complex, highly intelligent man who became a tyrant after his famous accident. He “dismissed” people who would say “no” to him. The only person to do so was Catherine of Aragon, she did so out of love and faith, and he could not execute her. Ah, the Tudors. Lovely Family. Wouldn’t want to live next door to them!

Poor Katherine. She had such a sad story. I do believe that she was groomed and abused by Henry Mannox (God knows how he managed to escape with his life) and Francis Dereham.

What has always just killed me about Katherine and Anne is that they were murdered - because that’s absolutely what it was - for being adulterous, real or perceived, by a man who was a FLAGRANT philanderer. Misogyny completely warps any logic.

Maybe you or someone can answer this. I have watched The Tudors (which I realize is very fictionalized) I never understood when the investigations into Katherine Howard began Culpepper it seemed knew what was going on... why didnt he split?

It was unfair that Katherine Howard was treated that way for her past. She almost had no control of her past or present or future. The past happened and she was sexually assaulted at a young age and was beaten by her grandmother for being the victim of statutory rape. Then she wasn't protected by the said grandmother or given any guidance. Then as a queen she was always blackmailed for the said past.

9:12 13:39 See? Henry had the capacity to be loving and kind towards his queens. I think that deep down, Henry knew something was broken within him, but the means by which his problems could be solved just weren't there at the time.

These days we'd recognise the poor lass was groomed and exploited.

Sadly, I think she was a very confused and easily manipulated young girl. Tragically I think people used her. Very sad.

Thank you for clearly reminding us of her age. Far too often she has been aged up into something "more palatable" for modern viewers. What a shocking and difficult life this poor child had to endure. It's tragic how she was manipulated and abused

Personally, I think her request to have the execution block brought to her to practice her own execution on was an attempt to take control of the situation on a mental level, and perhaps get used enough to it to remain somewhat calm and disassociate on the day of her execution. She could do nothing to stop her beheading, but this may have given her at least a sense of peace by focusing on the few things she still had power over, such as how she would move her body to lay her head down on the block. From what I've heard, some abuse survivors take up self harm as a way of taking back the power over their bodies their abusers took away by punishing and controlling themselves, and perhaps the seemingly morbid request of having the execution block brought to her filled a similar purpose to Katherine Howard.

Dr Kat, as always I appreciate your humanity and empathy towards the victims of historical abuses. I see Katherine as a victim and just because the language wasn't available and victim blaming was even more prevalent than now, she must still have been so very traumatised by said abuse, add to that the violence of her step grandmother and the forced separation from Francis Dereham who she believed she would marry, she was already set up for her downfall. She had no clue that she would ever marry into royalty and I don't see how she can be held accountable for her previous PAST behaviour. She was very young and immature, badly educated and vulnerable imho. I don't understand why she entertained Culpepper though, it could be loneliness, immaturity or blackmail. She probably genuinely trusted him or was manipulated by him and Lady Rochford. Once she realised the perilous position she was in she must have been absolutely desperate and terrified. I agree about the block, I have no idea of what the psychology of spending the night with it means, it simply makes her story even more pitiful imho. The fact Henry Mannix got off completely free despite being the one to set this whole tragic story in motion makes me furious. Stay well❤

Anne of Cleves was the wisest of Henry's wives: she understood he was a crazy tyrant, and got out of his way.

I think the block in her room is a sign of someone who tries so hard to please xxx

It is illuminating how young Katherine Howard was as was Jane Grey. Very much manipulated by scheming families and older men.

Victims who are groomed learn submissiveness. She submitted to Henry Maddox, Francis Dereham, King Henry VIII, and I believe, Thomas Culpeper. She was taught to "go along with it." I think that that submissiveness, the readily giving in, is apparent in her practicing with the block the night before her execution. She was yielding once again and trying to make the best of it. Even at the hour of her death, she wanted to please. That is classic submission by a victim.

The true winner out of Henry VIII's former wives- Anne of Cleves. Smart woman, went out with her head and with dignity. Once again, you are an Amazing story teller of so many historic people and events.

I see Katherine Howard as a tragic character, she was used as a pin in the game of her uncle and was abused since she was very young, sexually and emotionally. She knew nothing better than to use her physical charmes to some attention. She was so young, she didn't really know she was being used...

