MovieChat Forums > Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972) Discussion > Did anybody else feel sorry for Catherin...

Did anybody else feel sorry for Catherine Howard?

posted 19 years ago by IridescentTranquility
13 replies | jump to latest

Think about it. You're about eighteen (I've read that she was anywhere between fifteen and eighteen, but I think she was more like eighteen) and this fifty year old king takes a shine to you, and all of a sudden you're the queen.
I can't believe her uncle put her forward as a potential wife. I always thought Catherine Howard was really tragic. If you read anything about her history you realise nobody really paid any attention to her when she was young. Apparently she wasn't even twenty-one when she died.

Just wondered if anyone else had seen the film.

[–] 19 years ago

[deleted]

[–] IridescentTranquility 19 years ago

In real life, Catherine Howard apparently had unbelievably loose morals and I think was sleeping with Francis Dereham from a very early age, but I like the fact that that didn't come across so much in the film. As you say, they were just trying to line their own pockets and get back into favour after Anne Boleyn was disgraced, so they picked on a totally unsuitable teenager. As far as I understand it, Henry VIII's daughter Mary hated Catherine Howard, even though she was a Catholic too. Probably something to do with the fact that Mary was five years older than Catherine.

The eyes are open, the mouth moves, but Mr. Brain has long since departed, hasn't he, Perce?

[–] flavia18 17 years ago

Yes, I've always felt sorry for her. Neglected, so that she was ignorant, all but illiterate, and with little decorum & less morals, she was the last person to be shoved under Henry's nose; she as entirely too stupid to realize in just how much danger she was. I can even find it in my heart to feel sorry for Henry. In this marriage above all he let his desire for love overcome his duty, and look what he got: humiliated and hurt.

_______________________________
Those who study history are doomed to watch others repeat it.

[–] sjoa_0521 16 years ago

The real Katherine wasn't illiterate though; a letter written by her to Culpeper still survives.

[–] flavia18 16 years ago

Her writing was not that of an educated woman, much less a noblewoman - perhaps I overstated it, but, compare her to, say, Katherine Parr, or even Elizabeth, who was younger than she. Sad all around.

Those who study history are doomed to watch others repeat it.

[–] little_miss_sunnydale 16 years ago

and with the morals of an alley cat

I agree that by the standards of her day she would have been seen as immoral owing to the fact that she had premarital sex and was accused and condemned (however rightly or wrongly) or adultery. However in regards to other aspects of her life Katherine could be very generous and kind towards others, perhaps to the extent that she was capable of being bullied and blackmailed. In regards to her generosity – she was very kind to her stepchildren and made sure that they were not to be ignored and she was kind to Anne of Cleves when she visited court. She also pleaded for mercy on behalf of two prisoners in the Tower during her formal entrance into London in 1541 (one of the prisoners was Thomas Wyatt, the courtier, diplomat and poet, who was released and pardoned following Katherine’s plea). So I think she was rather kind hearted, but at the same time reckless and silly. But her reckless actions meant that she was destroying herself rather destroying others.

‘Noli me tangere; for Caesar's I am’

[–] flavia18 15 years ago

Oh, I was not trying to say that she wasn't a very NICE person - I was referring solely to her sexual morals. Thank you for bringing this up & allowing me to clarify.

Those who study history are doomed to watch others repeat it.

[–] MydnightRose 13 years ago

Not really, she did the crime and had to pay the consequences. You don't need the most attentive upbringing to know better than to cheat on a man who murdered a previous wife.
I did like Lynn's Catherine Howard and it was sad to see her die so young; but compared to Anne who was innocent, I cant feel sorry for her.

Lois Lane=Leia Lane

[–] ceebeegee 15 years ago

by the standards of her day she would have been seen as immoral owing to the fact that she had premarital sex

I like that you phrased it this way. That is, I don't see Catherine as immoral for either reason--1), I don't think premarital sex is immoral (and certianly it was more common than we might think back then), and 2) even if it were, Catherine was a child when she was first seduced. She was like 11-13, she was simply abandoned at her step-grandmother's place with no guidance whatsoever, and no one to police the men who had contact with her. It's not surprising at all that she confused love with sex.

I've always felt very sorry for her, she was pushed forward to get Henry's attention and then completely abandoned by those who should've looked out for her. Norfolk in particular acted pretty despicably in this matter.

[–] marktayloruk 11 years ago

Couldn't Henry have turned a blind eye to her having a discreet lover?

[–] GladtobeGrey 9 years ago

I agree (although adultery against the king was treason), the girl was ill-used by all around her with both her marriage and her decline being politically motivated. And let's not forget that Henry was never a faithful husband fathering several illegitimate children, including one with a woman who later became his sister-in-law...

[–] Prismark10 8 years ago

How could Henry turn a blind eye. He was increasing mad with syphilis.

It's that man again!!

[–] chicago85 7 years ago

When people want to get rid of you they can make up complete lies especially in a poisonous atmosphere like the royal court. You can even torture people into false confessions to stop the pain. My guess is many of the stories told about her were exaggerations at least.

But it is necessary that a queen young enough to be get pregnant not have lovers. The succession of the future king or queen depends on the heir being legitimate. Otherwise you end up with Civil War. In a great many cases queens had to give birth in front of a large number of witness in the bedroom, many of them enemies. This was to stop any rumors that a healthy baby was substituted for a sickly or dead new born.

I don't know everything. Neither does anyone else