England, the Tower of London                                                                                                                                                             13th February 1542

In a few hours I go to meet my maker. I think that after all this, I mostly feel sorry for my family who had to suffer because of me. I pity the next woman who marries old Henry though; his leg is starting to get really smelly after that jousting accident a few years ago. Yuck!

20-06-2013 om 11:43 geschreven door Catherine Howard  

England, the Tower of London                                                                                                                                                              10^th February 1542

My fate has been sealed; I now reside in the Tower of London where I await my execution. I will be executed in three days. I met the executioner, who’s not a bad chap at all, he promised me it wouldn’t hurt, and that I wouldn’t know what hit me. I’m not sure whether he meant that as a joke. As far as small favours go, I won’t even die by the sword like poor aunt Anne Boleyn. It’ll be by axe, which involves a chopping block for me to put my head on. So I asked the executioner to bring me the block in advance, so I could practice putting my head in the perfect position. After all, I wouldn’t want to inconvenience this man, he carries the axe.

16-06-2013 om 00:00 geschreven door Catherine Howard  

England, Middlesex                                                                                                                                                                               11^th December 1541

Yesterday poor Thomas Culpeper was executed: hanged, drawn and quartered. Not a very nice way to die I believe. Most of my family have been imprisoned and stand trial for treason. Treason even! Looks like I messed this one up completely. I have little hope for my own survival, though I do wonder why I’m still here when so many innocents aren’t.

15-06-2013 om 00:00 geschreven door Catherine Howard  

England, Syon Abbey, Middlesex                                                                                          23^rd November 1541

Well this is a bit of a pickle. For those who wonder: I’m imprisoned. “I trust my queen” Henry said, “She wouldn’t conduct any amorous affairs” he said. Well apparently he told Cranmer afterwards that I was to be followed, observed and spied upon when the mighty king Henry was not around himself. At the same time he had poor Thomas Culpeper tortured… tortured! I wondered why I didn’t hear from him all this time.

On a side note, I’ve been stripped of my title… not that it was all that great to begin with but still…

14-06-2013 om 00:00 geschreven door Catherine Howard  

England, Hampton Court                                                                                                                                                                      1^st November 1541

I can’t believe my good fortune! Cranmer told Henry of the suspicions he had and the reports of my affair with Culpeper. Henry dismissed him and told him –in front of me– that he trusted me. Looks like I got away nicely there.

13-06-2013 om 00:00 geschreven door Catherine Howard  

England, London                                                                                                                                                                                    2^nd September 1541

I think she knows. Mary Hall knows! Mary is a woman who was part of our household about ten years ago. At first I thought she couldn’t do me any harm, after all she’s just an old spinster. But her brother, John Lascelles is one of the more trusted henchmen of Thomas Cranmer, the archbishop of Canterbury. Aside from that he’s also the king’s most trusted advisor, so yes… this could be trouble.

13-06-2013 om 00:00 geschreven door Catherine Howard  

England, Lambert                                                                                                                                                                                         30^th March 1541

Oh dear oh dear. I hope Henry doesn’t get wind of this. But sir Culpeper and I have begun… an amorous relation. Somehow I have a bad feeling about this, but as long as we keep it quiet, it shouldn’t go too badly.

13-06-2013 om 00:00 geschreven door Catherine Howard  

England, Lambert                                                                                                                                                                                   20^th February 1541

Henry was out all week, so I sought a bit of social contact elsewhere. I saw Thomas Culpeper, who’s a really nice guy. I know him from back in the day when I was the former queen’s handmaiden. In fact, I considered marrying the chap back then. There’s something about him that makes him so not-Henry.

12-06-2013 om 00:00 geschreven door Catherine Howard  

England, Lambert, somewhere outside of London.                                                                                                                            8^th February 1541

Henry’s actually a pretty ghastly husband; all he wants me to do is give him a son. Now I wouldn’t mind getting children and so on, but I do take offense to being treated as a broodmare for his royal highness.

12-06-2013 om 00:00 geschreven door Catherine Howard  

England, London                                                                                                                                                                                               28^th July 1540

Right, so I’m now “Queen Consort” of England, and I think I understand how this works. I’m the wife of the King, but not really the queen. So here’s how this works: I’m to beget a child first. Only then will I be formally crowned as Queen of England. It’s always the small print isn’t it?

12-06-2013 om 00:00 geschreven door Catherine Howard