This poor child never had a chance. Her family failed to protect her from her abuser. She was not nurtured either. I think she was trying to find love and acceptance that she risked it. The sad truth is that she had no one on her side.

I believe that Katherine Howard ask to practice on the block because she wanted to prove to herself and the rest of the world that she could be just as brave and regal as any Queen that had ever sat on the throne before her even during death.

Catherine's letter...she repeats several times how she wants to see or be with him. I'm not sure if it's because she's so young and not well educated in writing or because she's trying to convince HIM. Maybe she was being coerced??? I'm just not sure. But once again, Dr. Kat, you have me actually debating to myself what was truly going on. I've watched many other channels that cover these events and they never inspire me to rethink things from another angle. It's why I adore your channel!

all power and respect to Anne of Cleves. I wouldn't have been so dignified.

While I recognize that we all must take responsibility for our actions, I believe Katherine Howard was essentially a child. I don’t think guile played any part here. I think she was silly, but fundamentally....childlike and innocent of manipulation but not of being manipulated. She’s the one of Henry’s wives for which I feel the most pity.

I think about Ann of Cleves often when I watch historical videos,Her behavior after she is no longer the Kings wife specially. She would have made a great wife for him. She was very proper in her behavior, she was very accepting, she seemed to take great care to serve the court in the most proper way. He would have done much better with her.

Yes! I love how you explained that Katherine was a victim, even if she wasn't viewed as such at the time. Just because society had a different way of viewing things and a different definition of right and wrong, doesn't mean the way people were affected by the tragedies and abuse they faced were different than today.

I guess it did sound a bit tinny (had a bit of an echo) at the beginning, but the good content of the video quickly drives away any concerns about the quality of the audio.

Sometimes I think she just wanted some validation, to be loved by who she was and her desperation for approval was pure gold to her family's enemies...

Often, because it is difficult to grasp the differences in culture from modern times compared to Tudor times, we measure a person based on what we think we would do, not understanding all the complexities that existed for a young woman such as Katherine Howard. I believe she was groomed and molested. Her behavior through all the time that came after fits the psychological norm and, due to the value of women during this time and especially during Henry's reign, she had to have felt powerless in almost all situations. There is so little proof of her actual personality but my imagination sketches a lovely young woman, average intelligence due to lack of education and youth, someone who may find her own self-worth in her connection to others, who basically had no choice in many or most of the important decisions of her life. I am not trying to cast her in the role of martyr. I am just trying to understand the person she must have been, taking circumstances into account. Hers is a sad story.

Such a sad story. I agree that her practicing placing her head on the block adds to the horror of her story. It drives home how young she was . How awful to be forced into marriage with a terrifying king!

Henry's circle knew how sick he was and unstable, they got rid of Ann so I'm not shocked she got accused. They did not care about human life at all. It's all sad really.

Anne of Cleves deserves more hype. She was so in control of her emotions. Impeccable.

I’ve just read ‘Young and damned and fair’ which is a fantastic account of Katherines life. Really well researched and explores the view that she was a far more intelligent young woman than she is given credit for usually. She had been in love with Culpepper before her marriage when she came to court but he only wanted an affair. I think she loved him never stopped and was at the start just wanting to be with him a person her own age , maybe flirt etc. But it became more and she got careless and carried away with the relationshipleading to their downfall.

Its funny. Katherine Howard's song in "Six the Musical", and in it when it comes to Thomas Culpepper, she states that all she wants is someone to confide in, however all Thomas wants is sex with the queen. The emotional moment is portrayed by the other five queens touching her all over in the final moments of the song, as her voice raises in pitch as her violation is acted out. Sadly I think this captures Katherine's true feelings over her relationship with Culpepper.

I think the terribly upsetting thing about Katherine Howard asking to have the block brought to her so she could “practice” her own execution is how it glaringly illustrates how badly she just wanted to be good - even at being executed. Her desire to obey, to please, to do things right, was so strong that it even extended to wanting to go to her own death “properly” if you will. It’s heartbreaking because these desires, whether part of her natural personality or how she was raised, is likely how she got to be in the situation that lead to her own death - please Mannox, please Durham, make the family powerful, please the king, please Culpepper. She just seems to have wanted to make people happy.

