Did Catherine Howard really cheat on Henry VIII, and how accurate is The Tudors Season 4 Episode 3? This episode dives deep into scandal (Catherine Howard and Thomas Culpepper, pregnancy rumors, and Henry VIII’s declining health), but the real Tudor history is far more complex than the show suggests.

In This Post:

• How Sick Was Henry VIII in 1541?
• Did Henry VIII Believe He Could Heal the Sick?
• Did Elizabeth I Live at Hever Castle?
• Did Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves Have Sex?
• Did Catherine Howard Really Cheat on Henry VIII?
• Was Catherine Howard Ever Pregnant?
• Did Mary Tudor Expect to Become Queen?
• What Happened on Henry VIII’s Northern Progress?
• Minor Historical Inaccuracies

Episode 3: Something For You

How Sick Was Henry VIII in 1541?

The series claims that while Henry was ill with a burst ulcer, Catherine Howard did not know where he was or why he refused to see her. It’s true that he became so ill, his physicians feared he would die, and he did not see her for a fortnight, but Catherine undoubtedly knew the cause, because the entire court noticed his “immense pain” and suffering. (There were a few rumors floating around at the time that he had gotten bored with his wife and intended to divorce her because she had not yet fallen pregnant. And she became despondent when she heard another rumor that he intended to replace her with Anne of Cleves.)

It’s easy for this Catherine to be flattering to her husband when he reappears, because he’s a couple hundred pounds lighter than the historical version, who was ill-tempered (because of the constant pain and possibly his earlier brain damage) and probably had trouble with his plumbing.

Did Henry VIII Believe He Could Heal the Sick?

Henry is about to ride out with his court only to find a bunch of sick people at the gates of the palace, hoping for his prayers and laying-on of hands to heal them from their afflictions. This seems ludicrous now, but at this point in history, people were uneducated, superstitious, and believed in the power of holy “relics.” Popes and Monarchs were considered “closer to God” than the masses, since they had been chosen for the job. Henry had all but made himself an English Pope, which in the minds of common men let him be their “conduit to God.”

He stops to bless them, lay his hands on them, and command them to be healed. I suppose this is to show us how seriously he is taking his new role as the Head of the Church of England, but it’s a bit of a stretch, since the real Henry VIII was notoriously fearful of falling ill and contracting diseases. He traveled incessantly in the summer to avoid the Sweating Sickness (as shown in earlier seasons). Fearful his son might get ill and die, he had his chambers and palace scrubbed with soap daily. It’s doubtful he would stop to talk to sick people or touch them.

Giving them money is a nice throwback to seasons one and two, in which we saw Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn doing the same thing with the poor (giving out alms and touching the sick).

Did Elizabeth I Live at Hever Castle?

Henry rides off to Hever Castle to visit Anne of Cleves, who received the house as part of her annulment settlement in 1540. Anne actually lived there until her death in 1557 and made many improvements to the castle. He finds her with Princess Elizabeth, but it’s unclear whether she is merely visiting or lives there with Anne. The real Elizabeth visited Hever a few times, but never lived in her mother’s home.

It’s nice that they show Elizabeth’s cleverness and it’s acknowledged by those around her; she really was an intelligent student, a practiced and serious dancer, and talented at learning Latin. Her father gives her a book by the “Roman historian Tacitus,” which is a gracious nod to a historical manuscript written in her own hand. It’s a translation of his Annals, based on the Senate records and covering AD 14-68. Elizabeth probably translated it while studying the history of the Roman empire.  

Did Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves Have Sex?

After Elizabeth goes home or to bed, Henry and Anne sit up talking together, and he warms toward her, I think because of her more mature, settled energy. Historically, Henry and Anne became “friends” because they were no longer forced to stay a couple. Anne “graciously” accepted his annulment instead of giving him trouble, as his former wives had, and he appreciated women who gave him whatever he wanted. He started calling her his “beloved sister,” and made her a rich woman.

She frequently got invited to court, where they would talk and play cards, and they wrote letters to one another in their absence. A later scene in this episode has her appealing sweetness winning him over in a game of cards, and asking her if he can come to her bed; because they are shown cuddling together fully clothed, one assumes this is all that happened. This is to show us Henry is finally “calming down,” and is no longer the frantic, rutting fool he has been since the first few episodes. He’s leaving his young, enthusiastic wife alone to curl up in another woman’s bed and just… snuggle?

This never happened. Henry was fond of Anne of Cleves, but in a nonsexual way; he found her “an unpleasant” bedfellow during their marriage, and thought she stank (it was probably his leg). She must have been relieved to be a woman of stature with no need to marry for security’s sake, who enjoyed wealth and lived a prominent life (she was ‘above’ everyone save the king’s wife and daughters at court), and who never had to bother with sex.

