THE WIVES OF HENRY VIII

Overview

Three weeks after the annulment of his fourth marriage, Henry VIII married his
fifth wife, Catherine Howard, who was over thirty years his junior. 

Popular culture persisted with the image of Catherine as a pretty, vapid, ineffectual young woman with little power or political sway - a trophy wife admired by her considerably older husband, whose allegedly unbridled promiscuity would be her undoing.

But whilst Catherine has been defined by her sexuality, the surviving primary sources reveal a more complex young woman - one who successfully restored Henry VIII’s youth and vitality, which he believed to be lost. She may well not have been trained in Queenship, nor could she boast a sophisticated education - unlike her her cousin and predecessor, Anne Boleyn - but Catherine showed every sign of becoming a good queen, even successfully begging the king to spare the lives of rebels against the crown.

Join Dr Lauren Mackay as she delves into the life and short-lived reign of
Catherine Howard, challenging the assumptions and stereotypes which have
shaped our perceptions of Henry VIII’s fifth wife.