Dr Kat and Katherine Howard

These days we'd recognise the poor lass was groomed and exploited.

I think if I found that the king was interested in me I would have fled to France.

Sadly, I think she was a very confused and easily manipulated young girl. Tragically I think people used her. Very sad.

Anne of Cleves was the wisest of Henry's wives: she understood he was a crazy tyrant, and got out of his way.

Poor kid. She may’ve been foolish but that’s hardly unusual in an adolescent. I’ve a lot of sympathy for her.

Thank you for clearly reminding us of her age. Far too often she has been aged up into something "more palatable" for modern viewers. What a shocking and difficult life this poor child had to endure. It's tragic how she was manipulated and abused

Personally, I think her request to have the execution block brought to her to practice her own execution on was an attempt to take control of the situation on a mental level, and perhaps get used enough to it to remain somewhat calm and disassociate on the day of her execution. She could do nothing to stop her beheading, but this may have given her at least a sense of peace by focusing on the few things she still had power over, such as how she would move her body to lay her head down on the block. From what I've heard, some abuse survivors take up self harm as a way of taking back the power over their bodies their abusers took away by punishing and controlling themselves, and perhaps the seemingly morbid request of having the execution block brought to her filled a similar purpose to Katherine Howard.

The true winner out of Henry VIII's former wives- Anne of Cleves. Smart woman, went out with her head and with dignity. Once again, you are an Amazing story teller of so many historic people and events.

Dr Kat, as always I appreciate your humanity and empathy towards the victims of historical abuses. I see Katherine as a victim and just because the language wasn't available and victim blaming was even more prevalent than now, she must still have been so very traumatised by said abuse, add to that the violence of her step grandmother and the forced separation from Francis Dereham who she believed she would marry, she was already set up for her downfall. She had no clue that she would ever marry into royalty and I don't see how she can be held accountable for her previous PAST behaviour. She was very young and immature, badly educated and vulnerable imho. I don't understand why she entertained Culpepper though, it could be loneliness, immaturity or blackmail. She probably genuinely trusted him or was manipulated by him and Lady Rochford. Once she realised the perilous position she was in she must have been absolutely desperate and terrified. I agree about the block, I have no idea of what the psychology of spending the night with it means, it simply makes her story even more pitiful imho. The fact Henry Mannix got off completely free despite being the one to set this whole tragic story in motion makes me furious. Stay well❤

No one protected her, even under her grandmother's own roof, from being used by unscrupulous men. Then she was blamed for what was done to her. Henry could have put her in a nunnery, or exiled her (after divorce). But no, she had to be killed to appease Henry's weak ego. Tragic. About that rumored assertion she made at the very end, that she'd rather be Culpepper's wife. Given how abusive her family was to her, all the trauma she'd been subjected to (including seeing her former lover's head on a pike), perhaps she did say it with full knowledge of the consequences they'd face in the hope of causing them to suffer, thereby getting vengance on them. Who could blame her if she did?

I think the block in her room is a sign of someone who tries so hard to please xxx

This poor child never had a chance. Her family failed to protect her from her abuser. She was not nurtured either. I think she was trying to find love and acceptance that she risked it. The sad truth is that she had no one on her side.

I see Katherine Howard as a tragic character, she was used as a pin in the game of her uncle and was abused since she was very young, sexually and emotionally. She knew nothing better than to use her physical charmes to some attention. She was so young, she didn't really know she was being used...

Sometimes I think she just wanted some validation, to be loved by who she was and her desperation for approval was pure gold to her family's enemies...

Catherine always read more “messed up foster kid” than “evil seductress” to me. Maybe that’s why Henry was so different when it came to her execution- he knew deep down that he was the main beneficiary of the system that murdered her. It’s probably also society seems so determined to slander her, calling her a slut, trophy wife, or hedonist

It is illuminating how young Katherine Howard was as was Jane Grey. Very much manipulated by scheming families and older men.

I believe that Katherine Howard ask to practice on the block because she wanted to prove to herself and the rest of the world that she could be just as brave and regal as any Queen that had ever sat on the throne before her even during death.

Anne of Cleves deserves more hype. She was so in control of her emotions. Impeccable.

I like the point you make about Henry's different reactions to being supposedly 'cuckholded' by two of his wives. The processes involved in the fall of Anne compared to Catherine were so different. Anne's fall took place so fast, and Henry moved right on, showing what a sham setup it actually was, but Catherines fall took months and every process of law was followed. Henry seems to have been genuinely shocked that such a thing could really happen, as if it never had before. I do feel very sad for Catherine, as I do for all of his wives. I dont believe any of them deserved their fates, and neither did the men who fell with Anne Boleyn. Horrific times!

I think about Ann of Cleves often when I watch historical videos,Her behavior after she is no longer the Kings wife specially. She would have made a great wife for him. She was very proper in her behavior, she was very accepting, she seemed to take great care to serve the court in the most proper way. He would have done much better with her.