Catherine Howard: His rose without a thorn

Catherine Howard was the fifth wife of King Henry VIII.

After the death of Jane, Henry was shopping for a queen.  At this point in his life, and given his history, most women considered for the job were shying away from it.  When asked if she was interested in being Henry's queen, Christina of Milan is to have said that if she only had two heads, she would give Henry one. As far as the thinking of those days were concerned, Henry had put away Catherine of Aragon unfairly, had Anne Boleyn executed without just cause, and let Jane Seymour die in her child bed for a negligent lack of care.  And Anne of Cleves, what had that been about?   Not everyone thought so negatively of Henry, of course, but many people, especially women, did. So the task of finding a wife, and one that Henry liked, was not going to be easy.

Enter Catherine Howard. Young, pretty, and not savvy or powerful enough to decline marriage proposal to the aging king, she was the perfect choice (victim.)  Still, there existed problems that Henry had not the insight to consider.  Catherine was a simple party girl from the provinces, hardly queen material.  Catherine was Anne Boleyn's cousin, and mutual family would not be all the two women would share.

For a time, King Henry was ecstatic over his young pretty wife.  Her referred to Catherine as his "rose without a thorn."   What the king didn't know is that his queen was no virgin, and would not be chaste even after her marriage.  Soon after the nuptials Catherine behaved like a loose canon, flirting wildly, and when Mary Tudor accused her stepmom of caring for little else but pleasure, she was right.

Still, it is hard not to sympathize with Catherine. Henry was 30 years older than his queen, 350+ pounds, and afflicted with boils that produced a nauseating stench. Naturally, the young Catherine was not attracted to Henry, and was almost immediately interested in someone else. That she actually thought she could get away with cheating on Henry is where things become unbelievable. Of course, Catherine was promptly discovered.

And though he would mourn for her, King Henry did sign her death warrant.

Lady Rochford: How to destroy a queen

Jane Parker, future wife of George Boleyn, Anne's brother,  played the role of Constancy in a court pageant on Shrove Tuesday, March 1522.  Anne played the role of Perseverance, and her sister Mary, Kindness.  Anne couldn't have known what a role the woman playing Constancy would have in her  own life, some years later.

George Boleyn and Jane Parker did not have a happy marriage, that much is certain.  The reasons behind their martial strife have been much speculated on; whatever the causes were, Jane and George were not well-suited. The persistent idea that George was homosexual is unfounded. In fact, George seems to have been quite a lady's man.

Not surprisingly, Jane didn't care for Anne, and the feeling was mutual.  Still, no one could have guessed that Jane would have a direct hand in pulverizing Anne when she made a disgusting accusation against her own husband, George, and his sister. If Jane had found her husband annoying, she had hatched a perfect plan to rid herself of him, and destroy him. George responded to his cruel wife's claims by telling the judges:  "On the evidence of only one woman are willing to believe this great evil of me, and on the basis of her allegations you are deciding my judgement."


Though there was no love lost between Jane and George, what compelled her to so utterly destroy her husband and sister-in-law is unclear.  It has been thought that her family's history with the Princess Mary might have been a factor.  And quite possibly, Jane's actions may have been fueled by nothing other than one of man's ugliest emotions: Jealousy.

Birth of Henry Fitzroy

Elizabeth "Bessie" Blount was mistress to King Henry for an unknown period of time, and eventually bore his son, Henry Fitzroy.  Though a stunning beauty, she  didn't appear to expect very much out of the relationship, and when it was over, she made a quiet exit. That is not to say that Henry did not reward her for having had his son, because he certainly did.

Though Bessie is often thought to have been just another beautiful face, without much behind it, she was actually an intelligent woman, who loved poetry, dancing and music.  Bessie was also one of Catherine's own ladies, no doubt making her dalliance with the king even more personal to the queen.

When Bessie gave birth to Henry's son, and Henry reacted by publicly recognizing his son, and giving special favors to his mistress, Catherine was furious.  Catherine had closed her eyes to other dalliances of Henry's, and she had been admired by some male courtiers for that, but this was time was different. Henry had bestowed his son with honors and titles, as Knight of the Garter, Earl of Nottingham, Duke of both Richmond and Somerset, and even Lord Admiral of England.  Catherine took this as a personal insult, a direct blow to herself as Henry's wife, and to their daughter, Mary.

