The Marriages of Katherine Howard

 

Katherine Howard was executed for presumptive treason on 13 February 1542. It was thought that she would cheat on her husband, King Henry VIII, if given the chance - but was she ever legally married to the king?

Unknown woman formerly known as Catherine Howard

Katherine was the daughter of Sir Edmund Howard, younger brother of the powerful Thomas Howard, third duke of Norfolk. Her mother, Jocasta, belonged to the large Culpeper family, branches of which could be found in various locations across the southeast of England. Jocasta died when Katherine was still very young and, although Sir Edmund married again, he was widowed for the second time shortly afterwards. Impoverished and unable to care for his children, he took up the post of comptroller at Calais, at which point Katherine was sent to live with her step-grandmother, Agnes, dowager duchess of Norfolk, at Chesworth Park, near Horsham in Suffolk.

Katherine received an education in exchange for certain duties in Agnes’s household. She was merely one of several young gentlewomen to do so. Many of them, like Katherine, were related to the dowager duchess in some way.

Life at Chesworth was pleasant, and Katherine’s duties were light. When her studies and chores were done, she and her companions would stay in the maidens’ chamber. This comprised a sitting room and a dormitory, with the young ladies sleeping two to a bed. Male and female servants were kept strictly apart.

On occasion, Agnes would visit London to attend court. Eventually, she moved to her town house, Norfolk House in Lambeth, across the Thames from Whitehall. Katherine and other members of the household went with Agnes, and life carried on much as it had done at Chesworth.

At Lambeth, as at Chesworth, the living arrangements ensured that male and female servants occupied separate quarters. However, it was perhaps inevitable that some gentlemen would find a means of entering the maidens’ chamber after hours. One of those who came to entertain the young ladies was Francis Dereham.

Dereham, who could trace his ancestry at least as far back as the thirteenth century, was a retainer of the duke of Norfolk. In 1538, he had accompanied his master on a visit to Lambeth but, when Norfolk returned to his estates, Dereham remained behind, taking up the post of gentleman usher in Agnes’s household. This was not necessarily unexpected, since Dereham was related to Agnes, being her first cousin once removed. He was also related to Katherine, although more distantly. Dereham was aged between 29 and 32 when Katherine first met him. She was about thirteen years old.

The post of gentleman usher placed Dereham in a position of authority over the other servants in Agnes’s household, including Katherine. It was part of his job to summon servants as and when Agnes wished to see them. This could be to accompany her to the chapel, eat with her, or simply to be present if she had guests.

Another of Dereham’s tasks was to sort the mealtime leftovers. Food that could be served again, such as bread and meats, was placed into cold storage; that which could not was disposed of. This was usually given to the servants to share among themselves. When Dereham went to the maidens’ chamber after hours, he would often bring with him wine, strawberries and apples to make ‘good cheer.’ Among those who shared in this good cheer was Katherine Howard.

Initially, Dereham courted another lady, Joan Bulmer, who was separated from her husband and had come to live in Agnes’s housegold. However, Dereham soon gave up Joan and turned his attention instead to Katherine. For her part, Katherine had no interest in the much older Dereham, but her protests were ignored, and he made her his mistress in every sense of the word.

Dereham would pester Katherine for sex at any time of the day of night. As Katherine would later state, Dereham, ‘by many persuasions’ procured her to his ‘vicious purpose,’ using her ‘in such sort as a man doth his wife many and sundry times.’

Dereham was indiscreet, and Katherine’s companions were often forced to bear witness as he took Katherine in various beds and even in the privy. There would be no risk of an unwanted child, however, for Dereham boasted that he knew ways to prevent this from happening. Similarly, Katherine was reported to have said that ‘a woman might meddle with a man and yet conceive no child unless she would for herself.’ Whether Katherine was referring to contraception or the widely held belief that it was necessary for a woman to enjoy sex in order to conceive may be debated.

While many within the household were aware of what was going on, few took it seriously. Even Agnes paid lip service, telling the young people of her household to behave and dealing the occasional cuffing. Other than that, the aged dowager duchess simply left it to them to regulate their own actions.

Katherine often needed, or wanted, things she could not afford to buy. In such cases, Dereham would purchase the items for her. He considered them gifts, while Katherine always insisted that she would pay back the money when she had some of her own. This was significant because gift-giving was a recognised part of courtship, and it appeared that Katherine wanted to avoid Dereham, or anyone else, thinking that their relationship was anything other than friendship.

In a new development, however, Katherine and Dereham began to call each other husband and wife. Dereham had asked her if they could address each other in this way because some of the servants gossiped that he and Katherine would marry. Dereham attributed this gossip to jealousy among his enemies, and Katherine, by giving her consent, would show that their malice was misplaced.

Notwithstanding the traditional and legal particulars of aristocratic matches, Katherine, for whatever reason, agreed to Dereham’s demands. Although she almost certainly did not understand the implications of her decision, she agreed that she and Dereham could call each other husband and wife.

