How accurate is The Tudors Season 4 Episode 2? While this episode gets more right than wrong, key storylines (especially involving Catherine Howard, Thomas Culpepper, and Lady Rochford) are still heavily dramatized for television.

In This Post:

• Did Lady Rochford Have an Affair With Thomas Culpeper?
• Catherine Howard and Francis Dereham: What Really Happened
• The War With Scotland: Timeline Errors Explained
• How Accurate Is Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey?
• What Was Christmas Like in Tudor England?
• Why Was Gout So Common in Tudor Times?
• Did Thomas Seymour Have an Affair With Anne Stanhope?
• Henry VIII’s Real Health vs The Tudors Portrayal
• When Did Catherine and Culpeper’s Affair Begin?
• Did Catherine Howard Really Cheat on Henry VIII?

Episode 2: Sister

More is accurate in this episode than inaccurate, so this won’t be a long post. Minor things like Surrey trying to seduce Anne Stanhope-Seymour and her not having it, Catherine Howard and Mary Tudor having a contentious relationship, with Catherine dismissing two of her ladies as punishment for Mary not treating her with respect, and even Henry VIII retiring early from the Christmas festivities are “true.” So I’ll focus on the few things that aren’t and flesh out the history a bit.

Did Lady Rochford Have an Affair With Thomas Culpeper?

In this episode, Lady Rochford (Jane Boleyn, widow of George Boleyn) and Thomas Culpeper become lovers. She becomes angry when, after their first encounter, he talks about his desire for Queen Catherine. Lady Rochford says if he really wants to seduce the queen, she can “arrange it.” There are a lot of little scenes between them, and between her and Joan Bulmer, in which she learns about the queen’s salacious past and how Catherine and Francis Dereham used to “hang by their bellies like two sparrows” (an actual historical quote). Joan tells her Dereham and his friend used to bring wine, apples, strawberries, and other things to make “good cheer” to bed.

Some of this is true (the bits about Dereham) but there is no historical evidence that Lady Rochford and Culpeper were romantically attached to one another. The series set her up from the start as being a wronged woman (assaulted by her bisexual husband on their wedding night, offended by his affair with a man, and seeking revenge by testifying against him). Here, she is a collaborator and an instigator, but the truth is more difficult.

Lady Rochford wanted to please the queen, and despite it being treasonous to think about the king’s death, both of them knew Henry would not live forever. Given his obesity and poor health, he might die sooner rather than later. Better to be on Catherine’s good side, for as his widow, she would be wealthy and influential. Either Lady Rochford tried to curry favor with Catherine by arranging their secret meetings in good faith that it would repay her tenfold, or she did as she was told by Catherine.

Lady Rochford was foolish rather than malicious. She had no reason to hate Catherine or want to bring her down. Here, she uses her influence as a “power play” to impress Culpeper, in a weird desire to let him bed the object of his desire so they can laugh about it later. (Maybe she thinks once he has the queen, he will cease thinking about her, and be more into her?)

Catherine Howard and Francis Dereham: What Really Happened

For decades, historians believed Catherine was “wanton,” but public opinion has softened toward her in the last twenty years. One popular theory now is that Dereham assaulted her, which is probably untrue; it is more likely that Henry Mannox and Francis Dereham groomed her and took advantage of her by preconditioning her to see no “wrong” in what they were doing.  

Catherine was only a child by modern consent terms, but in Tudor times, 14/15 was old enough to get married, and folks often did. It is not impossible that Dereham intended to marry her. While born a Howard, she had no money, so if he could get financial stability, Sir Thomas Howard might have allowed it. That may have been Dereham’s ambition when he left the Duchess’ employment to serve in Ireland, but Catherine moved to the queen’s court and quickly fell in love with Culpeper.

The War With Scotland: Timeline Errors Explained

It’s the summer of 1540, and Henry VIII is annoyed that the Scots keep riding over the border to terrorize English peasants. He appoints Edward Seymour as general of the north and sends him there to return the favor in kind (pillage along the border, raid and carry off goods, burn down houses, and kill those who resist).