The high honors that the king had given his son would send Catherine into an absolute fury; such anger was not typical for Catherine who was known for keeping her emotions in check. Henry was shocked at his normally meek wife's response.  Clearly, he had not expected such a reaction from Catherine, and as a result, he also responded with rage. He would punish Catherine by dismissing three of her Spanish ladies, whom he believed had stirred up strife with gossip. (That he blamed Catherine's ladies for resenting his public insult of their mistress was a bit over the top).  The banishing of her ladies was an additional embarrassment for Catherine, and foreign ambassadors did not fail to notice.

It is easy to understand Catherine's anger and pain.  It was not enough that Henry had the much wanted male son with his mistress, he made several choices which only intensified Catherine's pain, even choosing Cardinal Wolsey as godfather. Catherine would begin to resent Wolsey, who it seemed was pushing for the advancement of Henry Fitzroy.

For Catherine, Henry Fitzroy's birth marked a time of painful disappointments, and her relationship with Henry would begin to change.

Mary and Elizabeth: Sisters Opposite

Mary had not been happy about the birth of her younger sister, Elizabeth.  This was entirely understandable; Mary had been thrown aside, dismissed, her  identity taken away from her.  Despite a rocky start, there would develop a sisterly love between Mary and Elizabeth.  In her youth, Mary had not been an unkind child. After Anne's death Mary seems to have felt compassionate and concern, probably feeling regret that her baby sister was now receiving the same rejection she herself was so familiar with.

The differences between the two sisters, however, were great, and they would become nearly completely estranged as adults.

The beginning of a distance that would mark Mary and Elizabeth's relationship probably began when their brother Edward was king.  Their differences were growing, and their personal associations were of a very different persuasion. A clear mistrust was growing between the daughter of Catherine of Aragon, and that of Anne Boleyn. Mary had hardened as a result of a series of miserable occurrences, and she was taking the shape of a sadly unstable person.  Elizabeth was sharply intelligent, and also unsurprisingly for a person who had grown up largely without mother or father, was becoming rather wily and resourceful.

The death of Edward marked a time of extreme unease between Mary and Elizabeth, and their relationship as sisters became hopelessly strained.

Henry VII: r. 1485-1509

Henry VII was born the sole son of Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond, and Lady Margaret Beaufort.  Henry had a most extraordinary background, his father dying at Carmarthen Castle in 1456, while held captive by Yorkists. The widow was a child bride, and she gave birth to her son on 28 January, 1457.

Henry's claim to the throne was not a strong one.  Weak claim or not in 1485 , Henry rose to a challenge put forth by some of the feistier subjects of Richard III,  via trial of battle.  Henry slew the reigning king and immediately became the de facto sovereign and was subsequently was crowned in Westminster Abbey.  The matter became an essentially sealed deal, when 8 days later Parliament assembled and an Act was passed which declared the inheritance of the Crown as a right to Henry and of the heirs of his body.

Henry was anything if not shrewd, and in 1486 he married Elizabeth, thereby uniting two rival houses.

It may have seemed all those years ago, in 1457 that the child who would be known as Henry VII, would be a vulnerable individual, having lost his father prior to his own birth, and left with a mother who was still a child herself. But Henry had proven himself to be anything but weak. The intervention of relatives, and his own  strong will had eventually resulted in his actually taking the throne without, according to some, even a legitimate claim.

Jane Seymour: A Pheonix

Then entire persona of Jane Seymour is a bit mystifying.  It is difficult to judge as to whether Jane was a rather passive bystander, or if she was actually an ambitious, almost cruel woman.

Though Jane is often described as having been a bland woman, both in looks and personality, she seems to have been far more complex.  Jane had certainly evidenced traits of mercy and kindness in her brief lifetime.  But Jane had also witnessed Anne Boleyn's tragic undoing, and may have even been directly, or indirectly involved in her former mistress's downfall.

Though Jane has been portrayed as being the new kid in town as far as court life was concerned, she was hardly a newcomer.  Jane had actually served as Catherine of Aragon's ladies.