Mmmmm. I very much enjoyed your analysis on Catharine Howard. I felt Catharine is often portrayed as a frivolous harlot who used her charms to seduce the King for material and social gain - at least in the Tutors. I feel Catherine epitomizes "victim blaming" with respect to how she was perceived after she was taken advantage of by various aggressive and predatory men - including Henry VIII. Was Catharine really empowered enough and in a social position to say "no." I feel it is a bit ironic that 2 cousins were married and executed by the same King for adulteress affairs. Also, this point is more related to the popularity of womens names in the 1500s, but Henry divorces a Catharine to marry an Ann then later divorced an Ann to marry a Catharine. Rest in peace sweet young Catharine. 💐👑🏰

I've always found her requesting the block, and spending her final night practising for her end, especially touching and upsetting as well. I think it's because this humanizes her - she's more than an historical figure, but a real person who had a very relatable emotional reaction. I could imagine myself doing the very same thing, if in her shoes. Over thinking, as anxiety takes over... needing SOME ounce of control... So very sad.

Thank you for that sympathetic and interesting reading of her short life. This poor young woman never really had a chance.

I love your nuanced and sensitive analysis Dr. Kat! I watched this video two days ago and keep thinking about it. There is a part in Katherine’s letter to Thomas Culpepper where she says something along the lines of “I pray you will remain as you have promised me” - and the first possible meaning for that that popped into me head is “I pray you will stay quiet” (about what he may know). I’m sure it could be read other ways but that is my thought. Katherine Howard has such a sad story and I am heartbroken that she is still villainized by some people.

I think the reason that Catherine Howard is so interesting is exactly because of the tragedy of her life. She was abused, abandoned and neglected by those who had the responsibility to adequately care for her, if not to treat her as a valuable member of their family. She was preyed on by sexual predators who used her without the power, or perhaps without even the will, to protect her from the harsh price that society demanded of girls and women who allowed themselves to be victims of sexual assault. I can't imagine the horror of being sold to an aging, insane, cruel, smelly and emotionally crippled old man in order to enrich your family. I can't imagine the terror, at the "mature" age 22, of being blackmailed with a traitors death for the crime of having been assaulted. I can't imagine the loneliness of having not one person invested in seeing you loved and protected. I can't imagine the trauma of her life or the need to accept that the only option left to her as regarded her life was to practice that last act of victimization.....be a good girl and put your head just so, here on this block, so it can be cut off in one fell swoop instead of hacking it at it when you jerk back in mortal terror. I feel pity for Henry's other wives, as well. They all, with the possible exception of Anne Boleyn, had little to no choice in marrying this horrible person. But I feel....almost angry about Catherine Howard because she was so victimized from day one.

I think one has to have a heart of stone not to be moved by the figure of poor "silly" Catherine Howard; and I'm not sure I even mean "silly"; just terribly young, and used and abused throughout her short life, by people who otherwise should have taken care of her. I always understood that the step-grandmother's oversight was somewhat lax, and her household somewhat ramshackle, and Mannix was a footnote creep in the pages of history I think Dr Kat's comments about groomers quite apt; I recall one of my history masters commenting that human nature doesn't change overmuch throughout the centuries, as we galloped through two years of a medieval history A-level forty years ago, and what was likely to motivate us or not, would have motivated the people who inhabit the past, for good or ill, however eminent they were supposed to be. Who now, in their right mind, would have wanted to have been on the hamster wheel of court life in the reign of Henry VIII? Like a fairground ride without the safety features.

In our eyes, Henry's marriage to poor Katherine is no more than grooming a child to abuse her. I think she did love Culpepper because it would be a normal thing to turn to a young, goodlooking and near boy to love and be loved by him, regardless of the dangers. Today's kings and royal families commit crimes and are not punished for them, so in Henry`s times, the sense of impunity for him would have been absolute. Excuse my English, I'm a Mexican living near Barcelona. I find very interesting and well documented all your videos, thank you, and keep them coming.