This happens prematurely, since it actually transpired in 1542. No English forces marched north until after James V failed to show up to his meeting with Henry VIII (shown in a later episode). Because the series combined Henry’s sisters, Margaret and Mary, there is no Tudor regent in Scotland to keep peace between the two realms. (A marriage alliance I wrote about in my novel, The Last Fire-Eater.)

How Accurate Is Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey?

Surrey is walking up an alley, pompously shoving people out of his way, and gets into an altercation with a whore; he slaps her, causing everyone around them to scream at him and riot. Actually, the real Surrey was a lot worse. He and a bunch of his buddies bought crossbows capable of firing rocks and were breaking windows. That soon turned into slinging stones at the local prostitutes, for which they were all arrested. It tells you two things; how little he thought of anyone beneath his rank, and that he knew he could get away with just about anything because of his name and title.

What Was Christmas Like in Tudor England?

The Christmas scenes in this episode are not very long, and more to show time passing than an actual depiction of the lavish season at court.

Historically, the Tudor Court took part in the traditional twelve days of Christmas, in which the feasts and celebrations went on for two weeks after Christmas day. (I write about that in The Queen’s Falconer, if you’re interested.) There were banquets, mummer’s dances, masques, pageants, gambling, collections for the poor, and a game in which anyone who found a particular object (a ring or a coin) in their slice of Christmas cake could become “king for the night.” It was exciting for the lower members of court, since they could take part and could even sit upon the throne!

The gifts given to Catherine Howard are accurate; jewels, headdresses, and fabric, along with two beautiful bay horses draped in velvet from Anne of Cleves. The actual gifts were pearls, rubies, and diamonds, a gold jeweled crucifix, large, ornate brooches, and a black sable muffler with a pearl closure, but not fabric, because the king had been spending lavishly on her since their marriage.

Anne writes to ask if she can come for the New Year, but it had been planned for weeks. Anne of Cleves turned up at court now and again to foster relations with the king and to receive an increase in her allowance. Historical Anne also solicited advice on the proper way to approach Queen Catherine to avoid it being awkward. (She learned her lesson when she mistook Henry for a lord, rather than the king!)

Why Was Gout So Common in Tudor Times?

Eustace Chapuys, the Spanish Ambassador, is limping around with a case of gout, an affliction we have seen before (in season one, the visiting Cardinal has it). Many Tudor gentlemen suffered from it.

Known as the “disease of kings,” gout hit the aristocracy and those who could afford to eat “rich” foods heavy in purine (which turns into uric acid). These included organ meat, red meat, game, and seafood (sardines, anchovies, and shellfish). Eating an excess of this meant consuming fewer vegetables to counteract it, which, combined with massive amounts of wine and ale, prevented their kidneys from filtering out the acid, causing their joints to crystalize. That most of the upper class, if not young and fit, were inactive, often led to obesity, which increased the chances of gout.

In Tudor times, the water was so unclean that people drank alcohol instead. The lower classes could not afford purine-rich diets, nor poach game off the king’s land, so they mostly escaped the disease by eating rye bread, vegetables in season, and stews. Henry VIII had gout at the time of his death (along with undiagnosed diabetes, which lead to two ulcers on his legs being unable to heal; he had severe and constant infections in his legs and toes).

Chapuys got gout from eating at the king’s table; ambassadors were fed at the royal courts and lived sedentary lifestyles since they could not take part in jousts.

Did Thomas Seymour Have an Affair With Anne Stanhope?

A subplot this season is Anne Stanhope-Seymour is bored in her marriage, so after messing about with Francis Bryan last season, she goes after her brother-in-law, Thomas Seymour. Maybe her husband, Edward, is too busy looking after affairs of state and the prince’s household; maybe he is asexual, or maybe he’s just a mean old thing, but she has a love-hate relationship with Thomas.

There’s no evidence she ever cheated on her husband, much less with her brother-in-law. And it’s kind of insulting to make her this way, since she’s also one of the few “Reformists” on the show. The implication is that for her, Reformist beliefs are built out of anti-Catholic sentiment, rather than any genuine belief.

The real Anne was very ambitious, assertive, and haughty, and had no problem getting on “the wrong side” of people.

