What did Tudor Queen Catherine Howard look like?
Catherine Howard was the fifth wife of Henry VIII of England - a young woman who never expected to be queen, and paid a terrible price for it. What did she really look like? We will dive into her history and appearance, talking about which portrait is the most accurate and then revealing reconstructions.
Catherine’s Life & History
Chesworth House in Sussex, where Catherine spent much of her childhood.
Catherine was born around 1521 in England. Her early life was scattered - after her mother died and father fled the country due to outstanding debts, she was then raised by her step-grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk. She grew up at Chesworth house in Sussex, and went perhaps too unsupervised. She began flirtations with her music teacher and even had a sexual relationship with a gentleman named Francis Dereham.
After moving to the Tudor Court to serve the current Queen, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard's life took a dramatic turn. She caught the attention of King Henry VIII, and not long after, became the king's fifth wife, following the annulment of his marriage to Anne of Cleves.
Catherine was known for her youthful beauty and vivacious nature, which initially captivated the aging monarch. However, her lack of political acumen and her past indiscretions would ultimately lead to her downfall.
Despite her initial popularity, Catherine Howard's marriage to King Henry VIII quickly unraveled. It was revealed that she had engaged in multiple love affairs prior to her marriage, including a relationship with Thomas Culpepper, a member of the king's court, during her marriage. Catherine was accused of adultery and treason and ultimately found guilty.
On February 13, 1542, Catherine Howard was executed at the Tower of London at the age of approximately 21.
Her life reads like a tragedy - that of a young woman being caught in the gears of the Tudor machine. In recent years, the scholarship of her life has shifted to focus on Catherine as a person. Not just to the personal choices she made, but also the failures of those around her to help and guide her. She remains a fondly remembered Queen of England.
Let’s talk about some portraits that current historians have brought forward as main contenders for being Catherine:
Portrait, previously identified as Catherine Howard, 17th century copy of a Holbein original. National Portrait Gallery.
Holbein miniature thought to be Catherine Howard, c. 1540. Royal Collection.
First, there’s this Holbein portrait (copy of a lost original). It was identified as Catherine in 1909, but has a much stronger association with the family of Thomas Cromwell. It’s more likely that this is one of the Cromwell women. An inscription on the painting makes it clear that the sitter is 21 years old, and the style of the sleeves suggests it was painted around 1535, which would make the subject too old to be Catherine.
There’s also a miniature image, strongly associated with Catherine Howard because it was found among a Howard ancestor’s things. It’s around the 1740s that this became known as a likeness of Catherine. The necklace she wears is known to have belonged in the royal collection of Jewels, and can also be seen in a portrait of Jane Seymour. But unfortunately there’s not enough evidence to conclusively identify it just yet.
Necklace, known to be in the Royal Collection, that is seen on the miniature of Catherine Howard above, as well as a portrait of Jane Seymour.
Hans Holbein, Portrait of a Lady thought to be Catherine Howard, c. 1540-1545. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The other strong contender is located at the Metropolitan Museum. It’s certainly an alluring option - the beauty of the subject is undeniable, especially for the Tudor period. The dress is of the right style and rank to be Catherine, and it appears to have been painted in the early 1540s. Other women at court who had enough money to have a portrait painted at this time can be ruled out, looking nothing like other existing images of the women.
