Kitty Howard & Thomas Culpeper’s relationship:
*“It was during the spring of 1541, if not before, that Catherine found herself drawn to a handsome young man in the King’s privy chamber. That March, when Henry visited Dover and left her behind at Greenwich, she sought the company of her distant cousin Thomas Culpeper, reputed to be a very handsome man and still unmarried even though he was probably in his mid-to late twenties. She may initially have solicited his advice about the king, or whiled away the time in conversation and dancing, but the innocent friendship quickly developed into a dangerous romantic attachment. In her loneliness, the queen may have desired the flattering attentions of a male friend; perhaps the pair simply indulged in some harmless flirtation, or maybe she thought she could pursue her own personal pleasure as well as keeping the king satisfied. There is even a chance that Catherine hoped to fall pregnant by the young man, in the light of Henry’s disappointment at her failure to conceive. All these have been suggested as reasons for Catherine embarking on an illicit liaison that would eventually cost her her head. Yet history may have judged the young queen too harshly; no actual evidence survives to prove that she and Culpeper actually committed adultery and treason by sleeping together.”
Thoughts? Conor Byrne in his biography on Katherine Howard also gives a good argument on how she might not have been guilty. In her book "Ladies in Waiting", Victoria Sylvia Evans points out that while she does believe she was guilty, unlike her cousin, she wasn't afforded the benefit of the doubt. Her family's enemies just wanted her out of the way. Period.
Whether or not she was guilty, there is no question that up until the accusations leveled against her, she was doing quite well in her position. She had a few bumps along the road, but she did fulfilled her role to the best of her ability. She pleaded for Margaret Pole, Thomas Wyatt and many others, lives in the same fashion as the first of Henry's queens had done in the aftermath of the Evil May Day riots, and after she reconciled herself with her eldest stepdaughter, the two spend a lot of time together and she did a lot for her other stepchildren as well, mainly her cousin the lady Elizabeth.
*From “The Six Wives and the Many Mistresses of Henry VIII” by Amy Licence.