My married name is Katherine Howard. When I first married and became such, someone pointed out the fact that somone by that name was a wife of ‘ole Henry VIII. I had heard that but wanted to know more. That began one of my favorite pastimes. Historic reading and study, a pastime that I had previously no interest. I have been Katherine Howard for almost forty-four years now, and proud of it! Love your videos, Dr. Kat!

That letter sounds more like she's looking for a friend than anything else...

Poor Katherine...what an eternally tragic figure. Her whole life story just breaks my heart. That it all ended w her practicing how to lay her head on the block before her execution only magnifies her tragedy. It seems she spent her life being abandoned and being taken advantage of and being victimized over and over and traumatized again and again, and would’ve had to figure out how to cope w all of it and to compensate and even to survive all on her own...and I would say that she did the best that she could w what little she had at her disposal. In short, she was forced to raise herself under far from optimal circumstances. Katherine was not well educated, nor was she well looked after or cared for, nor did she have appropriate role models, nor did any adult seem to do right by her or help her or protect her, nor did she have anyone - at least not anyone who actually had her best interests at heart - in whom she could confide. Her actions and her responses to her different life situations seem very immature and careless, impulsive and irrational, not to mention dangerous (mostly to herself), and were those of someone w little adult or real world experience, nor any true guidance or wise teachings, upon which she could reflect or from which she could draw. She was young, true, but I do believe, based on what we know today, that those actions and responses were a direct result and reflection of the things - abandonment, abuse, neglect, sexual molestation and/or assault, etc - that she very likely endured beginning at a very young age. Since there was no awareness or acknowledgement or understanding of such things at that time, she certainly didn’t have the option of, or access to, any kind of therapy and may well have suffered from unknown and untreated anxiety and/or depression and/or ptsd in the bargain. When we see children (and other people) subjected to such treatment and abuse and trauma today, we do our best to punish the perpetrators of these heinous acts. Katherine was never afforded that luxury. She had to endure everything that happened to her - not to mention bear the unwarranted blame for some of it - and then had to suffer the harshest penalty and consequence of all while still practically a child when her actions and responses, being born of trauma and having gone untreated and uncorrected her entire life, landed her on the bad side of a mean, evil, self absorbed, narcissistic, ego and megalomaniacal tyrant w no compassion or empathy, who himself took advantage of a very young, very impressionable, and very damaged young woman. Today, Katherine would have had recourse and resources...unfortunately, she ended up w nothing more than the too small comfort of knowing how to place her head on the block. And, yes...that pathetic scene IS sickening and it IS a hard punch to the gut...and it is SO painful and just heartbreaking to think of that damaged, hurt, confused young woman - a mere girl, really - trying, as her last act, to at least get her own death right...and to ensure that she didn’t endanger the lives of disinterested family members who had abandoned her not once, but now twice. Even in her deepest, darkest, most painful and frightening hour of need, Katherine had nobody to take care of her or help her or protect her...she was, as she always was, left to fend for herself. Absolutely tragic.

I've always wondered what made Jane Rochford go along with this...maybe she wanted some sort of revenge on Henry and reveled in making a fool of him? She was an intelligent woman I believe, and much misaligned in our minds. ..

The first time I've heard the comparison of Henry's attitude and mien upon Catherine's betrayal as opposed to the same upon Anne's circumstances. Thank you for that.

When I was a teenager, and first became interested in the lives of Henry VIII and his wives, Katherine Howard was always my favourite. I think that's largely because she was closest to me in age, and I felt like I related to her a tiny bit. Like you, I have always found the image of her using her final night to practice with the execution block utterly chilling. Katherine's story is deeply sad, and I wish we had more information about her life to understand better the person she was.

I think she was just very young and totally out of her depth, surrounded by predators (including the king). Sadly it seems she never had a friend or mentor who could help her

Hi Dr.Kat , So wonderful to see your upload today on Katherine Howard. I wanted to tell you though I think that the new RU-vid advertising default is affecting your uploads because at least for me, I’m getting an advertisement about every 2 to 3 minutes, so by the time I’ve finished with your fabulous content, I’ve had to skip many adverts. I have read that there’s a way of changing your advertising default that other RU-vidrs have had to do. I hope this is helpful and that you can check on it. In any case, it doesn’t dissuade me from listening to the end, even with all the advertisements. Thanks...a faithful viewer. 🤗

You sound lovely no matter what mic you use. And you are lovely too. Thank you for making these videos. I really enjoy them.