The consequences of Katherine’s decision were profound. It was not her place to choose a husband; that privilege belonged to her father, and his choice required the king’s approval. Failing his involvement, the matter would almost certainly be placed into the hands of Katherine’s uncle, the duke of Norfolk.

Shortly after this, Dereham made arrangements to go to Ireland to make his fortune. Before his departure, he left an indenture and obligation of £100 with Katherine. Dereham told her that, if he failed to return from Ireland, she was to keep the money. This was a significant sum, the equivalent of almost £43,000 in today’s values; clearly Dereham thought of Katherine as more than just another sexual conquest. His actions indicate that he considered her to be his wife, or at least his betrothed.

Marital status was established by contracts. These were variously worded according to whether the couple concerned was betrothed or legally bound in marriage. Betrothal was covered by a contract per verba de futuro, which is best described as a promise to marry at some point in the future. A de futuro contract could be dissolved if both partners wished to do so or by ruling of canon law if they could not agree. On the other hand, a couple could be contracted per verba de praesenti, meaning that their marriage existed in the present rather than being a future event. A de praesenti contract was legally binding, meaning it was indissoluble and could not be dispensed should either party wish to leave the relationship and take a new partner.

That Katherine and Dereham had begun to address each other as husband and wife, and that they did so in front of others, meant that they had entered into a contract together, but which sort? According to Katherine’s later testimony, others in the household

 

‘trowed [trusted] that he would never have kissed me enough.’ Whereto he answered, ‘who should let [prevent] him to kiss his own wife?’ Then said one of them, ‘I trowe the matter will come to pass as the common saying is.’ ‘What is that’, quoth he. ‘Marry’, said the other, ‘that Mr Dereham shall have Mrs [Mistress] Katherine Howard.’ ‘By St John,’ said Dereham, ‘you may guess twice and guess worse.’  

 

Assuming Katherine quoted Dereham accurately, the nature of their relationship was ambiguous. At first, Dereham seemed to have referred to Katherine as his ‘own wife.’ One of the servants, however, suggested that no marriage had yet taken place, although it is anticipated. Dereham did not deny this, accepting instead that the servant had correctly guessed that he and Katherine would go on to marry. Indeed, as Katherine would later explain, Dereham had raised the question of matrimony.

This implies that the pair had entered into a contract per verba de futuro because, although marriage was spoken of, it was still a future event. Had the couple left matters there, their relationship could have been dissolved if either of them decided to move on or, especially in Katherine’s case, her family decided to marry her into a family of their choosing. However, Katherine and Dereham had engaged in sex; that is, they had consummated their relationship. This automatically converted the de futuro contract into a de praesenti one. According to the law as it then stood, this fact changed the nature of their relationship from a betrothal into a legally binding, indissoluble marriage.

The relationship between Katherine Howard and Francis Dereham was, therefore, a contract per verba de praesenti. It also bound Katherine into a precontract. This term simply meant a previous marriage, but it presented an impediment to any subsequent marriage.

Events overtook the couple when King Henry VIII began to show an interest in Katherine not long after she had joined the court as a lady in waiting to Anne of Cleves. Having just returned from Ireland, Dereham heard rumours that Katherine had become close to her distant cousin, Thomas Culpeper. Dereham confronted Katherine, but he was forced to retreat when he learned that he had another rival – Henry.

In the summer of 1540, Henry began drawing up legislation designed to clear the way for him to marry Katherine. An Act passed in the House of Commons on 5 July stated that all marriages contracted and consummated after 1 July would be considered valid even if a previous contract had been made, provided that the contract had not been consummated. The purpose of the Act was to render invalid any contract Katherine might have entered into in the past.

Unfortunately for both Henry and Katherine, her contract with Francis Dereham had been consummated. She and Dereham were legally married in an indissoluble union, meaning that she was not free to marry Henry. Nothing was said of it, however, and Katherine married Henry bigamously in July 1540. She was presented to the court as Henry’s new queen on 8 August.

Later, when the details of her past were revealed, coupled with what was interpreted as evidence of her continued indiscretions, Katherine, would continue to deny her contract with Dereham because she had never consented to her relationship with him. This, unfortunately, did not invalidate their contract. Katherine was possibly too young, or not sufficiently knowledgeable of the law, to understand that a contract de futuro automatically became de praesenti upon consummation.

The knowledge that Katherine had not been pure when he married her destroyed his love for her. The belief that she had gone on to betray him made him want to kill her. However, as a result of Katherine’s denials, Henry was unable to prove that she had committed adultery. Instead, he rested his case on presumption, resulting from the fact that Katherine had taken Dereham into her service after her marriage to Henry. However, further evidence came not from Dereham, but from Culpeper, who claimed that he ‘intended and meant to do ill with the queen and that in like wise, the queen so minded to do with him.’

Culpeper’s damning testimony was enough to give the king what he wanted, and Katherine – despite never having been legally married to Henry - was executed for presumptive treason on 13 February 1542.

Read more about Katherine in my Book: Katherine Howard. The Tragic Story of Henry VIII's Fifth Queen