Catherine Howard was a teenager when she became the fifth wife to the aging King Henry VIII of England. Henry had only recently rejected his fourth bride, selected for him from among Protestant princesses in northern Europe. Within days of finalizing his divorce from Anne of Cleves, he wed Catherine Howard, who was from an impoverished branch of the powerful Howard family, who also had family ties with the Boelyn family.

Henry's second wife was Anne Boleyn. Whether it was that Catherine reminded Henry of the wife he had beheaded, or her often commented-upon sparkling personality and love of life, or if the marriage was entirely a political arrangement, nothing recorded reveals Henry's reasoning nor Catherine's wish to marry a man decades her senior, who was obese, in poor health, and with an oozing, ulcerated leg. Clearly part of her reasoning had to do with the position of queen.

Catherine, who had grown up as a poor relation, eagerly embraced the respect and power that came with queenship, not to mention the beautiful clothes and expensive possessions that came her way on a daily basis. The king, for his part, appeared happy with his new wife, perhaps proud of the notion that he could still attract a very young woman. However, what he did not know about Catherine was that; despite her youth, she was already experienced in the art of love. Proof for at least four affairs before her marriage exists. Not very long after her marriage to the king, Catherine resumed her affair with Thomas Culpepper, a young man who was regarded as extremely handsome. He was also a good friend to the king and served as one of Henry's gentlemen of the bed chamber.

While it is understandable that a pretty young woman would be repulsed by the idea of sleeping with someone possessing Henry's qualities, Catherine clearly overstepped both royal and cultural mores by taking a lover. When Henry discovered the truth he was both furious and hurt. He ordered a thorough investigation, which revealed Catherine's scandalous sexual past as well as her extra-marital activities. Henry had been betrayed not only by his wife and queen, but also by a young man he considered a friend, and to whom he had served as mentor.

His Tudor rage released, he ordered Catherine, Culpepper, and two other men accused of adultery with the queen to be executed. He initially ordered all the men to be drawn and quartered before beheading, but Culpepper, due to his high status, was spared that ordeal and was simply beheaded. Catherine, like her distant cousin, Anne Boelyn, was beheaded as well.