5. Kathryn Howard
BORN: c. 1521
MARRIED: 28 JULY 1540
EXECUTED: 13 FEBRUARY 1542
NO OTHER WILL THAN THIS
Kathryn Howard was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard, a younger brother of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk. She was also first cousin to Anne Boleyn, Henry’s ill-fated second Queen. She was brought up in the household of the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk. Kathryn came to court at about the age of 19 as a lady in waiting to Anne of Cleves and there is no doubt that the spirited young girl caught Henry’s attentions. Kathryn’s uncle probably encouraged the girl to respond to the King’s attentions and saw it as a way to increase his own influence over the monarch. The Duke of Norfolk also took advantage of the debacle of the Anne of Cleves marriage as a chance to discredit his enemy, Thomas Cromwell. In fact, Cromwell was executed shortly after the marriage was nullified. Sixteen days after he was free of Anne, Henry took his fifth wife, Kathryn Howard, on July 28, 1540. Henry was 49 and his bride was no older than 19.
For all that can be said against this match, Kathryn did manage to lift the King’s spirits. The vivacious young girl brought back some of Henry’s zest for life. The King lavished gifts on his young wife and called her his “rose without a thorn” and the “very jewel of womanhood”. Kathryn, however, may well have found her marital relations unappealing. Henry weighed around 21 stone (about 140 kilograms or 300 pounds) at the time, and had a foul-smelling, festering ulcer on his thigh that had to be drained daily. Less than a year into Kathryn’s marriage, the rumors of her infidelity began. In a way, one couldn’t blame her for seeking the company of handsome young men closer to her own age. But to do so, even if only in courtly flirtations, was dangerous for a Queen, especially one who came from a powerful family with many enemies. Kathryn didn’t help matters much by appointing one of her admirers as her personal secretary.
By November 1541, there was enough evidence against the Queen that Archbishop Cranmer informed the King of Kathryn’s misconduct. At first Henry did not believe the accusations, but he agreed to allow further investigations into the matter. Enough evidence was gathered that the Queen had been promiscuous before her marriage and may have had liaisons after becoming Henry’s wife. She was beheaded with one stroke on February 13, 1542, and her body was buried in an unmarked grave in the nearby chapel of St Peter ad Vincula, where the body of her cousin, Anne Boleyn, also lay. Henry did not attend.
DIRECTOR: MARCUS GAAB
FASHION: SARAH COBB
MAKE UP: DEANNA MELLUSO
HAIR: JOHN RUGGIERO
PRODUCTION: JAMES JOLLY (AFG MANAGEMENT)
MODEL: MARTHE (SUPREME MODELS)
TEXT: LARA E. EAKINS
VIDEO EDITING: THALIA DE JONG
TEXT: LARA E. EAKINS
SOUND: "If Love Now Reigned as it Hath Been" by King Henry VIII
leather dress GEMMA SLACK
HENRY VIII AND HIS SIX WIVES. PART 5: KATHRYN HOWARD
HENRY VIII AND HIS SIX WIVES. PART 4: ANNE OF CLEVES
4. Anne of Cleves
BORN: 22 SEPTEMBER 1515
MARRIED: 6 JANUARY 1540
DIVORCED: JULY 1540
DIED: 16 JULY 1557
GOD SEND ME TO KEEP
Henry VIII remained single for over two years after Jane Seymour’s death, possibly giving some credence to the thought that he genuinely mourned for her.
However, it does seem that someone, possibly Thomas Cromwell, began making inquiries shortly after Jane’s death about a possible foreign bride for Henry. Henry’s first marriage had been a foreign alliance of sorts, although it is almost certain that the two were truly in love for some time. His next two brides were love matches and Henry could have had little or no monetary or political gain from them. But the events of the split from Rome left England isolated, and probably vulnerable.
It was these circumstances that led Henry and his ministers to look at the possibility of a bride to secure an alliance.
Henry did also want to be sure he was getting a desirable bride, so he had agents in foreign courts report to him on the appearance and other qualities of various candidates. He also sent painters to bring him images of these women. The most famous of the Tudor court painters, Hans Holbein, was sent to the court of the Duke of Cleves, who had two sisters: Amelia and Anne. Henry required the artist to be as accurate as possible, not to flatter the sisters. The two versions of Holbein’s portrait are in the Louvre in Paris and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. At the time in 1539, Cleves was seen as an important potential ally in the event France and the Holy Roman Empire (who had somewhat made a truce in their long history of conflict) decided to move against the countries who had thrown off the Papal authority. England then sought alliances with countries who had been supporting the reformation of the church. Several of the Duchys and principalities along the Rhine were Lutheran.
