The Executions of Francis Dereham and Thomas Culpepper

[I finally finished this post after many weeks of working on it, I apologize for the delay]

Forgive my absence from blogging; I was held up studying for finals and struggling with illness
One of the interesting days in Tudor history that took place during my writing hiatus was that of December 10, which marked the anniversary of the Francis Dereham and Thomas Culpepper executions. The two men were accused of treason, namely for having relations with the queen Katharine Howard.

Thomas Culpeper was a favorite of the King with very personal duties as a gentleman  the King's privy chamber. As part of these duties Culpeper assisted the king with dressing and other hygiene practices and often slept in Henry's bedchamber. Culpeper also had close access and often came into contact with the Queen and her attendants. Thomas Culpeper was first introduced into Catherine Howard personally in March 1541. Henry had left on a trip to Dover and decided to leave his wife behind at Greenwich. Culpeper used his distant relationship (they were seventh cousins) to the Queen as a justification for asking for favors. Sometime soon private meetings between the two began, possibly in May. Jane Boleyn, the Lady Rochford, who served as a lady in waiting to the Queen, arranged the meetings. On these occasions, only she and Katherine Tilney, another of the Queen's ladies, were allowed to enter the Catherine's chambers.

On June 30 Katharine and King Henry VIII travelled north to York in the hope of meeting James V of Scotland. They arrived at Lincoln on August 9, where Culpeper met Katharine for another secret meeting in her bedchamber. These meetings continued in Pontefract Castle, after the court arrived on August 23. It is believed that the infamous letter Katharine sent to Culpeper was sent during these proceedings. In this letter she wishes to know how he is and is troubled that he is ill. Catherine also writes, “I never longed so muche for [a] thynge as I do to se you and to speke wyth you, the wyche I trust shal be shortely now,” and “my trust ys allway in you that you wolbe [will be] as you have promysed me...” These statements cause some audiences to believe that their affair was not one of passion at least for Culpeper, but rather about advancing his political career. With Henry's deteriorating health and only his toddler son Edward to succeed him, being Katharine's favorite would undoubtedly have put Culpeper in a very strong position of influence if the King were to die. As a well-liked member of the King’s Privy Chamber he enjoyed a close relationship with Henry and his council, again which would be beneficial if the King were to pass away.

Whispers about the Queen's premarital indiscretions had reached the attention of Thomas Cranmer, then serving as the Archbishop of Canterbury. As a diligent servant of his majesty Cranmer began digging for information on Katharine's past. During his investigations, Cranmer also came across rumors of an affair between the Queen and Culpeper; Culpeper was soon arrested for questioning. Both he and the Queen denied the allegations, but the letter from Katharine to Culpeper, found during a search of his rooms, provided the evidence for which Cranmer was looking. Whether the association between Culpeper and the Queen was ever consummated is still debated by historians, but the letter seems to give evidence of Katharine's feelings for Culpeper.

Henry, surprised by his young wife's actions,  ordered an investigation into the allegations. (Read more about Katherine's confessions here.) After Katharine's disclosure the two men were arrested and tried for adultery, they were sentenced to die a 'traitor's death' which included being hung from the neck, drawn and quartered; such a death would have been painful and long. Culpepper, as former favorite of the King, pleaded for mercy and had his sentence commuted to a beheading.

Culpepper and Dereham were executed at Tyburn and buried at Sepulcher-without-Newgate Church where their bodies lay to this day. This event, dramatic and tragic, was just a precursor to the execution of Katharine and Jane Boleyn which would take place just a few weeks later.
Interestingly, it was acknowledged by both parties involved and the prosecution that Katharine and Francis Dereham never had a relationship during the tenure of her marriage to Henry VIII. They had previously been lovers when she was a young woman at her grandmother's house. The exact extent of Katharine's relationship with Culpeper is still unknown, although it is likely that it was sexual.

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