Hey, this is Heather from the Renaissance English History Podcast, and this is your Tudor Minute for February 13.
Today in 1542 Katherine Howard and Jane Rochford were executed at the Tower of London. The Imperial Ambassador Eustace Chapuys writes of Katherine, On Sunday the 12th, towards evening, she was told that her execution had been set for the following morning, and that she should prepare for her death. Spanish Ambassador Eustace Chapuys told Charles V that her response was to ask “to have the block brought in to her that she might know how to place herself.”
Jane was killed after Katherine, with her head being severed in just one blow of the ax.
It’s a myth that Katherine Howard said she would rather die the wife of Thomas Culpepper – instead she just recounted her sins, and asked that people pray for her.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com.
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast, one of the longest running indie history podcasts, going since 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. She writes books, created the original Tudor Planner (a yearly diary filled with Tudor history) and in 2019 created the world's first Tudorcon (you can "attend" online this year!). She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.