The king's involvement with Jane was confused with a number of significant events.  Catherine had died in her lonely household at Kimbolton Castle.  Though Catherine had not been well for years, her death was still shocking and unexpected.  The Boleyn faction rejoiced as the doors finally seemed wide open for the legitimacy of Anne and Henry's union. Anne was at last queen, the only queen.  The festive mood would be short-lived.

On 24 January, Henry's horse fell in the tilt yard, nearly killing the him.  He was unconscious for about two hours.  Medically speaking a lapse of consciousness lasting more than a few minutes, due to trauma, is significant. That Henry was unconscious for two hours is a virtual guarantee that he suffered some degree of brain injury.  More bad news was on the horizon, and on 29 January, Anne suffered a devastating miscarriage.  Anne's loss of her child sparked rumors and talk throughout the court, as to the cause of her miscarriage, and even claims that the fetus had been malformed.  The latter was undoubtedly little more than a vicious rumor as Anne had not been at a level of gestation where any malformation would have been evident.

Jane's place during that miserable year is unclear.  Jane's having been described as the Phoenix is certainly appropriate as she rose in Henry's esteem as Anne plunged. Henry's daughter Mary was becoming a far stronger threat to Anne, and her supporters did include Jane's family. Jane was not thought to posses any remarkable intelligence, however, she was probably not the milquetoast that she is assumed to be. It is very likely that the Seymour faction was actively pushing Jane towards Henry, and telling her exactly what she should say, how she should act to more effectively win the King's affections. Jane's famous overly-prim refusal of a gift offered to her by the king is likely proof of some sort of encouragement she received by those who were more than eager to topple Anne over.  

The Lady Mary: End of the Sunny Days

The relative happiness that Princess Mary had known as a child came to an dramatic end, and her new unwanted title was: Lady Mary.  Mary couldn't have disliked her new title more, and often she simply refused to refer to herself in any other style, but Princess.  Mary would also steadfastly refuse to recognize Anne Boleyn as queen, and this would cause a horrible rift between herself and the king, and the beginning of a long estrangement.  Never having had a strong constitution, this time in Mary's life would mark the beginning of a slow, but steady decline in every aspect of her well-being.  Every facet of Mary's wellness began to suffer:  physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Catastrophic developments had taken place in Henry's life, and these would have a direct detrimental effect on Mary. Henry had fallen out of love with Mary's mother Catherine, and passionately in love with Anne Boleyn.  This was a new reality that Mary would never understand, and would never accept. Mary's life as she had known it had been destroyed, and as far as she was concerned the blame fell squarely on Anne Boleyn's slender shoulders.

Just who was this strange woman who had eclipsed her mother so totally?  Contemporary reports varied widely, with some calling Anne a bewitching beauty, and others describing her as plain, and with some odd physical defects.  Most courtiers would agree that while the new woman who had captivated Henry was not beautiful, like Bessie Blount, she was very attractive. Anne was a tall, notably elegant raven haired woman, with expressive black eyes.  Courtiers would say that Anne "knew how to use her eyes."  Anne was also on the cutting edge of fashion, even setting lasting fashion trends herself, and styled herself like the perfect natural-born Frenchwoman.  Slender and small busted, so different from Catherine, who had been once curvaceous, now grown stout, Henry seemed very pleased.  Henry's court was moving in a different direction and Anne was simply captivating to some of the male courtiers.  Though Queen Catherine still held firmly in her possession their respect, Henry and his male courtiers had long since begun to view his wife as boring, stout, old.  Francis I had even meaner things to say to describe Catherine.  Henry was in his prime, was considerably younger than Catherine, and was tired of his aging, barren wife. Henry determined he would get rid of his old wife, the sooner the better.  Even if it cracked his country in half, and it would, he would rid himself of his "brother's wife whom he had never been rightfully married to," and marry the virginal Anne Boleyn, who had promised to give him a whole household of rudely healthy sons!

In the meantime, Mary was in the odd place of technically,  not existing. As ridiculous as this sounds, if his marriage to Catherine was to be annulled, where did that leave Mary, the true issue of that marriage? Mary was now referred to as a "bastard," and was told in no uncertain terms that she would call herself Lady Mary.
If all this was not bad enough, Mary couldn't have known just how bad circumstances were going to get.