Henry VIII’s Real Health vs. The Tudors Portrayal

The series has Henry “missing” from Catherine’s life for two weeks, while his doctors attempt to deal with his ulcerous leg. This happened in 1541, but the series struggles to make it understandable, given that this Henry is still young and fit. The real one was an undiagnosed, untreated diabetic and approaching 400 pounds. (The actor refused to gain weight or wear a fat suit, to remain a “sex symbol.”)  

When Did Catherine and Culpeper’s Affair Begin?

The first hint of a scandalous meeting between Catherine and Culpeper happens in February 1541 on The Tudors, when Lady Rochford arranges for them to meet in secret.

Historically, their first “secret meeting” happened at Easter and was innocent. Catherine handed out presents to members of her court and her ladies, but held back a gift to give Culpeper in private. Remember, at this time, they had known one another for two years and were romantically involved when she served Anne of Cleves. In the corridor behind her chambers, Catherine gave him a cap, and they were alone for only a minute or two, in which they got into a little spat (he wished she had given the cap when she was unmarried; and she disliked his ingratitude).

Did Catherine Howard Really Cheat on Henry VIII?

The series goes full tilt into “Catherine Howard cheated, and deserved her fate by being a fool.” It turns Culpeper into a rapist predator who collaborates with Lady Rochford in making Catherine his victim.

But… did Catherine really cheat on the king?

Historians are divided on this point, but my opinion is… no. At least not sexually, and here’s why.

Catherine was ignorant (she had no education), but she knew what had happened to her cousin Anne Boleyn. It went through her family like a shock wave. She knew to keep her sexual escapades with Francis Derehem and Henry Mannox a secret when she came to court. She knew Henry VIII was unstable, violent, vengeful, and dangerous. Catherine would have had to be an idiot to have sex with anyone behind his back. Lady Rochford would have known this was high treason, and she was not a teenager, so you can’t say she did a dumb thing because of her age.

Here is what I think happened.

Catherine came to court and fell in love with Thomas Culpeper, but his attentions ceased when she refused to become intimate with him, and the king’s eye fell upon her. She found herself better off in terms of riches, influence, and political clout, but the trade-off was that she had to climb into bed with an obese diabetic man with a leg sore that stank with rotten pus.

I imagine Culpeper looked pretty damn good in hindsight.

Nobody ever talked about it, but everyone knew the day would soon arrive when the king died. Catherine started planning for that inevitability by setting her sights on Culpeper. They started spending time alone to plan their future. Maybe that led to kissing and fondling, and maybe it didn’t; we will never know. But consider the charges brought against her, and the charges brought against her predecessors. We know Anne did not commit adultery, but she was still murdered for it. Why would it not be the same for Catherine? (Trumped-up charges to assuage the king’s ego when he found out she was not the virgin he claimed she was?)

One historical piece of evidence that might support this is that Henry had Culpeper beheaded, but Francis Dereham hung, drawn, and quartered, a more awful form of punishment. Both of them were accused of treason, but only one of them—the one we know had sex with Catherine and “spoiled her for the king”—suffered that gruesome fate. Maybe Henry damn well knew Dereham did not bed his wife and executed them both simply for daring to imagine his future death.

I think in her youthful ignorance, she did not assume being alone with a man and planning for their later marriage and future together would be “treasonous” since she wasn’t actually doing anything wrong. It was merely exciting to be meeting him in secret. If that is the case, Lady Rochford’s involvement makes more sense as well. I don’t think she would have risked setting them up for sexual encounters, but she might have risked setting them up to “talk about the future.”

Catherine also denied that she “spoiled the king’s bed” with any other man, even in her confessions before her death. What if she told the truth? If so, she was a victim who had been groomed her entire life by powerful men, rather than a “silly” girl doing a dumb thing, and her only sin was to lie about her previous love life and to dream of a better future for herself.

Curious what personality types feature in The Tudors? Check out my analysis here!

This article is part of my Historical Accuracy in Historical TV Shows & Movies series, where I break down the real history behind popular historical dramas.

About the Author: Charity Bishop writes historical fiction, historical fantasy, and suspense novels that explores the darkness in human hearts, and the light that refuses to be extinguished. Discover her books.