Catherine howard execution
Catherine howard execution
Catherine howard execution image.
On this day in history, the 13th February 1542, Catherine Howard was executed at the Tower of London. Eustace Chapuys, the Imperial ambassador, wrote of how Catherine prepared herself for her execution:-
“On Sunday the 12th, towards evening, she was told to prepare for death, for she was to die next day.
That evening she asked to have the block brought in to her, that she might know how to place herself; which was done, and she made trial of it.”1
Catherine Howard’s Execution
Chapuys goes on to say that at 7am the next morning, the 13th, members of the King’s Council (Suffolk and Norfolk were absent)and other dignatories arrived at the Tower to serve as witnesses to Catherine’s execution.
Charles de Marillac, the French ambassador, reported to his master, Francis I, that the Queen was executed at around 9am, followed by Lady Rochford. Marillac recorded that “The Queen was so weak that she could hardly speak, but confessed in few words that she had merited a hundred deaths f