On Feb. 13, 1542, the one wife of Henry VIII who was guilty was beheaded.
Catherine Howard is forever known as “the wife who cheated on Henry VIII”. Since her death, historians have been torn between depicting her as anything between lusty whore and clueless vixen. Which is the true Catherine? Catherine was born the daughter of an impoverished noble. Because of the large number of children in the family, she was sent to be raised by an grandmother who had a large household. Catherine’s first “affair” was with her music teacher, Henry Manox. Starting around age 13, she allowed Henry to get to second base. There was fondling, but no sex. Having learned that her beauty could be used to attract men, Catherine moved on to Francis Dereham. Francis was closer to her social standing and a sophisticated young man. She met him when she was in the court of Queen Anne of Cleves (Henry’s fourth wife). She and Dereham probably had sex. They openly courted as though they were engaged. She called him “husband”. But unfortunately for Dereham, the vivacious and curvaceous Catherine caught the eye of the King, who was disgusted with his wife. They were married in 1540 with no one telling the King that she was not a virgin. She was around 16 and he was 49 and getting increasingly obese. Not exactly what a sex-enjoying young woman could be satisfied with. She soon caught the eye of Thomas Culpeper. He was part of Henry’s entourage. Although he had the reputation of a rapist and possible murderer (this may have been added to his resume by the people who ended up condemning him), they started to meet behind closed doors. These meetings were chaperoned by her maid Lady Rochford. Culpeper called her his “sweet little fool” and gave they exchanged gifts. It is unclear if they had carnal relations. Regardless, Catherine was taking a big chance. She had made an enemy of Mary, Henry’s eldest daughter, and Archbishop Thomas Cranmer was suspicious of this tart. In 1541, Catherine foolishly agreed to add Dereham to her household. He proceeded to openly brag about his prior relationship to the Queen and wished that the King was out of the way. (Just to speak of such a thing was a crime by the Treason Act of 1534.) Such incredible indiscretions were bound to get Catherine in trouble. Mary and Cranmer were only to happy to rat out the trollop. Henry was enraged, mostly by the fact that his chaste bride had been with Dereham before him. Culpeper confessed under torture. Lady Rochford admitted she had facilitated the affair. The three were tried and found guilty, along with the Queen who admitted her error in keeping her past a secret. She did not admit to having sex with Culpeper. Culpeper was beheaded and Dereham was hanged, drawn and quartered. Their heads were impaled on spikes on London bridge. (Catherine probably saw them as she was barged to the Tower of London for her own execution.) She supposedly had the chopping block brought to her cell so she could practice laying her head on it. Catherine and Lady Rochford had their heads lopped off on Feb. 13, 1542. According to legend, her last words were “”I die a Queen, but I would rather have died the wife of Culpeper”. But more likely, she begged for forgiveness for herself and her family.
So, did she cheat on Henry? It seems very likely she cheated on him with Dereham before she met Henry. (I know this sounds odd, but it was against the law.) As for Culpeper, I lean toward no. It seems unlikely Lady Rochford would have risked her life for the couple. One thing is for sure, Catherine was a foolish and naive woman.
https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/katherine-howard-vixen-or-victim/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Howard
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