The paintings of the sisters of the Duke of Cleves were sent to Henry who decided to have a contract drawn up for his marriage to Anne. Henry was impatient to see his future bride. He went to meet her at Rochester and was promptly disappointed. Henry urged Cromwell to find a legal way to avoid the marriage but, by this point, doing so was impossible without endangering the vital alliance with the Germans.
The marriage took place on January 6, 1540. Anne was ill-suited for life at the English court. Her upbringing in Cleves had concentrated on domestic skills and not the music and literature so popular at Henry’s court. And, most famously, Henry did not find his new bride the least bit attractive and is said to have called her a “Flanders Mare”. The couple’s first night as husband and wife was not a happy one. Henry confided to Cromwell that he had not consummated the marriage, saying, “I liked her before not well, but now I like her much worse”. In addition to his personal feelings for wanting to end the marriage, there were now political ones as well. Tension between the Duke of Cleves and the Empire was increasing towards war and Henry had no desire to become involved. Last but not least, at some point, Henry had become attracted to young Kathryn Howard.
Anne was probably smart enough to know that she would only be making trouble for herself if she raised any obstacles to Henry’s attempts to annul the marriage. She testified that the match had not been consummated and that her previous engagement to the son of the Duke of Lorraine had not been properly broken.
After the marriage had been dissolved, Anne accepted the honorary title as the “King’s Sister”. She was given property, including Hever Castle, formerly the home of Anne Boleyn. Anne lived away from court quietly in the countryside until 1557, thus outliving all of Henry VIII wives. She is buried in a somewhat hard to find tomb in Westminster Abbey.
God send me to keep
DIRECTOR: MARCUS GAAB
FASHION: SARAH COBB
MAKE UP: DEANNA MELLUSO
HAIR: JOHN RUGGIERO
PRODUCTION: JAMES JOLLY (AFG MANAGEMENT)
MODEL: TATIANA (IMG MODELS)
TEXT: LARA E. EAKINS
VIDEO EDITING: THALIA DE JONG
TEXT: LARA E. EAKINS
SOUND: "If Love Now Reigned as it Hath Been" by King Henry VIII
ears COCO DE MER
suit & knit SONIA RYKIEL
shoes GAP
I STILL LOVE - conference
On the occasion of the Franko B I Still Love exhibition, a special meeting with contemporary art critic Lea Vergine—pioneer of Body Art during the ‘70s—and theorist Francesca Alfano Miglietti is set up to debate with the public on ‘the body’.
Two of the most authoritative voices will explain the relationship between art and body in our society that every day sees true mutations through love practices, fights, rituals, incisions, penetrations and actions.
Full Developmental/Preschool Evaluation
I met with FCPS Early Childhood Special Education Preschool Program's Local Screening Committee on Tuesday 11/16 and, as expected, Christopher was recommended for an initial evaluation to determine if he has a disability and requires special education. He is scheduled for three assessments, all on Friday 07 January 2011: 1) "Sociocultural" which is developmental history, family background, adaptive behavior, medical status, and educational history; 2) "Audiological" which is a complete assessment of hearing; and 3) the "Developmental"/Preschool looks at the areas of adaptive, cognitive, physical, communication, and social/emotional.
At this early stage, the process is more about determining his eligibility for county services. I'm sure later the process will shift to focus on identifying those services from which he will derive the most benefit, but in the meantime, I am wondering if we should start him in speech therapy right away through our medical coverage. I can't imagine how that would not be a good thing, but will probably check w/his designated social worker to a) make sure it won't impact his eligibility for county services, and b) to see if I can start services now with the same providers who the county might use anyway, so his therapy would continue uninterrupted.
I have a lot to learn about advocating for my "special needs" child, even if it is just in the short term. I sincerely hope that our Little Mister Christopher is in fact experiencing a temporary delay, and that therapy and treatment will get him fully up to speed quickly. While I am ready/willing/able to advocate for him, however much and for however long it takes, I do hope that his special needs will not need advocating throughout his entire schooling.
Photos
Been tinkering with Shutterfly & Swingvine trying to get my photos uploaded, and have been reminded why I opted for Picasa in the first place. So, I set myself up another Google/Picasa account, and will not be using those other sites. Should all be seamless to you: my links to the left should work.