This is the last appearance of Anne of Cleves on the show; she vanishes without a trace or ever being mentioned again. After Catherine Howard was executed, her brother pressed Henry to remarry Anne, but he refused. She developed a dislike for Catherine Parr, but we don’t know why. Anne took part in Mary I’s coronation and attended her marriage ceremony to King Philip. Since Anne was never devoutly Reformist, she became a Catholic during Mary’s reign and for the rest of her life, but she lost Mary’s favor in 1554, when Mary became suspicious of her friendship with Princess Elizabeth. Mary thought Anne helped instigate a rebellion with Elizabeth as its figurehead, but she lacked proof, so Anne merely retired from court life.

Henry VIII died in 1547, but Anne lived until 1557. Like Catherine of Aragon, she died of cancer.

Did Catherine Howard Really Cheat on Henry VIII?

As I stated in my last write-up, I don’t think Catherine Howard and Thomas Culpeper ever had an actual physical affair. A mental one, yes, and a treasonous plotting of, “once the king is dead, we can be together.” Maybe a few passionate kisses. But here, it’s a full-blown sex-fest, and Catherine is so hungry for him, she is seeing him every night after the king visits (or in his absence).

When Jane Boleyn / Lady Rochford, warns her to be careful, Catherine says she knows how to meddle with a man without getting pregnant. That statement was later used against her, even though it came from an earlier conversation about her affairs in her grandmother’s household (one of her lovers ‘taught her things’ and she was not worried about being with child). Actually, the irony here is Catherine might have been “safer” if she had gotten pregnant, assuming the king could still have sex. Henry would never have admitted to being infertile or unable to get it up (that was Anne of Cleves’ fault, remember?) and would have agreed the baby was his.

Was Catherine Howard Ever Pregnant?

Catherine bursts in on Henry to announce that she may be pregnant, but later in the episode confesses she was mistaken, earning his ire. Was she ever pregnant? No one knows. There were rumors in 1541 she was with child, and a few months earlier, the French ambassador said she was getting “stouter,” but after April, there were no more indications. Since Queens did nothing in private and had no secrets, it’s likely she was never pregnant; a miscarriage would have been noted, as both Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn suffered from recorded miscarriages.

Did Mary Tudor Expect to Become Queen?

The Spanish Ambassador, Eustace Chapuys, and Princess Mary discuss the future of England after her father’s death, and he plants confidence in her she may be chosen to lead England out of its heresy. It’s doubtful this conversation ever took place, since it would be treasonous to discuss, even if it’s likely what went on in the back of their minds. The factions in England were divided; Henry VIII was obese, diabetic, and in increasingly poor health, and he might not live long enough to see his little boy reach a ruling age.

Mary probably knew what would happen, and it did happen once Edward died; that the Reformist faction would stand behind Elizabeth while the Catholics would flock to her. What historians often leave out, however, is that Mary was widely beloved and supported because of her mother, and because the populace had not converted to the Church of England. What most commoners knew was that all their vestments, priests, traditions, relics, and charities had been stripped from them, devastating entire communities that relied on the Church to provide money and food for them in lean years; so they welcomed the return of Catholicism.

It’s only through the subsequent persecution of “heretics” (public burnings) that Mary fell out of favor with some of the populace, leading the country to sigh with relief when Elizabeth took the throne. Reading about Roman politics paid off since she avoided the one-sided religious fanaticism that plagued her predecessors.

What Happened on Henry VIII’s Northern Progress?

A lot happens in a short amount of time on the northern progress. Catherine Howard scowls at the idea of sharing public admiration with Princess Mary, who is well-received wherever she goes (because everyone adored her mother). Bishop Gardiner wants to burn folks for heresy. Henry pardons everyone in Lincolnshire for their role in the Pilgrimage of Grace. And Catherine gets up to sexual shenanigans behind her husband’s back with Culpeper.

Historically, before Henry went off on pilgrimage, he dealt with the last of the “traitors” in the Tower by executing Margaret Pole and Lord Dacre. It was a miserable trip because it rained for months, making the roads impassable and the queen ill, and putting them weeks behind schedule. The show also downgrades their arrival at Lincoln Cathedral, which historically was full of pageantry, political meetings, and a change of clothes into richer fabrics.

The pilgrimage to Lincolnshire is the first time the historical Catherine Howard and Thomas Culpeper met in secret; Lady Rochford (Jane Boleyn) had been asked to set up a meeting between them while on progress. Instead of Catherine’s friends all being in on it, she innocently in the middle of the night said she would call on Lady Rochford. Her ladies went with her up the stairs, but she dismissed them at the top. Lady Rochford remained in the room with them and sat a little way away. Instead of doing the deed, they talked… about their past lovers, Culpeper’s current mistress (not Jane Boleyn), and other unimportant things.

Minor Historical Inaccuracies:

• Henry Howard, Duke of Surrey, became a Member of the Garter later in history than in this episode.
• The letter Catherine Howard writes to Thomas Culpeper is in April 1541, before they go on the Northern Progress with each other; historically, she wrote it during the progress, months later. She mentions him being ill and sent meals to his room.

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.