I read Katherine's letter as desperate and full of supplication. She was undoubtedly groomed and abused and continued to be taken advantage of when she ascended to the throne. She must have been deeply frightened and further traumatized by the her marriage to a man who could have been her grandfather, well, certainly her father. Henry VIII was dangerous. What choice did she have in any of the events that took place in her life. Poor girl. Doomed at birth by her sex.

I always wonder whether Catherine and Lady Rocheford we’re desperately trying to ensure that she had a child because it was obvious to them by this stage that the King would not be the one doing the seeding. Culpepper then became her love and Lady Rocheford was drawn in deeper and deeper.

Considering Henry's past history I am amazed that anyone would conspire with Katherine in her unfaithfulness. She was playing with fire but so were Culpepper and Lady Rochefort and neither of them were as naive as Katherine. The potential consequences were dire so what would entice them to collude with and even encourage her. As for the letter it might be interpreted much differently then. A love letter or intending friendship only, who can say?

Gareth Russell wrote an exellent biography of Catherine Howard titled "Young and Damned and Fair."

I have always had the same reaction to the fact that she practised laying on the execution block. For me I find it so upsetting because it makes it so real and I have to acknowledge the fact that this was a real event that really happened to a poor teenage girl who was a victim her entire life :(

I think you make a good case, imho, about Catherine being a victim of sexual assault.

Did anyone else think about All You Wanna Do from Six when watching this video? So young and had such a tragic life.

I watched the Worsley series on the queens--I found her presentation of K. Howard to be compelling and sad. Especially if she was on the younger side (less than 16 maybe) at the time of her marriage to the king.

I question just how recognizable the heads were, they were dipped in pitch to prevent them from rotting, weren't they?

I think the block practice was to help her imagine, easing the transition which would become reality.

Henry was very "good" about making laws that equaled traitor. In the case of both Jane Boleyn and Katherine Howard new laws were made or rather changed in the case of Jane. She was in the days and weeks before quite crazy. Henry made it legal to execute an insane person. Some think that she was faking I believe she was not. She certainly knew what punishment would await her and let's face it who amongst us would be completely or even partially insane if we had lived her life. In Katherine's case a new law was completely made up it was now treason to not inform the king of any sexual conduct prior to marriage. Katherine of all his wives I would put squarely in the victim category and in my opinion an innocent one. If you translate this behavior into today we know much more about what happens when someone is molested young. She was groomed by Henry Manox and then blamed for his behavior. They were caught when Katherine was 12 to 18 and I agree it was closer to 12. The key word there is caught no one knows specifically when Manox started to groom her. Probably from the start of his lessons with her which I have no idea when it started. From this point forward Katherine's actions are very close to what happens to young women today. Once victimized it seems that then as well as now young women fall victim again and again they are easily taken advantage of by others. This happened to Katherine. Manox Dereham Henry VIII Culpepper. All the men that further victimized this poor young woman. Yes I include the king what choice did this young woman have? The law Henry made up for her would surely have had the same effect had she confessed prior to her "whirlwind courtship" of the king. I think had she admitted prior to marriage he would have done the same thing because he would have been made to look a fool for wanting her to begin with.

I understood Culpepper was already at Court, assisting Henry, particularly in his illnesses. What a tragic figure she was; didn't stand a chance from her early life, let down by all those who should have cared for her. Really surprising the Duke of Norfolk survived Henry's reign! Great video, thank you.

Thank you for all your uploads. I’m from Austin, Texas and your accent is so wonderful! Your uploads are a favorite and I look forward to them. They keep away the Covid blues, entertains, and keeps us all thinking! Thank you!!

Fascinating! Thank you for putting all that together; it's not just facts and dates here, it's the connections, the storytelling, that really make your videos a great way to learn about history. You really have a gift. Keep'em coming! (and the mic problem wasn't that bad, btw :) )