Catherine Howard

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Is Catherine Howard Dead or Still Alive? Catherine Howard Birthday and Date of Death

Catherine Howard

Catherine Howard Death

Catherine passed away on February 13, 1542 at the age of 19 in Tower of London, London, England. Catherine's cause of death was executed.

Catherine Howard death quick facts:
  • When did Catherine Howard die?

    February 13, 1542
  • How did Catherine Howard die? What was the cause of death?

    Executed
  • How old was Catherine Howard when died?

    19
  • Where did Catherine Howard die? What was the location of death?

    Tower of London, London, England

Catherine Howard Birthday and Date of Death

Catherine Howard was born in 1523 and died on February 13, 1542. Catherine was 19 years old at the time of death.

Birthday: 1523
Date of Death: February 13, 1542
Age at Death: 19

Is Catherine Howard's father, Edmund Howard, dead or alive?

Edmund Howard's information is not available now.

Is Catherine Howard's mother, Joyce Culpeper, dead or alive?

Joyce Culpeper's information is not available now.

Catherine Howard - Biography

Catherine Howard, also spelled Katherine, Katheryn or Kathryn, was the fifth wife of Henry VIII of England, and sometimes known by his reference to her as his "rose without a thorn". Catherine was stripped of her title as queen within 16 months, in November 1541. She was beheaded three months later, on the grounds of treason for committing adultery while married to Henry VIII, similarly to Anne Boleyn.
The night before her execution, Catherine is believed to have spent many hours practising how to lay her head upon the block, which had been brought to her at her request. She died with relative composure, but looked pale and terrified; she required assistance to climb the scaffold. She made a speech describing her punishment as "worthy and just" and asked for mercy for her family and prayers for her soul. According to popular folklore, her final words were, "I die a Queen, but I would rather have died the wife of Culpeper". However, no eyewitness accounts support this, instead reporting that she stuck to traditional final words, asking for forgiveness for her sins and acknowledging that she deserved to die 'a thousand deaths' for betraying the king, who had always treated her so graciously. This type of speech was typical of the final words used during this period, most likely in a final effort to protect their survivors, as the final words would be related to the King. Catherine was beheaded with a single stroke of the executioner's axe.

Lady Rochford was executed immediately thereafter on Tower Green. Both their bodies were buried in an unmarked grave in the nearby chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula, where the bodies of Catherine's cousins Anne and George Boleyn also lay. Other cousins were also in the crowd, including the Earl of Surrey. King Henry did not attend. Catherine's body was not one of those identified during restorations of the chapel during Queen Victoria's reign. She is commemorated on a plaque on the west wall dedicated to all those who died in the Tower. Upon hearing news of Catherine's execution, Francis I of France wrote a letter to Henry, regretting the "lewd and naughty [evil] behaviour of the Queen" and advising him that "the lightness of women cannot bend the honour of men".

DEAD OR ALIVE?